Mares Dragon MRS Plus weight releases

[Phil Mintz]

Kona74,

Sorry this happened. You should not have to replace the pockets every 50 dives, did the LDS send them back to us? We like to see these becuase we always want to know the failure point.

If you PM me your address, I will send you a back up set (also include your BC size).

Regards,

Phil

 

[kona74]

Hi Phil,
Thanks for your response. I have not taken the BC to my LDS but I will take both of the broken pockets there and ask them to send them to Mares.

Thanks also for your offer of a backup set. I will send you a PM with my address.

John

 

[kona74]

Phil Mintz Rocks!

Thanks for all your help!

 

[ljjljj64]

I find it difficult to believe Mares at this point. I've been a loyal customer for years. I just purchased a Kailia BCD for my daughter and the same problem with the MRS Plus weight system.

Mares and the retailer must know about the problem as they didn't even put the weight pockets in when they shipped the bcd. If that wasn't bad enough when i inserted the empty weight pockets both handles broke and I had to turn the BCD weight pockets insideout and use pliers to get it to release.

MARES YOU CLEARLY HAVE A PROBLEM AND YOU MUST KNOW IT... .WHY DON't you provide an email address for customer service on your web site. I ASSUME MARES WILL PAY FOR SHIPPING AND REPLACEMENT.

I guess they are looking for a law suite.

 

[jwiz]

i have not had a problem with my weight pouches falling apart, just falling out. but after phil replaced them, i found a really simple solution. i filed the locking mechanism a little where it clips in, and i havent lost a weight since. they almost looked to me like when the plactic hooks were formed they weren't deep enough and square enough, they were kinda rouned which made them slip out very easily. phil was very cooperative and i love mares and will continue to dive it forever.

 

[Jamesrrundle]

Hi Ladies and Gents,
I'm new to the site and fairly new to the diving scene.
My question is about my Dragon BCD and the pouches. I have had 2 undemanded jettisons, 1 in the pool while trying out some new kit, where I was able to recover the pouch and the other yesterday where I lost the pouch altogether. I only noticed after i had entered the sea from the boat and was unable to submerge. On closer inspection my buddy told me my left weight pouch had gone which I know was fitted as this is one of my pre dive checks.
My concern is that if I replace the pouch will this occur again and again or is it merely unluckly this time round. At the cost of new pouches and the weight to fill them it could get expensive. I have only used the BCD 15 times and compared to the one I used for my initial training I love it and the weight system. Do I need to be checking the receptical for damage or anything?
Your help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance
Jim

 

[cocotorino]

Hi,

I too had a problem with a brand new MARES DRAGON AT this weekend. On my second dive with it, I lost the left weight pouch. Too bad because I loved the comfort of this BC but now I am seriously wondering if Mares is aware of some defect with the MRS plus weight system and are not telling us.

I can't be 100% sure I secured it properly before the dive but I am 95% sure I did. I started ascending faster than 1ft/sec from 30 feet after 10 minutes of diving at around 40 ft, luckily I was able to hold on to rocks on the wall and slow my ascent so I ascended normally most of the way up but it could have been dangerous.

 

[k374]

this seems to be an extremely serious safety issue if these weights just fall out at depth leading to an uncontrolled ascent. I hope that doesn't happen but I'm thinking perhaps it would safer just to use a traditional weight belt instead.

So far my weights have held properly and it didn't seem like it would come off.

 

[gatotsu]

Hi All
What a surprise, lots people had same experience I had in my recent diving trip.
I have Mares Prestige MRS plus(Only 25 or less dive with it).
I was on Curacao for a week in Thanks Giving and lost my weight pocket 3 times!!!
After loosing it twice(Both recovered by DM) on same day, I made sure lock is tight
and secure before jump in the ocean.
But it happened again next day, since then I had to set weight inside of my pocket a rest
of week...

I really love Mares product.
Mask, regulator, Computer, BCD, boots, fin or even travel bag is MARES.
But this incident really made me think to try another maker.

BR

 

[RobertCF]

I've had the Mares Prestige MRS for a few months now and one problem I've noticed with the pockets is really annoying. Although the latches stay in place just fine, the pockets themselves slide out so that they are hanging OUTSIDE the BC when I'm in the prone position. It's as if the pouches are too small for the space they fit into. I have the small BC, but it almost seems as if the medium or larger weight pouches would be better. BTW, the pouches say to only put a max of 9lbs in it, and I've not had more than 5lbs in each pouch (diving in a 7mm full wetsuit). Is there something I'm missing about how these pouches work?