Mares Dragon or Aqualung Axiom without I3

[Jack C]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this website.
I currently own a Mares dragon BCD which has never been used and I got it for a great price.

Ive heard that the weight pockets tend to fall out and I find the general pockets quite hard to access.
Im currently doing my dive master internship btw.

I thought about returning this BC and getting an Aqualung Axiom without the I3 and I've heard the weight pockets are better and the pockets on the jacket are lower therefor easier to get in and out of.

Can anyone comment on which they prefer and pros and cons of both? What they think I should do.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Hi,

I am also a DMC.

I am not familiar with the weight pockets on the Mares but I have had terrible experiences with the Aqua Lung weight pockets in both open water and rescue classes. This has been from the rental fleet to the personally owned gear on the more expensive end of AL. In every class, no fail, someone loses a weight pocket with weights in them and has to pay the dive shop for the loss. Replacing weight is always interesting because the resounding click that assures you it's secure is sometimes hard to get when you have more weight in it. It is way too easy to accidentally become dislodged. Often times, the weight itself (especially in cold water diving) dislodges it. It isn't secure to me when compared to a male/female clips that secure them like those found on Scubapro's which I have along with the instructor. On those, it is a purposeful event to lose weights that you have to unclip in order to do so.

 

[RTC'83]

I just bought the Axiom, had not used it in open water. Had it in the pool this w/e added weight and gave me a resounding click. I will be diving this upcoming w/e and I am hopeful that the weights stay in place

 

[Jack C]

This place is amazing. Those are the exact sort of responses I was looking for
Can anyone else weigh in with an opinion? thank you to the two guys that commented as well, I really appreciate it

 

[Diving Dubai]

I have an Axiom ( as well as 3 x BP/W's before anyone chimes in)

I brought my Axiom for use when teaching students in the pool and for basic Open water courses. It needed to be robust and not cost the earth

The Axiom isn't a true back inflate, more of a hybrid. However the air cells on the pockets inflate last for surface use.

I had a set of requirements, good size pockets for instructor slates etc, well positioned D- Rings for dSMB, lift bag and other stuff required when boat diving. I've also used it with Steel 15l (HP120) and standard Ali 80's

I find it a good BC, it trims just as well as a wing. The shoulder straps go under arm like a wing harness and the waist strap is sturdy and easy to attach and use.

Generally I don't use the weight pockets, I can put enough in the rear trims for summer use with Ali cylinders, however I've had Apex/Aqualung integrated pockets before and they work well.

Generally weights only fall out if not properly inserted or too much weight put in. But I understand the problems highlighted above on a rental jacket but 10lbs in each pocket shouldn't cause issues.

I like the BC, I prefer my Wings of course but only marginally. The only negative for me (it's a tiny one) is I'm not a fan of the flat rear dump valves. I prefer one's I can easily unscrew and remove so that I can fully fill my bladder with water in a soak tank to fully clean it every few months. But that's me nit picking

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a student or anyone else (I'm not affiliated to a shop that has equipment preferences)

 

[Jack C]

Thank you for your response, very informative.
I find the axiom a lot more comfortable.

 

[Landau]

I have a aqualung dimension, similar to the axiom but back inflate. The best feature is the harness which is pretty much the same as the axiom and can be adjusted to put most of the weight on your hips. Great for the long walks up and downhill for some of my local sites.


I have lost one weight pouch but I'm pretty sure I never got it clicked in correctly as I was feeling rushed in my setup on a boat. Always doublecheck now and never an issue since.

 

[Jack C]

Thank.you

 

[Ankush Mittal]

Not sure if you made a decision yet, but I recently purchased the Axiom without the i3. I love it.

It has enough D Rings to attach accessories, easily reachable.

The natural strap movements especially the waist to tighten it is a breeze and works great even under water. With just one clip and no useless Velcro required it still fits snugly.

The integrated weight system works like a charm, the click is very audible so you know if it the pouches are fully installed or not.

It dries also quite quickly so very happy with that as well.

My only concern is that if you dive with perfectly neutral buoyancy then you want all your air from the BCD out , and when you are horizontal this may be an issue with jacket style BCD as the air doesn't totally escape until either open each dump valve or physically become a little vertical to dump air, but it wasn't the case every time.

The tank lock system is comfortable and easy to use.

I put 2 kilos on each side of the weight pockets, and 1 kilo in the trim pockets around the cylinder and have had some amazing floating dives.

If you have the budget to increase it a bit I would recommend taking a look at the Scuba Pro Hydros Pro BCD as I am thinking of adding that to my collection sometime next year.

 

[Tournesol2000]

This past weekend I went for my open water certification. I was using a rental Axiom and my dive partner the Dragon.
I liked the Axiom but lost a weight pocket! 10lbs in it. I swear I clicked it in place, but it went bye bye. Could not recover it.
The dragon was a problem as it was difficult to orally inflate and was dangerous in my opinion for neewbies to use.
I also found the inflate/deflate process uncomfortable in the dragon as compared to standard layout with hose.
Not a lit if empirical evidence based on 2 days of diving, but I hope this helps.