older zeagle escape

[halocline]

Hi Scott Zeagle:

I just purchased a used zeagle escape on ebay, and I'm wondering if there's any way I can get a good idea of when it was made. It looks like it's been around awhile, but it appears to be in decent shape. I can't find a serial number on it, but there is no american flag on it, it's all black, and it looks like the only logo on it is a small patch that says zeagle on the right shoulder pad. The inflator is all black, with a stainless (I think) power inflator button. The bladder is removable from it's cover with a zipper across the top, and the material on the wing seems to be almost like a mesh; you can't quite see through it, but almost. It also seems as if the inner bladder might be a little large for the cover, as when it's inflated, there are some wrinkles in the bladder you can see through the wing cover. The wing attaches to the harness with 2 little quick release fasteners down near the bottom, once of each side. (And, of course, it's threaded through the harness) There's one dump valve on the lower left; only that and the power inflator pull dump. I don't have a digital camera, unfortunately, so i can't post a photo. Any chance of finding out how old this BC is?

I was about to buy a new scout when this came up on ebay, and the price was very reasonable, so I took a chance on it. Your reputation for building long lasting products was a factor in this purchase. If you can give me any info, or point me to a feature or number that might help ID it, that would be great!

Thanks, Matt

 

[GDI]

Hi Scott Zeagle:

I just purchased a used zeagle escape on ebay, and I'm wondering if there's any way I can get a good idea of when it was made. It looks like it's been around awhile, but it appears to be in decent shape. I can't find a serial number on it, but there is no american flag on it, it's all black, and it looks like the only logo on it is a small patch that says zeagle on the right shoulder pad. The inflator is all black, with a stainless (I think) power inflator button. The bladder is removable from it's cover with a zipper across the top, and the material on the wing seems to be almost like a mesh; you can't quite see through it, but almost. It also seems as if the inner bladder might be a little large for the cover, as when it's inflated, there are some wrinkles in the bladder you can see through the wing cover. The wing attaches to the harness with 2 little quick release fasteners down near the bottom, once of each side. (And, of course, it's threaded through the harness) There's one dump valve on the lower left; only that and the power inflator pull dump. I don't have a digital camera, unfortunately, so i can't post a photo. Any chance of finding out how old this BC is?

I was about to buy a new scout when this came up on ebay, and the price was very reasonable, so I took a chance on it. Your reputation for building long lasting products was a factor in this purchase. If you can give me any info, or point me to a feature or number that might help ID it, that would be great!

Thanks, Matt

Do you have the ebay page url that it was on. It doesn't sound like you have an escape?

 

[Chad Carney]

It's definitely not an Escape, they are bladderless. Zeagle made many models with inner bladders and the elastic material covers you described.

We'll need a photo to tell you more, but if it works well, that's all that counts.

Chad

 

[ScottZeagle]

Matt,

Can you post a link to the ebay auction?

If I was to venture a guess, I would say it is maybe an old Concept BC, but it isn't an Escape...

I hope you understand that it is very hard to try and identify over 20 years worth of BCs by description alone!!!

Like Chad said, if it works for you and you got a good price, it will probably be fine.

Scott

 

[halocline]

Try this for the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7145713640&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

I'll also try to capture a photo from the auction page and post it here; never tried this before, but maybe it'll work.

Thanks, Matt

 

[ScottZeagle]

Well, the good news is I can identify it. The bad news is, it ain't an Escape!!

It is, in fact, an older style Concept BC. Judging from the pictures, this one is from around 1993.

Scott

 

[halocline]

PM sent, thanks!

 

[DiveMaven]

Well, the good news is I can identify it. The bad news is, it ain't an Escape!!

It is, in fact, an older style Concept BC. Judging from the pictures, this one is from around 1993.

Scott

Scott,

What IS the effective life of a BC? Assuming it is well cared for and not damaged, how many years is realistic to use it before looking to buy a new one?

 

[ScottZeagle]

Scott,

What IS the effective life of a BC? Assuming it is well cared for and not damaged, how many years is realistic to use it before looking to buy a new one?

Good question, but not an easy one to answer...

We have talked to people at consumer scuba shows who still dive the original Zeagle Alpha BCs that were made in the 80's. These are usually recreational divers who do maybe a handful of dives per year.
Also, we have had people send us back BCs that have 5000+ dives on them with notes that basically say "Thanks for a great BC, I have finally got around to buying a new one and this one doesn't owe me anything. I thought you guys might want to see it."

Depending on proper care, I would guess that a BC should last at least 10 years.
Like a lot of other things, new ideas and new features generally drive people to replace gear before it is worn out, so it is really hard to say...

There are a lot of people on this board who have a lot of dives under their belts, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say!!

Scott

 

[ScubaSarus]

Life depends on care. Use it in saltwater and dont clean it and leave it in the sun in a high heat environment and you might get a year out of it.