Sea Louse
Registered
Hey Gene and Scott,
Just wanted to check back in.
Dove the regs/BC this weekend up in Cape Ann. Got in 2 boat dives, and 2 shore dives.
Reg breathed super easy and very dry in practically every position. Really effortless, so much in fact that I tuned it a bit tighter. Don't know how they do at depth, only went to ~50 ft.
Stiletto fit like a glove after adjusting cummerbund one notch out (was diving 7+7 farmer john). On the surface it was just as good as a vest (no face-planting at all), and underwater the BC Trimmed out perfectly with no back weights (probably the steel tank). It was really easy to assume vertical and horizontal hovers or any angle in between. Vest BCs tend to squeeze me (a problem if I've eaten recently), but no prob with the back-inflate. It felt really open, really comfortable and super-streamlined. Actually, I was amazed at how streamlined I felt... a few flicks of the fins and I was cruising like a torpedo. Build quality was bomb-proof as expected. It made the rentals I had dived on feel like toys.
Overall very pleased.
I have just ONE issue with the BC. It may just take me a while to get used to it, but maybe you have a suggestion.
Head to foot trim control was great, but horizontal "keel" control was a little bit trickier. When I tried to stay on my side, the bc seemed to want to flip me face up. It was stable face down, but if I rotated too far to a side it tried to flip me over. I could compensate for it with a little "shimmy" and altered to counteract it, but there was definitely a small balancing act. I know a few others have mentioned this phenomenon too. I had 0 weight in the trim pockets (though steel hp 80 tank), and 26 lbs in the front two. I think that part of it is just that the most of the weight is distributed on the side of the BC, as opposed to right up front.
I'll do a few more dives this month and see if I get used to it / accept it, but I am thinking about somehow putting a dump-able 5 lb pocket onto the the cummerbund strap to act as a keel. Have you heard of anyone doing something like this?
Just wanted to check back in.
Dove the regs/BC this weekend up in Cape Ann. Got in 2 boat dives, and 2 shore dives.
Reg breathed super easy and very dry in practically every position. Really effortless, so much in fact that I tuned it a bit tighter. Don't know how they do at depth, only went to ~50 ft.
Stiletto fit like a glove after adjusting cummerbund one notch out (was diving 7+7 farmer john). On the surface it was just as good as a vest (no face-planting at all), and underwater the BC Trimmed out perfectly with no back weights (probably the steel tank). It was really easy to assume vertical and horizontal hovers or any angle in between. Vest BCs tend to squeeze me (a problem if I've eaten recently), but no prob with the back-inflate. It felt really open, really comfortable and super-streamlined. Actually, I was amazed at how streamlined I felt... a few flicks of the fins and I was cruising like a torpedo. Build quality was bomb-proof as expected. It made the rentals I had dived on feel like toys.
Overall very pleased.
I have just ONE issue with the BC. It may just take me a while to get used to it, but maybe you have a suggestion.
Head to foot trim control was great, but horizontal "keel" control was a little bit trickier. When I tried to stay on my side, the bc seemed to want to flip me face up. It was stable face down, but if I rotated too far to a side it tried to flip me over. I could compensate for it with a little "shimmy" and altered to counteract it, but there was definitely a small balancing act. I know a few others have mentioned this phenomenon too. I had 0 weight in the trim pockets (though steel hp 80 tank), and 26 lbs in the front two. I think that part of it is just that the most of the weight is distributed on the side of the BC, as opposed to right up front.
I'll do a few more dives this month and see if I get used to it / accept it, but I am thinking about somehow putting a dump-able 5 lb pocket onto the the cummerbund strap to act as a keel. Have you heard of anyone doing something like this?