Seaquest Balance

[Arkman]

I just purchased a used seaquest balance. The original owner says he only dove it once so it should be like new. The photos look good. I'm excited to get it since my current bc...um...shrunk I was diving a seaquest pro qd, I found this balance on ebay and from what I can tell it was a good deal. It was much more of an impulse buy than I'd like but thats ok, it seems to have good reviews.

What do you guys think of this bc? Anything I should look out for?

 

[tstormdiver]

I dive a Balance when teaching in Open Water or traveling. Overall I've been very pleased with it. It's a good, solid back inflate BC. If memory serves me correct the SeaQuest Pro QD is a jacket style BC. In general, the back inflate BC's will hold you better when in a horizontal swimming position. A back inflate BC may take a little practice to get used to it on the surface. While a jacket style BC's tend to hold you more upright, &bladder wraps around you; you can feel the squeeze as you fill it with air. With a back inflate, you may not be able to feel it as much. Because of that, sometimes those with no experience with a back inflate will tend to over inlate the bladder, causing it to want to push you face forward. It needs only to be inflated enough to float at chin level. From there you just lean back against it on the surface, like an easy chair.

 

[wader]

I own a Balance and really like it. Lately I have been considering selling it and getting a BP/W.
As far as what to look for, same as any used bc. Hard to tell with photos. Is it offered with a 7 day return policy if something is funky, or just "as is". Be careful with E Bay, there are some real gems to be found, but also some real crooks too.

How is Fargo these days? My son is going to Concordia and I am originally from Bemidji.

 

[Arkman]

How is Fargo these days? My son is going to Concordia and I am originally from Bemidji.

I moved to fargo in 2001 to go to school at NDSU. I've been here ever since and I can't believe how much its change just in those years. The mall area is so much busier than it used to be. The downtown area is really getting nice. Lots of historical preservation stuff going on which is really great to see (I'm an architect and I love to see those old building get brought back to life). It would be nice if the river would stop giving us near record floods. My wife is a cobber.

 

[Arkman]

This balance comes with the integrated air or whatever its called. I can't remember now. I'm not sure how I feel about it but hopefully it will be ok. I am planning on leaving my octo hooked up so then it shouldn't be a problem. If I don't like it I won't use it. I'm excited to try out the back inflate vs the vest style. Thanks for the tip on not over inflating. I would have never thought of it that way

 

[idocsteve]

I picked up a Seaquest Balance BCD in the off season and have dived with it about 30-40 times including in the North Atlantic, in the Caribbean, as well as a recent weeklong trip to Curacao and a couple of dives in a freshwater lake in Virginia.

I had a rear inflate BCD before, so that was no different to me, I prefer the rear inflate because you don't feel all encumbered by the BCD when it's inflated.

I don't have a problem with it tipping me forward in the water, but lets face it, back inflate BCDs are never going to match Jacket style BCDs as life jackets, that's the compromise you get for greater stability, ease in trim and that "lighter" feeling of not having the BCD jacket wrapped around you.

I'd prefer a pocket on each side not just on the right, and the expandable pocket seems to have a mind of it's own, opening up sometimes and dropping down (although the contents of the pocket are secured by a zipper).

I like it, I expect to get several years of diving out of it before considering anything else.

By "integrated air" I'm going to guess that the previous owner swapped out the inflator mouthpiece with an octopus reg? I like having two less hoses since no hose mounted octo needed, and no console due to having a wireless AI wrist computer. If I could think of a way to breathe comfortably off of the BCD mounted reg I could get down to one hose!

 

[Divernoob]

The Balance is also a very light BCD. I've never had any trouble with the back inflate thing at the surface, and at depth, it is very easy to maintain proper trim. Not sure that's all that important though, since I have little or no air in it at depth anyway, if I'm properly weighted. The integrated weight pouches are easy to use, too.

My only issues with mine are that the zipper broke right after I bought it, and it doesn't dump air very easily. You have to pull both dumps after releasing most of the air via the inflator.

 

[idocsteve]

My only issues with mine are that the zipper broke right after I bought it, and it doesn't dump air very easily. You have to pull both dumps after releasing most of the air via the inflator.

I have noticed that!

I thought it was just me.

 

[Divernoob]

I have noticed that!

I thought it was just me.

I'd be interested to read if others have this issue as well (or do we just need a Balance tutorial?).

 

[idocsteve]

I'd be interested to read if others have this issue as well (or do we just need a Balance tutorial?).

I think we just need to keep twisting and convoluting our bodies so that we're in a vertical left shoulder high position as we squeeze that vent button like obsessed maniacs while we struggle to maintain our depth. If nothing else it gives us the opportunity to flex muscles we never even knew we had.