Wanting to buy my first reg and BCD

[Addicted2H2O]

I'm really bad about it, too, but be careful using the inflator hose dump because you can damage the inflator hose itself. It's a practice I'm become accustomed to that I need to change myself. If I need to dump air I need to start using the butt dump(s). something else I recommend is putting as much of your weight in your trim pockets as possible. I normally take about 10-12 lbs of lead with no wetsuit in fresh water so I put a 4 lb soft weight (hard weights will fit too) in each of the trim pockets on the tank strap and it helps keep me in better trim.

 

[Diver0001]

Hi everyone! What a great idea for a new forum! I am a freshly certified diver and because I'm a gear junkie for anything I do, I neeeeeed my own gear for scuba too. I'm looking at getting the Mares Dragon BCD with the SLS weight pockets for a few reasons. It's in my budget, is the same brand as the other things I already own (mask, fins, snorkel, computer), can be serviced at a LDS near me, and has features I think I want based on the rental gear I used. I am a fluffy person, so I used 16lbs of lead during my OW class, but my instructor wanted me to take out 4lbs and try 12 for my last dive...and we both forgot, so I'm not sure how that would have gone. I have a huge rolling bag just for dive gear, so the space it takes up when traveling is not a big deal. I didn't find a very large number of reviews on it though, so opinions are welcome.

Mares generally makes good gear and the Dragon is a perfectly ok BCD for the most part. My one objection to the Dragon (or any Mares BCD) is the inflator. That particular inflator is one that I have a LOT of experience with as an instructor and I don't like it at all.... not one little tiny bit.

The reason is because of "orally filling" it. The grey mouthpiece will eventually get loose and make orally filling the BCD pretty much impossible. In the context of a scuba course this problem sucks hairy monkey balls but I think it could realistically also be a safety issue if the BCD is poorly maintained and you end up having to orally inflate it in an emergency. .... and no, it's not just the "odd" one that has this problem as they age. It's ALL of them.

For this reason (and this is the ONLY reason) I would not let my daughter buy a Mares BCD. The inflator is a big deal so she bought a Seaquest (I think they are now "Aqualung") because of that. I'm not taking any optional risks with her life and the Mares inflator is an optional risk.

For the rest, there is absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong with the Dragon BCD. Replace the inflator with one that is fit for purpose (an Aqualung or even a Mares one from one of their wings) and this BCD will serve you well for years. The inflator, however, has to go. Order it with a "wing" inflator on it! Insist on it. Don't let them tell you no.

For my first reg, I've been looking at Deep 6 for the past few years, since long before I was certified. My hesitation is that I doubt I could have them serviced locally, and if something went wrong I'd be up the creek without a paddle. But then again, on vacation dives, I'd probably be up the same creek with any brand. I would love to do the service myself at some point, so Deep 6 would be the way to go for that, but I'm sure that's quite a while in the future.

I'm not familiar with this regulator. However, I've had regulators that I couldn't get serviced locally and let me tell you that the pain in the ass this causes is FAR worse than anything you can imagine. I live in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands and when I moved here I had Sherwood regulators. Those are some of the best regulators ever made but getting them (competently) serviced in this country is literally impossible. Attempts that the shop made to have them serviced resulted in the regulators being returned with LITERALLY life threatening mistakes having been made. One of them was returned with a fault that was so bad that even on the surface you couldn't breathe through it..... and the shop just said, "sorry, but we have to send them away and this is how we got them back".

I switched to Aqualung and then to Apex after that because I have a choice of a number of competent service centers for those. NEVER underestimate the value of competent local service. If you can't get your regulators serviced locally by a competent technician then buy different regulators. Seriously.

R..

 

[teonchagi]

I'm really bad about it, too, but be careful using the inflator hose dump because you can damage the inflator hose itself. It's a practice I'm become accustomed to that I need to change myself. If I need to dump air I need to start using the butt dump(s). something else I recommend is putting as much of your weight in your trim pockets as possible. I normally take about 10-12 lbs of lead with no wetsuit in fresh water so I put a 4 lb soft weight (hard weights will fit too) in each of the trim pockets on the tank strap and it helps keep me in better trim.

Ooh thanks for that! I'll be careful how I use that then. When I was doing my OW class, my instructor taught me to use the trim pockets on the tank strap so I was happy to see the Brigade came with them. I actually tried that out yesterday in the pool. Loved how comfortable I felt in the water! I just found out I'll be doing my practical portion of the nitrox course this weekend so I have a lot to look forward to. Scuba Park is also doing a scavenger hunt apparently each day this weekend. Cool!

If you can't get your regulators serviced locally by a competent technician then buy different regulators. Seriously

Thanks! I ended up going with a more widely known brand that I can have serviced locally! There are SO many choices it can be overwhelming, but I'm happy with what I picked and hope my near gear serves me well for many years.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

I might have to try and get out there one day this weekend then! I'm itching to dive......

 

[teonchagi]

I'll be there 8am Sunday morning!