Zeagle Stiletto Review

[stevetim]

1. My properly fitted and weighted Stiletto never rides up on me.

2. The ripcord is easy to restring with patience and practice(2x max times doing it).

3. My properly fitted and weighted Stiletto hold its place when I roll. Try mixing the weights among all four weight pockets.

4. The construction of the Stiletto is outstanding.

5. My next heavier duty or tech BP/W will definitely be Zeagle.

 

[tangfish]

Pak, yes you are right in assuming I'm using a lot more weight up here in the PNW. I started with 24 lbs and have moved down to about 20. As I wrote before, I think turtling won't be an issue at all in the tropics where I use 6 or 8lbs. The riding up could be a result of body shape. I'm not a beanpole, but I don't have a belly at all to hold it down, maybe I should eat some more pizza and beer? :05:

I think my comments have gotten blown out of proportion a bit. When I say turtling, I don't mean to say it feels as though a 8' giant is pulling me upside down, I just mean that when I rotate to look upwards at my buddy, my tendency is to keep rotating unless I give a little extra kick to right myself. Its not a huge deal, but I noticed it and the guy who sold me the BCD concurred that this is often noticed about Zeagles (I suppose he should know because he gets more feedback on them than I do). Nonetheless, I think its a great BCD, and I hope more people are turned on to it. I'll be posting a followup on it soon since I've had some more dives on it and have some more opinions to share, hopefully next time around they won't be so controversial!

Interesting... Well I have only 21 dives in my Stiletto. I'm curious to know how much weight you use as I haven't noticed any turtling tendencies of this BCD. I've tried 2x2kg front and 2x1kg front and 2x1kg back. Most of those dives were done while doing u/w photography on a week liveaboard trip which involved getting into sideways positions with both hands on the camera and other odd positions to get a decent shot. In fact there were a number of sunburst shots (shooting up at the surface)where I would intentionally turtle myself and never felt like I was just getting flopped onto my back. It was a very fluid movement from horizontal face down to face up, take the shot, and roll back to a face down position. (it does help to get your trim and weights dialed in as I'm dealing with very little air in the wing) Second I've haven't noticed any riding up, in fact that's what I love about the stiletto. Its nice and snug and sits just above my hip (which resuls in absolutely no noticeable tank movement). But then I've got a little beer gut that naturally prevents it from sliding up (maybe too many san miguels and bintangs)... Dunno if it would ride up if you're a beanpole. Another thing is with the stiletto I was able to drop 2kg that I would need in my old Tusa jacket BCD. Only small complaint I have is the pockets are bit on the small side, but then if they were bigger it wouldn't be as streamlined. End result is I've just played around with relocating things on the outside (torches) and cutting a slate down in size to fit inside the pocket. I should note that my rather large 6' SMB fits in the pocket.

Since I've switched to the stiletto, I've seen a dramatic improvement in my buoyancy control - being able to get down low horizontally to the bottom to get a close macro shot, etc. Since I've never tried any other back inflate BCD's, I can't positively says this is 100% attributable to the Stiletto...

Thumbs up for packing a Stiletto for traveling when space is tight and I find it very comfortable lying on my back on the surface with it or doing a backwards surface swim back to the boat.

Edit: just noticed the original reviewer/poster is from the pacific northwest (using a drysuit?) whereas I am doing strictly tropical diving in a 2mm shorty or 3/2mm full wetsuit. Never dove a drysuit but I wonder if that may contribute to a less snug fit around the waist.

 

[pakman]

Pak, yes you are right in assuming I'm using a lot more weight up here in the PNW. I started with 24 lbs and have moved down to about 20. As I wrote before, I think turtling won't be an issue at all in the tropics where I use 6 or 8lbs. The riding up could be a result of body shape. I'm not a beanpole, but I don't have a belly at all to hold it down, maybe I should eat some more pizza and beer? :05:

I think my comments have gotten blown out of proportion a bit. When I say turtling, I don't mean to say it feels as though a 8' giant is pulling me upside down, I just mean that when I rotate to look upwards at my buddy, my tendency is to keep rotating unless I give a little extra kick to right myself. Its not a huge deal, but I noticed it and the guy who sold me the BCD concurred that this is often noticed about Zeagles (I suppose he should know because he gets more feedback on them than I do).

Oops I missed your additional comments there. But I think I can see where you are coming from about the roll. I think it has to do with the horseshoe shape of the air bladder and how the air shifts inside from one side to the other.

 

[gracklemann]

I'm a new-ish diver with a Zeagle Escape, which I believe is very similar to the Stiletto. It definately rides up on me, but I'm quite thin in the waste (5'10, 135lbs).
Are there any tips to try to imrove the 'ride-up' tendency?
I'm negatively buoyant without a wetsuit, and with a 3mil I've been diving 4 lbs in freshwater and 8 in salt. I generally have very little air in the bladder.

I think I've been diving with the tank a little high, so I'm going to see if lowering it will help a bit.

 

[crpntr133]

I'm a new-ish diver with a Zeagle Escape, which I believe is very similar to the Stiletto. It definately rides up on me, but I'm quite thin in the waste (5'10, 135lbs).
Are there any tips to try to imrove the 'ride-up' tendency?
I'm negatively buoyant without a wetsuit, and with a 3mil I've been diving 4 lbs in freshwater and 8 in salt. I generally have very little air in the bladder.

I think I've been diving with the tank a little high, so I'm going to see if lowering it will help a bit.

If you are using a weight belt then the BC is probably going to ride up on the surface unless it is really snug or you use a crotch strap. Might even do this under water. I don't know what Zeagle BC's can have a strap added, other than the Ranger and Brigade.

IMHO, if it is riding up then the BC is probably not fitting you right. Moving the tanks shouldn't make much of a difference, if any.

 

[tangfish]

As long as we're talking about BCDs.....I thought I'd share with you guys a BC that I've had the pleasure of using plenty of times. The SeaQuest Balance. This thing is a terrific piece of gear, and the only reason I ever parted with it was to get some dives in on some other types. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a BCD that packs well and doesn't sacrifice much in doing so.

 

[pitio]

I agree. Sea Quest Balance is great. It has really nice pads which I do not need on my 7mm wet suit. I like Zeagle Brigade much better than Balance. The Rip code weight system is so much better than the ones in Balance that I have accidentaly dropped the weights a couple of times. Zeagle fits much better on my body and has easier adjustability. I really like the weight location of the zeagle BCDs. I used to like Balance, but the money I paid it is not really worth it. Zeagle has far better warranty and support. Sea Quest have good queality, but Zeagles have excellent quality and durability for less money. Some people like having more dump valves on Balance. IMO, all you need is two. If someone is looking for a back floration BCD plus quality and durability, I would difinitely recommand Zeagle to Sea Quest.

Although I love zealge, IMHO, nothing can the beat Back plate and Donut Wing setup.....

 

[tangfish]

I thought I'd update this thread with further thoughts I have on the stiletto after diving it some more. The first post on this thread was an account of my initial impression. I'm keeping the BC for travel to the tropics, since I think it would be quite a good piece of gear when light on the weight.

 

[RonFrank]

I thought I'd update this thread with further thoughts I have on the stiletto after diving it some more. The first post on this thread was an account of my initial impression. I'm keeping the BC for travel to the tropics, since I think it would be quite a good piece of gear when light on the weight.

I now dive the Stiletto. I'm not sure I can take much review advice from someone who can not even figure out how to move the waist belt to a larger setting without having issues.

 

[tangfish]

I now dive the Stiletto. I'm not sure I can take much review advice from someone who can not even figure out how to move the waist belt to a larger setting without having issues.

So, each time a person has an issue with a product it has nothing to do with the product itself? You must not know many people who run Windows

Instead of criticizing my review without much to say in return, why don't you offer us a review of your own? I'm sure we have a lot to learn from you since you "now dive the Stiletto".

I'm not trying to split hairs, but everybody fits a pair of jeans differently. What rubs me the wrong way in one area might fit your bum just right and vice versa, no? :10: