dentlfly
Registered
any comments on users of the bcd? is ripcord a good system? tried aqualung zuma but not sold on it.
zeagle stiletto
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Alot of the people I dive with all use the zeagle stilleto. They all love it. Easy to pack, sturdy, only back inflates. Only down side I have seen is some people forgetting the weight pouches. Little harder to improvise with out the mesh bags that hold your weights.
hammet
Contributor
It's a bit heavy for a travel BCD. It was great 10 years ago, but there are better alternatives.
AdivingBel
Diver
I dived a Stiletto for several years, now my wife dives it (I swtched to an ET when she started diving otherwise I would still dive it). Very rugged, dependable rig that dives well. The weight pouches are handy especially if you prefer to hand up weights before boarding a panga/RIB. Small weights might be an issue, but I've dived 3 lbs. and larger w/o pouches with no problems. I've heard some say rethreding the ripcord is a hassle, but I find it easy enough to do after practicing on dry land a couple of times. 
Certainly not the lightest BCD, but we manage to stay under baggage weight with little trouble and I prefer rugged over "travel/lightweight." All IMHO, YMMV.
Certainly not the lightest BCD, but we manage to stay under baggage weight with little trouble and I prefer rugged over "travel/lightweight." All IMHO, YMMV.FettSolo
Contributor
hammet
Contributor
I tried one a 2-3 years ago when I needed something lighter for travel. It seemed heavy at the time and had more lift than I needed for my warm water diving. I was about to order one when I saw promos for the aqualung outlaw which was about to come onto the market and it fit the bill at about 3 pounds less than the stiletto. So that's one possibility. The aqualung rogue is another good one. It has a bit more lift and still weighs only about 5 pounds. The zeagle express tech is also a very good alternative and probably about 2 lbs lighter in my guestimation if you want to stick with that brand. Of course there's always the BP/W option if you want to go that route you can get a soft travel backplate and a harness and be good to go.
Belzelbub
Contributor
I currently dive one, and have for the past 5 years or so. My daughters dive a Lazer and a Zena. The Lazer is pretty much a Stiletto with a cut for females. The Zena is pretty close but has a zip up chest piece, and I think, a slightly different material.
I previously had an Aqualung back-inflate with integrated weight pouches. This time, I wanted to go with the Ripcord system. The Ripcord is a personal preference. Some divers hate it. Most of those that hate it have probably never used it. Without question, it takes longer to re-arm the system than some of the other systems, but it can be re-armed in a matter of a few minutes. It's really not that hard.
The Ripcord system does offer a couple of advantages. First, you can dump both pockets by just pulling the cord with one hand. Other systems require two. Second, there aren't really any false insertions. The system is either threaded or it's not. With some other systems, there have been instances where the weights released as they weren't fully inserted. Third, there are no proprietary pouches. You can buy the Yellow Thingies, but they aren't really required. You can simply drop in any type of weights (soft or hard). I use soft as they are a little more forgiving if you drop them on your toes. The one drawback I've seen is that if you use very little weight, the weight may not release properly. I've only seen this with my daughter (at 10 years old, and tiny) where we just put two 1 lb pockets in just for the exercise.
A couple other things not related to the Ripcord. The Stiletto was designed to be rugged. The Stiletto was designed for Spearfishing. Though the company never actually put that in the brochure, I remember when it was launched and this was was largely the intent. It's rugged. Mine has lots of dives on it and still looks new. The Personal Fit Sizing is great. I needed to swap out the shoulder section for a larger size for the best fit. Apart from BP/Ws, I don't think you'll find another BC that's as adjustable. Also, the garden hose inflator attachment is brilliant. With my old BC, there wasn't really an easy way to clean the inside of the bladder. Holding the inflator open or unscrewing one of the dump valves got the job done, but not quite as easy. With the Zeagles, it's simple. I just unscrew the inflator/Octo and hook up the hose. For salt water, I add some SaltAway, then turn on the hose. I just let it fill up and go out the dump valves. I exercise each valve, then shut off the water and let it drain. I'm certain the interior is definitely cleaner than with my previous BCs.
I previously had an Aqualung back-inflate with integrated weight pouches. This time, I wanted to go with the Ripcord system. The Ripcord is a personal preference. Some divers hate it. Most of those that hate it have probably never used it. Without question, it takes longer to re-arm the system than some of the other systems, but it can be re-armed in a matter of a few minutes. It's really not that hard.
The Ripcord system does offer a couple of advantages. First, you can dump both pockets by just pulling the cord with one hand. Other systems require two. Second, there aren't really any false insertions. The system is either threaded or it's not. With some other systems, there have been instances where the weights released as they weren't fully inserted. Third, there are no proprietary pouches. You can buy the Yellow Thingies, but they aren't really required. You can simply drop in any type of weights (soft or hard). I use soft as they are a little more forgiving if you drop them on your toes. The one drawback I've seen is that if you use very little weight, the weight may not release properly. I've only seen this with my daughter (at 10 years old, and tiny) where we just put two 1 lb pockets in just for the exercise.
A couple other things not related to the Ripcord. The Stiletto was designed to be rugged. The Stiletto was designed for Spearfishing. Though the company never actually put that in the brochure, I remember when it was launched and this was was largely the intent. It's rugged. Mine has lots of dives on it and still looks new. The Personal Fit Sizing is great. I needed to swap out the shoulder section for a larger size for the best fit. Apart from BP/Ws, I don't think you'll find another BC that's as adjustable. Also, the garden hose inflator attachment is brilliant. With my old BC, there wasn't really an easy way to clean the inside of the bladder. Holding the inflator open or unscrewing one of the dump valves got the job done, but not quite as easy. With the Zeagles, it's simple. I just unscrew the inflator/Octo and hook up the hose. For salt water, I add some SaltAway, then turn on the hose. I just let it fill up and go out the dump valves. I exercise each valve, then shut off the water and let it drain. I'm certain the interior is definitely cleaner than with my previous BCs.
Belzelbub
Contributor
Not really. I don't use the mesh bags. Unless you use pencil weights, the weights can just be placed in the weight pocket on the BC. No special pockets needed. Which is another advantage I forgot to mention above. If you dump your weights, you don't need to hunt for a proprietary weight pocket to dive later. Any dive shop will have weights that will work.
I always hear people complain about the time it takes to re-thread the ripcord system. How often have they had to dump weights in reality? Even then, If you have an incident that requires dumping of weights, you probably aren't going to be diving again very soon after and will have plenty of time to re-thread.
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