I picked up the xDEEP Ghost about a year ago. At that time, I had just got xDEEP's Stealth 2.0 for sidemount, and although I didn't know much about sidemount (and still don't, really) at the time, I was impressed by the sleek, minimal, design. At the same time, I was in a transition away from a traditional BCD for recreational diving, and toward a BP/W. So the Ghost appealed to me at the time.
However, it would be about another year before I actually got a chance to try it. (In the meantime, I was either diving sidemount in caves, or diving in Lake Michigan with xDEEP's Zeos, a for-real BP/W.) I gave it an initial try in December, diving Akumal Bay, and a more thorough evaluation over the past week diving the North and South Sounds of Grand Cayman.
There isn't a lot of feedback about the Ghost, even on SB, so I decided to share my thoughts, both positive and negative.
The Ghost is... unusual. It's not a traditional BCD, nor is it quite a BP/W. It's designed to be very light and clearly aimed at travellers. Let's call it a semi-Hogarthian recreational travel BP/W. I won't bother with a full description of its nature, which you can find easily enough on xdeep.eu. But it does have a handful of unusual features, which I will touch on below.
First, the positives, which are all fundamental. The Ghost is light, as you can see from the stats, and it packs very flat (and would be even flatter if you took off the tank bands). It's also sleek and minimalthere's not a lot of clutter, and with the exception of one thing that I'll get to below, what's there is there for a purpose. And because it's minimal, it's streamlined. There's not a lot of material to create drag. And the wing, although it seems floppy, hugs the tank when you're in trim, and doesn't flap around. The Ghost is quite comfortable, too. Once I adjusted it to fit, it was snug but not at all restrictive. Finally, it looks totally sweet. I know that doesn't matter to all divers, and scoff if you must, but all else equal, I'd rather dive with a little style.
The Ghost has some design elements that are (as far as I know) unique. I expected unique to translate to bad idea, but in truth, I found these to be neutral at worst, and positive at best. The central placement of the inflator hose on the wing is supposed to be a solution to a problem that I don't understand in the first place. I expected it to be a drawback, causing a weird routing of the inflator hose. But in practice, I had no problems with it, and it may very well lead to better and faster distribution of the air in the wing. (Still, I worry that the fact that the inflator hose doesn't route over your head creates some stress on the connection between the inflator hose and the wing.)
The Ghost also has a relatively high waist strap compared to a standard BP/W, a fact which was remarked upon (usually negatively) by many commenters here when the Ghost was released. Again, I expected this to be weird, but it didn't feel especially high in practice. And last, the Ghost has a crotch strap that sort of splits to secure to two points on the backplate (it's still a single piece of webbing). I suspect this design decision was at least partly driven by the need to create a stable attachment to the very minimal backplate, but it's sold as providing an increase in stability. After 16 dives, I'll accept that. I'm not sure it's more stable than a standard BP/W, but it might be, and in any case it's better than a traditional BCD.
Now, on to the points that are neither here nor there, which constitute half the marketing material. It's easy to get on and off, but for me, at least, it's not any easier to get on and off than a traditional BCD or a BP/W used in the same circumstances. I have a better-than-average range of motion, though, so your milage may vary. It doesn't prevent the problem of hitting your head on the first stage because I have never had that problem in the first place. The tank adapter with easy camband adjustment is, as far as I can tell, marketing-speak for... a single-tank adapter, on which it is always easy to adjust the cambands. And I don't understand the claim about reducing dead space, and I probably wouldn't have any way to evaluate the claim even if I did understand it. But everyone knows you have to take marketing material with a few grains of salt.
Finally, the few negatives. I'll start with the minor things that can be easily fixed, and end with the one thing I actively dislike. First, if you order with the deluxe harness, it comes with padding (which is fine for me) but also quick-release buckles that are totally unnecessary and, of course, potential failure points. (FWIW, I think that you can order it with a simple harness, which should be a single piece of webbing, but then you get no padding.) Although it was a bit of work, I simply replaced all of that with a single piece of webbing, making the Ghost a little more like a standard BP/W in the process. Second, the Ghost is a little light on D-rings (two chest, one hip). Maybe rec divers don't need as many, but I really missed the rear D-ring that you'd ordinarily have on a normal crotch strap, which is handy for sticking a DSMB out of the way. This was easily fixed, too, though. The crotch strap has triglides in the back for adjustment, and it's easy enough to stick D-rings thereso with a little work, you get two D-rings in back, perfect for a DSMB on one side and a spool on the other.
The big negative for me is the optional weight pockets. Weights go into a zippered pocket, which is then held within the fixed pocket of the integrated weight system by threading a bit of webbing through the handle on the zippered pocket and then securing it with a Fastex quick-release clip. A three-pound weight can and often does easily slip through the gap between that bit of webbing and the pocket. This happened to me four or five times in 16 dives, usually in the process of moving the Ghost around from tank to tank, and fixed before I got in the water, but it happened once during a dive. Given how the retaining Fastex clip goes through the handle of the zippered weight pocket, you don't actually lose the weights, so this isn't truly a safety concern, but they do dangle there, and it's annoying to have to shove them back in. Furthermore, the hip D-ring on the Ghost (for clipping off your SPG) is integral with the left weigh pocket, but it's simply too far back, and can't be adjusted. When I'd first got the Ghost, I had actually removed the weight pockets and installed a hip D-ring directly onto the webbing. I did two dives and thought it was perfect. Later I decided I'd been too hasty and re-installed the weight pockets. I should have trusted my first instinct. Clipping off the SPG is just more difficult than it has to be. Finally, I worry that the way these pockets are designed, it would be a little too involved to drop weights in an emergency. It can't be done in one simple motionyou have to undo the clips, then unthread them through the handles on the zippered pockets. If I'm drowning at the surface, I don't want to be screwing around with that.
In summary, do I like it? Yes. As it comes, it's still an improvement on a BCD, because it's more like a BP/W. And the more I modify it to be more like a BP/W, the better it is. I'll probably keep it around for rec diving trips, and use a weight belt.
Would I buy it again though? Probably not. Because, in the end, you might as well just buy a BP/W. The Ghost isn't cheap. Even if you don't mind paying for higher-end products like xDEEP or, say, Halcyon, you can get a BP/W like the Zeos for the same price, and of course you can get a BP/W for much cheaper. Furthermore, having hefted the Ghost and the Zeos (with aluminum backplate) in each hand, I don't even think the Ghost is that much lighter. I guess you'd have a better chance getting it in a carry-on, but I check my gear bag anyway.
Should you buy it? I don't know. But if you do, ditch the weight pockets.
My two cents, for what it's worth. (Which is two cents, I guess.)
However, it would be about another year before I actually got a chance to try it. (In the meantime, I was either diving sidemount in caves, or diving in Lake Michigan with xDEEP's Zeos, a for-real BP/W.) I gave it an initial try in December, diving Akumal Bay, and a more thorough evaluation over the past week diving the North and South Sounds of Grand Cayman.
There isn't a lot of feedback about the Ghost, even on SB, so I decided to share my thoughts, both positive and negative.
The Ghost is... unusual. It's not a traditional BCD, nor is it quite a BP/W. It's designed to be very light and clearly aimed at travellers. Let's call it a semi-Hogarthian recreational travel BP/W. I won't bother with a full description of its nature, which you can find easily enough on xdeep.eu. But it does have a handful of unusual features, which I will touch on below.
First, the positives, which are all fundamental. The Ghost is light, as you can see from the stats, and it packs very flat (and would be even flatter if you took off the tank bands). It's also sleek and minimalthere's not a lot of clutter, and with the exception of one thing that I'll get to below, what's there is there for a purpose. And because it's minimal, it's streamlined. There's not a lot of material to create drag. And the wing, although it seems floppy, hugs the tank when you're in trim, and doesn't flap around. The Ghost is quite comfortable, too. Once I adjusted it to fit, it was snug but not at all restrictive. Finally, it looks totally sweet. I know that doesn't matter to all divers, and scoff if you must, but all else equal, I'd rather dive with a little style.
The Ghost has some design elements that are (as far as I know) unique. I expected unique to translate to bad idea, but in truth, I found these to be neutral at worst, and positive at best. The central placement of the inflator hose on the wing is supposed to be a solution to a problem that I don't understand in the first place. I expected it to be a drawback, causing a weird routing of the inflator hose. But in practice, I had no problems with it, and it may very well lead to better and faster distribution of the air in the wing. (Still, I worry that the fact that the inflator hose doesn't route over your head creates some stress on the connection between the inflator hose and the wing.)
The Ghost also has a relatively high waist strap compared to a standard BP/W, a fact which was remarked upon (usually negatively) by many commenters here when the Ghost was released. Again, I expected this to be weird, but it didn't feel especially high in practice. And last, the Ghost has a crotch strap that sort of splits to secure to two points on the backplate (it's still a single piece of webbing). I suspect this design decision was at least partly driven by the need to create a stable attachment to the very minimal backplate, but it's sold as providing an increase in stability. After 16 dives, I'll accept that. I'm not sure it's more stable than a standard BP/W, but it might be, and in any case it's better than a traditional BCD.
Now, on to the points that are neither here nor there, which constitute half the marketing material. It's easy to get on and off, but for me, at least, it's not any easier to get on and off than a traditional BCD or a BP/W used in the same circumstances. I have a better-than-average range of motion, though, so your milage may vary. It doesn't prevent the problem of hitting your head on the first stage because I have never had that problem in the first place. The tank adapter with easy camband adjustment is, as far as I can tell, marketing-speak for... a single-tank adapter, on which it is always easy to adjust the cambands. And I don't understand the claim about reducing dead space, and I probably wouldn't have any way to evaluate the claim even if I did understand it. But everyone knows you have to take marketing material with a few grains of salt.
Finally, the few negatives. I'll start with the minor things that can be easily fixed, and end with the one thing I actively dislike. First, if you order with the deluxe harness, it comes with padding (which is fine for me) but also quick-release buckles that are totally unnecessary and, of course, potential failure points. (FWIW, I think that you can order it with a simple harness, which should be a single piece of webbing, but then you get no padding.) Although it was a bit of work, I simply replaced all of that with a single piece of webbing, making the Ghost a little more like a standard BP/W in the process. Second, the Ghost is a little light on D-rings (two chest, one hip). Maybe rec divers don't need as many, but I really missed the rear D-ring that you'd ordinarily have on a normal crotch strap, which is handy for sticking a DSMB out of the way. This was easily fixed, too, though. The crotch strap has triglides in the back for adjustment, and it's easy enough to stick D-rings thereso with a little work, you get two D-rings in back, perfect for a DSMB on one side and a spool on the other.
The big negative for me is the optional weight pockets. Weights go into a zippered pocket, which is then held within the fixed pocket of the integrated weight system by threading a bit of webbing through the handle on the zippered pocket and then securing it with a Fastex quick-release clip. A three-pound weight can and often does easily slip through the gap between that bit of webbing and the pocket. This happened to me four or five times in 16 dives, usually in the process of moving the Ghost around from tank to tank, and fixed before I got in the water, but it happened once during a dive. Given how the retaining Fastex clip goes through the handle of the zippered weight pocket, you don't actually lose the weights, so this isn't truly a safety concern, but they do dangle there, and it's annoying to have to shove them back in. Furthermore, the hip D-ring on the Ghost (for clipping off your SPG) is integral with the left weigh pocket, but it's simply too far back, and can't be adjusted. When I'd first got the Ghost, I had actually removed the weight pockets and installed a hip D-ring directly onto the webbing. I did two dives and thought it was perfect. Later I decided I'd been too hasty and re-installed the weight pockets. I should have trusted my first instinct. Clipping off the SPG is just more difficult than it has to be. Finally, I worry that the way these pockets are designed, it would be a little too involved to drop weights in an emergency. It can't be done in one simple motionyou have to undo the clips, then unthread them through the handles on the zippered pockets. If I'm drowning at the surface, I don't want to be screwing around with that.
In summary, do I like it? Yes. As it comes, it's still an improvement on a BCD, because it's more like a BP/W. And the more I modify it to be more like a BP/W, the better it is. I'll probably keep it around for rec diving trips, and use a weight belt.
Would I buy it again though? Probably not. Because, in the end, you might as well just buy a BP/W. The Ghost isn't cheap. Even if you don't mind paying for higher-end products like xDEEP or, say, Halcyon, you can get a BP/W like the Zeos for the same price, and of course you can get a BP/W for much cheaper. Furthermore, having hefted the Ghost and the Zeos (with aluminum backplate) in each hand, I don't even think the Ghost is that much lighter. I guess you'd have a better chance getting it in a carry-on, but I check my gear bag anyway.
Should you buy it? I don't know. But if you do, ditch the weight pockets.
My two cents, for what it's worth. (Which is two cents, I guess.)
