Aeris Oceans 5 still available at my LDS - buy?

[Austincreek]

Hi all,

My LDS still has a number of Aeris Oceans 5 BCD on clearance, around half price. I understand this is a discontinued model. It fits nice for me.

Does anyone have real use experience with this BCD? I am a beginner diver.

Also I am wondering why the current Aeris lineup does not offer anything to replace the Oceans 5. I'm wondering if there is some drawbacks or cons regarding this particular BC.

thanks... Appreciate all your input.

Pete

 

[victorzamora]

I have no experience with that BCD. I can tell you that Aeris makes good stuff. From a quality/reliability standpoint, you practically can't go wrong with AUP (parent company of Aeris/Oceanic/Hollis/Lavacore/etc) products. I'm also not sure why they aren't replacing it, but I do have a theory. It seems to me like the Oceans 5 is somewhere between a full-bulk jacket and a low-bulk back inflate. I feel like people are migrating towards three areas:

1) Full-bulk jacket, because that's what most people were trained in
2) Very minimalist back-inflate jacket. Some of the benefits of a Backplate/wing, some of the creature comforts of a jacket
3) Backplate/wing

It seems to me like this BCD is a bulkier back-inflate than what many are moving towards in terms of preferences. There's nothing wrong with it, as far as I can tell. However, I'd point you in two directions to research before you decide.

1) Aeris EX Lite. My wife has one. We picked it up brand new from a retailer for like $180. It's an unbeatable deal. It fits into Area 2 from my list above. It's great, stable, packs well, and looks good. My only problems with it are that it come with a single cam band, which makes slipping much more common. Also, it has no crotch strap. My wife hated the idea of a crotch strap....until I showed her mine. We've added a 1" crotch strap to her Ex Lite. She loves it, and won't give it up for a brand new BPW I built for her.

2) Backplate/wing. It takes a little more knowledge than just buying a jacket in terms of what to purchase (many combinations) and how to assemble it (about 30 minutes), and it looks "techy" and "scary" to a lot of newer divers. However, with a little help from Youtube and this Scubaboard (or a good seller) you'll be up and running in NO time. It adds a lot of flexibility to what you can do with your bcd. It seems more stable to me. It's much more minimalistic than other BCDs, which is really liberating. The clutter on jackets now irks me beyond belief. I'm not saying you have to get one, I'm not saying it's the best choice for everyone.....but it's something I think all new divers should look in to. There are plenty of threads already as-is.

One more thing to mention: I know it doesn't seem like it, but the couple hundred bucks it'll change won't really make a huge difference in your overall scuba spending, especially once you start buying gear. Don't misunderstand, I don't see anything wrong with the BCD you're looking at....I just thought I'd post a couple of opinions in general. If you end up getting it, I'm sure you'll love it. Dive it until you get a better understanding of what you want, and then determine what to do. You might have stumbled in to the perfect one for you first try....you might find a couple things you'd like changed after another hundred dives or so. Decisions on scuba equipment really start coming together once you've made a bunch of dives in the same gear configuration.

 

[Austincreek]

Victor,

Thank you for your input and for sharing your experience. I think diving style and personal preference play significant role in the gears that fit each one of us. What I want to avoid is to get a BC that is known to have specific problem, or has certain characteristics that many people do not like.

Based on extensive search on the web and this board, it seems that this is not the case.

thanks all....

 

[victorzamora]

So you picked the Oceans 5? If so, enjoy it! Sorry I didn't have any first-hand experience with it.

 

[Colliam7]

Also I am wondering why the current Aeris lineup does not offer anything to replace the Oceans 5. I'm wondering if there is some drawbacks or cons regarding this particular BC.

This is a perfectly functional BCD for a newer / beginner diver. It is not a unit I would use or recommend, but are no significant drawbacks to it.

Features that make it attractive to some divers:

1. It is a back-inflation BCD.
2. It has two cam bands to secure the cylinder rather than one.

Features that make it unattractive to some divers:

1. It has 40 lbs of lift - substantially more than is needed for single cylinder diving.
2. It has a considerable amount of (unnecessary) padding, which adds to the diver's weight requirement.


Features that make it attractive to some divers, and unattractive to others:

1. It is a weight-integrated BCD. Some like that, others (myself included) don't.
2. It has big pockets, but not much in the way of D-rings, for securing gear such as loiughts in an easily accessible, and re-stowable location.
3. It does not have a cumberbund, only a waist strap. Those divers who are used to, and feel the need for, a cumberbund, probably see this as a disadvantage. The waist strap alone should be more than sufficient.

This was a well-regarded BCD when it was introduced, but that was 5 years ago. The industry has moved on since then, to more streamlined gear, which is part of the reason you probably won't find a similar replacement in the Aeris line. The list / MSRP was ~$550. Some online vendors are still trying to dump their remaining stock (there isn't much of a market for it anymore) for ~$325. But, you can find a number of new units on eBay for ~$200. If your 'around half price' comment means you can get it - LOCALLY -for $200, or less, it is not a bad buy. Anything more and you are probably overpaying.

 

[Austincreek]

Victor, I have not bought this. I typically do not buy close out or discontinued items, as I tend to go for state of the art. But, since this is my very first purchase of BC, I thought this may be a way to take that first step.

However, some others have suggested to go directly with what would be best in the long term (for example, a co-worker suggested Aqualung Dimension i3, which he likes).

I tend to research and analyze a lot before purchasing, but may be overdoing it at times. The i3 system, for example, worries me because that's not mainstream and I have the feeling that it will never be.


Colliam7, I appreciate very much your analysis. Very good point with the industry trend shift over the years.


I will visit my local Aqualung dealer and look at the Dimension or maybe even the Axiom first hand. The research continues...


Pete

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If you're looking for state of the art a BPW fits the bill. It is damn near infinitely customizable, is fitted to you, doesn't have any unnecessary junk on it unless the diver puts it on there, will last you many years, will grow with you, and is a Bc that even if the wing wears out in 15 years or so you can still hand it down to your kids or grandkids. The plate never wears out. You could buy a new or used wing later of a different size and effectively have two BC's for different conditions, exposure suit, and tank size. And if the harness webbing would wear out you just replace the webbing for under $15.00. The hardware you re-use. And it holds it'd value. A jacket BC in 5 years you might get 20-25 % of what you paid. A BPW easy 50-75 %. Buy a steel plate for $100.00 bucks now and in ten years you could still get 75 for it.

Or just say screw it and go Sidemount.

 

[Colliam7]

Pete,

Glad to hear you are continuing to do some research - don't worry about overdoing it. Too much is always better than too little.

A few additional thoughts:

(for example, a co-worker suggested Aqualung Dimension i3, which he likes). . . . The i3 system, for example, worries me because that's not mainstream and I have the feeling that it will never be.

The i3 system is one of the latest 'gimmicks' in scuba equipment, and a number of users like it. It may not become mainstream, simply because there are enough divers out there who actually want to learn how to competently manage their buoyancy / trim, beyond manipulating a lever. Jim Lapenta makes some very good points and I encourage you to seriously consider his comments.

Personally, I would defer a purchase until I had a chance to try some different systems. Just a thought.

 

[victorzamora]

I thought this may be a way to take that first step.

It would be. If you got it REALLY cheap, it would be a way of determining whether or not it was worth it to own your own gear. I, however, probably wouldn't buy new for that purpose.

However, some others have suggested to go directly with what would be best in the long term (for example, a co-worker suggested Aqualung Dimension i3, which he likes). The i3 system, for example, worries me because that's not mainstream and I have the feeling that it will never be.

Yeah, few people like the i3. I'm a huge detractor of it. I really dislike the i3 for a variety of reasons. Good call there.

I tend to research and analyze a lot before purchasing, but may be overdoing it at times.

I do, too. However, over-researching is better (imho) than under-researching and buying the wrong thing.

As for Jim's comments, it's a really good point to consider....resale value.

 

[Token]

I have an Aeris 5Oceans BCD and have come to like it a lot. It's _relatively_ light, top quality, and fairly minimalist. At first I disliked it a bit because it had only a drop-down pocket and a seemingly too-short inflator hose. However with some use I learned to turn my body to make the inflator work better, and I put a pocket on my wetsuit...so that's all good. I've done about 40 dives with mine and can't think of any reason to trade it off for something else. I'll be diving it in Hawaii in a couple of weeks...yay!

If you like the fit [a crucial consideration, IMHO] and can get one at a good price [around $200?], I would suggest going ahead with the purchase. Investigate your options, of course, but for a beginner recreational diver, I think it would be a good choice...and you'll have money left to spend on something else.