Anyone Own The Zeagle Tech Pac BC:
- Thread starter Norm
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Scubadawg
Contributor
A buddy of mine has the 911 Tech BC, he says swears up and down about it and its comfortability, he says wont go back to a jacket style after using this BC
Just ignore this if you're already dead set on getting the Tech Pac.
I have a Zeagle Tech, and used it for the first time this past Friday. The tech pac has some similarities and some differences with the tech. There is not weight integration on the tech pac. I'll go ahead and report on my experience here, even though it may be somewhat OT since I dived the Zeagle Tech.
About the only time you'll catch me doing a grotto dive is if it's for a class, or to test new gear. 99% of my water time is underwater hunting. I went with the tech over the Ranger because I am interested in doing some doubles diving when hunting in deep stuff, say over 110 fsw. I
On Friday, the plan was to do a dive with a single 100HP, and then put on the twin HP80s, usin gthe optional Zeagle BP that can be used with the tech.
As for the single, I thought the BC was great. There are large rocks in Blue Grotto that are similar to the typical Gulfcoast hunting environment, complete with ledges, overhangs, cracks, etc. The plan was to simulate the type of dive moves I would make on a hunt, such as swimming along on top of the ledge, swimming at the bottom, inverting myself completely to make a shot under the ledge, etc. I found this BC to be far superior to any that I have owned. Trim was excellent once I got the tank where it needed to be, and the layout of the tech works very well for my application with the pockets and the added d-rings. Also, I noticed something interesting, for a back inflate, it does not push your forward at all when your on top of the water. Not sure why, but you stay nice and verticle. This is a big plus for me in that we use a live boat method in the Gulf, and sometimes you have to stay on the surface for several minutes waiting for the mother ship to come get you.
Now, on to the doubles. Everything swithed out easily enough. The optional backplate was used, and everything felt good. Of note, the crotch straps were not used because LDS did not have the optional buckles in stock, but it still felt very secure. However, in the water, in all honesty, everything felt very loose and was shifting around. Now, part of the problem was that the weight distribution was all screwed-up, and I was very heavy towards the head.. Anyway, it was pretty ugly in the water. The doubles were shifting all over my back, and I was turtleing, and going from side to side, having difficulty trimming out. A small adjusment was made, and I went back in, and be the end of the day I was swimming around with them. This is not an indictment of the Tech. Keep in mind it was my first time with doubles on, so there is probably some issues there of just having to get used to them. Furthermore, the instructor who was with me had on a tech and was perfectly fine with doubles, so it may very well have been "user error."
In summary, even if the doubles thing does not work out for me, it was worth every penny for the BC using int for singles. I'd be very interested in trying a Halcyon, FredT or Dive Rite BP with the doubles to see if it makes a difference.
About the only time you'll catch me doing a grotto dive is if it's for a class, or to test new gear. 99% of my water time is underwater hunting. I went with the tech over the Ranger because I am interested in doing some doubles diving when hunting in deep stuff, say over 110 fsw. I
On Friday, the plan was to do a dive with a single 100HP, and then put on the twin HP80s, usin gthe optional Zeagle BP that can be used with the tech.
As for the single, I thought the BC was great. There are large rocks in Blue Grotto that are similar to the typical Gulfcoast hunting environment, complete with ledges, overhangs, cracks, etc. The plan was to simulate the type of dive moves I would make on a hunt, such as swimming along on top of the ledge, swimming at the bottom, inverting myself completely to make a shot under the ledge, etc. I found this BC to be far superior to any that I have owned. Trim was excellent once I got the tank where it needed to be, and the layout of the tech works very well for my application with the pockets and the added d-rings. Also, I noticed something interesting, for a back inflate, it does not push your forward at all when your on top of the water. Not sure why, but you stay nice and verticle. This is a big plus for me in that we use a live boat method in the Gulf, and sometimes you have to stay on the surface for several minutes waiting for the mother ship to come get you.
Now, on to the doubles. Everything swithed out easily enough. The optional backplate was used, and everything felt good. Of note, the crotch straps were not used because LDS did not have the optional buckles in stock, but it still felt very secure. However, in the water, in all honesty, everything felt very loose and was shifting around. Now, part of the problem was that the weight distribution was all screwed-up, and I was very heavy towards the head.. Anyway, it was pretty ugly in the water. The doubles were shifting all over my back, and I was turtleing, and going from side to side, having difficulty trimming out. A small adjusment was made, and I went back in, and be the end of the day I was swimming around with them. This is not an indictment of the Tech. Keep in mind it was my first time with doubles on, so there is probably some issues there of just having to get used to them. Furthermore, the instructor who was with me had on a tech and was perfectly fine with doubles, so it may very well have been "user error."
In summary, even if the doubles thing does not work out for me, it was worth every penny for the BC using int for singles. I'd be very interested in trying a Halcyon, FredT or Dive Rite BP with the doubles to see if it makes a difference.
Thank you for the very thorough review! I plan to use it for single tanks, as well as my doubles, (just like you reported). I know from my own experience that it usually takes awhile to get a new set of doubles and BC trimmed-out the way that fits "you" best. I appreciate your time.
Norm
Norm
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