I've been diving with an Aqualung Rogue for about a year now and have more than one hundred dives on it. I purchased it new, with the integrated weights on the waist belt rather than at the shoulders. That is an option on the Rogue and unfortunately that is where the issue is. I should mention, I love diving with the Rogue, the fit as-purchased is perfect and it is very minimalist. After 100 dives it still looks like new.
The issue I have been having since purchase is that the waist belt parts fall off of the BCD frame at random times. The Rogue is assembled from multiple parts (shoulder straps, waist belts, bladder, etc), each available in multiple sizes, and they snap together to form the complete BCD. The waist belt snaps use a single snap point that is able to rotate freely. For the basic Rogue, those points are sufficient to keep the waist belt intact. Weights on the basic Rogue attach via double, non-rotatable snaps on the BCD body. That difference -- between single snaps and double snaps -- is the key issue. When weight is added to the weight belt, as it is on my Rogue, the single snaps are simply not sufficient to keep the weight belt components attached to the BCD frame. I have had each of my waist belt halves fall off multiple times, including once when in the water during a Rescue Diver course. This is a major shock of course as at that point the waist belt half -- with weights -- is not attached to anything else. Snapping it back to the frame is not trivial either, as it needs to be aligned just right and of course one wants to verify it is "good" before continuing.
This is not a particularly dangerous issue as there is almost zero chance of losing weights while diving. Once the waist belt is on the user, the stress on the snaps is greatly reduced and unsnapping is very unlikely. Also, at that point the waist belt halves are joined in the center, so if one side did come unsnapped, it would still be captive at the center. Unsnapping tends to happen when the BCD is being put on, as it is lifted the waist belts hang down, stress is high on the snaps, and sometimes one gives. The biggest risks are loss of the belt half in the deep, or dropping a weighted half on one's foot.
I reached out to AL when I first noticed this issue. They suggested I have my LDS check things out, which I did. I actually bought the Rogue as my instructor at the time was using one, so my LDS knows it well. Anyway they checked it out and found nothing unusual. Since this has continued over time, I have continued to talk to AL, however they have pretty much ignored my questions. I received one note along the lines of "our expert will contact you", but I never heard from that person and my follow-ups were ignored.
I am planning to rectify this by moving my weights to the 2-snap shoulder-area pocket locations. I don't like that location as much but the double snaps should be much more robust. This will cost me an extra $90 though as I opted for the waist belt weights at purchase. I did ask AL to comp these, but again, no response.
This experience has soured me a bit on both AL as a company and also the "support the LDS" movement. I purchase my entire kit at my LDS, and all of it is AL-brand. This issue started right after purchase and the support has been non-existent. There are not many reviews of the Rogue so undoubtedly this one will come up in future searches. Although I love using my Rogue I would not recommend it, in fact I would struggle to recommend AL at all. Someone mentioned in another thread that AL had taken some VC funding. In my opinion VC money generally means the death of a brand. Hopefully that won't be the case with AL.
The issue I have been having since purchase is that the waist belt parts fall off of the BCD frame at random times. The Rogue is assembled from multiple parts (shoulder straps, waist belts, bladder, etc), each available in multiple sizes, and they snap together to form the complete BCD. The waist belt snaps use a single snap point that is able to rotate freely. For the basic Rogue, those points are sufficient to keep the waist belt intact. Weights on the basic Rogue attach via double, non-rotatable snaps on the BCD body. That difference -- between single snaps and double snaps -- is the key issue. When weight is added to the weight belt, as it is on my Rogue, the single snaps are simply not sufficient to keep the weight belt components attached to the BCD frame. I have had each of my waist belt halves fall off multiple times, including once when in the water during a Rescue Diver course. This is a major shock of course as at that point the waist belt half -- with weights -- is not attached to anything else. Snapping it back to the frame is not trivial either, as it needs to be aligned just right and of course one wants to verify it is "good" before continuing.
This is not a particularly dangerous issue as there is almost zero chance of losing weights while diving. Once the waist belt is on the user, the stress on the snaps is greatly reduced and unsnapping is very unlikely. Also, at that point the waist belt halves are joined in the center, so if one side did come unsnapped, it would still be captive at the center. Unsnapping tends to happen when the BCD is being put on, as it is lifted the waist belts hang down, stress is high on the snaps, and sometimes one gives. The biggest risks are loss of the belt half in the deep, or dropping a weighted half on one's foot.
I reached out to AL when I first noticed this issue. They suggested I have my LDS check things out, which I did. I actually bought the Rogue as my instructor at the time was using one, so my LDS knows it well. Anyway they checked it out and found nothing unusual. Since this has continued over time, I have continued to talk to AL, however they have pretty much ignored my questions. I received one note along the lines of "our expert will contact you", but I never heard from that person and my follow-ups were ignored.
I am planning to rectify this by moving my weights to the 2-snap shoulder-area pocket locations. I don't like that location as much but the double snaps should be much more robust. This will cost me an extra $90 though as I opted for the waist belt weights at purchase. I did ask AL to comp these, but again, no response.
This experience has soured me a bit on both AL as a company and also the "support the LDS" movement. I purchase my entire kit at my LDS, and all of it is AL-brand. This issue started right after purchase and the support has been non-existent. There are not many reviews of the Rogue so undoubtedly this one will come up in future searches. Although I love using my Rogue I would not recommend it, in fact I would struggle to recommend AL at all. Someone mentioned in another thread that AL had taken some VC funding. In my opinion VC money generally means the death of a brand. Hopefully that won't be the case with AL.
