Back inflate or BP/W??

[dhampton82]

I have been wanting to upgrade my vest bcd I am currently using, and have been thinking about a backplate w/wing setup. But I have found a great deal on the Zeagle Tech vest for about $150 slightly used. I am wondering if I should just skip this deal and get the bp/w. Currently the diving I do is recreational but I do want to move to more tech/cave diving by next summer once I get more experience.

I havent heard anything bad about bp/w and the few things I do hear about the Zeagles all seem to be good things.

I guess my question is, if I get the Zeagle now, will I just be wanting to move to the bp/w set up in a year when I start doing tech diving?

Also, this might be better asked in a different thread, but is it possible to put doubles on a zeagle? That is one reason I am thinking more about the bp/w setup.

Thanks in advance,

Dustin

 

[TennInstr]

I don't know anything about the Zeagle, but if you know you are going to be doing tech/cave soon I would go ahead and get a BP/W setup. Even if you dive a single with it for a while it will help to get used to it. I dove a single steel 100 with my Diverite BP/W until I took Tec Deep and went to doubles. The more comfortable you are with it the better. Especially for cave.

 

[shugar]

same advise as above... i went from vest to bp/w... don't regret it at all...

Jag

 

[LobstaMan]

I went from a vest BCD to a Zeagle Tech about two years ago. While I do like it, here are my observations...
1. The pockets are too far back and to the sides to be of much use to put things in other than your weight pouches.
2. Plenty of D rings in the proper locations.
3. Inflator hose is too long.
4. Bladder seems to have water in it after every dive. The more you use the power inflator button, the more water gets in.
5. Very good overall fit, comfort and durability.
5. The negatives above are all fairly minor points and no BCD is perfect. The Tech is a vast improvement over the vest style and is a well-made, quailty product w/ only a few drawbacks. Not meant as a slam to Zeagle or the Tech, just my experiences with the BCD. Yet, I am planning on switching to a BP/W set-up by the end of the season.

So, if you want my recommendation(I don't think you'd have posted if you didn't), go with the BP/W set-up.

just my opinion...

LobstaMan

 

[Captain CaveMan]

Well there you go I think LobstaMansaid it all.

 

[herman]

I really don't care for BPs myself and don't dive them for a varity of reasons BUT if I were going on to do tech diving it would be my choice. If you intend to go into tech diving, you might as well go ahead and buy th BP. A BP is fine for rec diving but when your diving turns tech it is much better suited for the job than other BC types.

 

[redacted]

.4. Bladder seems to have water in it after every dive. The more you use the power inflator button, the more water gets in.
.

I don't understand how the use of the power inflator could cause this. Unless you are leaking water into the corrugated hose and blowing that water into the bladder when you use the power inflator - that would be a pretty big puff. You might want to check to see if you are leaking air out somewhere. Also look at your dumping technique to see that you are not holding a valve open with not air to exhaust - that just lets water in.

I figure that if I am not getting some water inside the bladder, I am probably a bit overweighted.

 

[Jason Ooi]

Thing wisely future if you go tech dive invest a BP/W setup

 

[BSea]

I have a zeagle brigade that is gathering dust since I went with a bp/w. I don't ever intend to get into tech diving in a big way, so I'm speaking strictly as a rec diver. While the zeagle is nice, the bp/w is just better.

Pro's for the bp/w
1. Packs better for trips.
2. It's like you have nothing on underwater
3. Less weight overall
4. Very adaptable

Pro's for zeagle
1. Pockets (not sure if the Tech has pockets)
But you can add pockets to the bp/w if you need them.

 

[scubadobadoo]

I have been wanting to upgrade my vest bcd I am currently using, and have been thinking about a backplate w/wing setup. But I have found a great deal on the Zeagle Tech vest for about $150 slightly used. I am wondering if I should just skip this deal and get the bp/w. Currently the diving I do is recreational but I do want to move to more tech/cave diving by next summer once I get more experience.

I havent heard anything bad about bp/w and the few things I do hear about the Zeagles all seem to be good things.

I guess my question is, if I get the Zeagle now, will I just be wanting to move to the bp/w set up in a year when I start doing tech diving?

Also, this might be better asked in a different thread, but is it possible to put doubles on a zeagle? That is one reason I am thinking more about the bp/w setup.

Thanks in advance,

Dustin

The BC buying evolution for many goes like this....vest, back inflate, BP/W with deluxe or similiar, BP/W with hog harness. If you think you may like the BP/W then do yourself a favor and try one if you can. You may save yourself a lot of time and money like most of us wish we had.