BC Setup for an Undecided guy

[The Chairman]

All but the last ones are here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/si...ide-mounting-mods-my-zeagle-express-tech.html

 

[dj10022]

So last night I did a refresher class with my first student! Yay!!! We went through the basics and it was all fun. While doing the class I got to try the Zeagle Tech Express and I really liked it. The one I tried had the shoulder and back pads and the zip touch weight pockets. I was impressed with this thing. It wasn’t hard to adjust when i put it on, it felt a lot less confining than my jacket BC and it was easy to get neutral once i jumped in. It felt funny as I was under water and it almost forced me to keep horizontal which I am not used to with my jacket style but that's what I was looking for. Also, I did not get any back pain from it which I usually do with that jacket stile and weight belt. So it was a very positive experience. The only minor cons I can think off and this may be because I need to use it a little longer to adjust to it, was that the bladder seems really small at 24LB and it may not be much help in a situation where one may need a little more lift. But since this is priced so low with the bladder I can easily get a bigger one if I feel like it.

The other thing is that when fully inflated out of water it seems to push you forward, not entirely with your face in the water but close to it and uncomfortable. However, I found that with one or two fin kicks you can lay on your back and this resolve the issue. I also imagine that with a little weight adjustment/positioning this face forward position can be improved. I only think this would be a concern for an unconscious diver at the surface not in normal diving situations.

Other than that this Zeagle thing seems really good. I may decide to get one now instead of the oxicheq setup which will save me $300 to invest in an additional harness and plate. BTW I also tried the Atomic split fins. I have been using blade fins. Big difference in the pool, atomics seem a lot easier to generate forward movement with any of the 3 types of kicks i typically use when underwater. So all in all it was a happy night in the pool

 

[dj10022]

For those of you who were impatiently waiting to hear the final of this story here it is: I am the proud owner of an OMS IQ backpack and a set of atomic split fins. Waiting for the wing, he didn't have it in the store. To start with I ordered the 32lb OMS for my upcoming trip to Mexico. Later, when I get into more advanced diving I'll get a bigger one for a double tank. I'll get to try my new IQ pack this coming Tuesday in the pool. I am very excited!!! I also got a new Atomic aquatics frame-less mask. Tried it in the pool last week and liked it a lot. Thanks for all the advice!!!

 

[RTee]

DJ...it was interesting following your saga and I am glad to see that you finally narrowed down your choice of equipment. I recently also went through the same general thought process. I re-equipped myself last April (after a long lay-off from diving) with Mares Dragon and SR1 reg set up and must have done 80 dives with that set-up both in tropical and cold canadian waters.

As I introduced my 15 yr old son to scuba diving (he just completed all the theory and pool work last weekend and he is awaiting his OW certif to occur at the end of May) I considered either to buy him a new kit (not knowing how long the interest/passion may last) or start investing into a more advanced/technical set-up and lend him some of my equipment (reg/bc/single tanks) when we go diving. I chose the latter.

So what I was after was a system capable of both supporting single and double set-up. Talking to some very experienced individuals, I slowly steered myself away from a vest and finally went for the Zeagle SS BP with standard harness, dual restraining cam straps (single tank), 65 lbs bladder with restraining side clip to prevent the hotdog syndrome when diving single tank and the 30 lbs ripcord weight system. I dove single tank with this set-up and I truly enjoyed it. Very shortly after, I added a pair of Flathead VI DIN with Yoke adapters (that performed flawlessly in warm and cold icy water) and a twin pack of Faber 117 HP with Diverite 300 manifold system...and a Whites Fusion Tech dry suit. Now I just need to just keep my wallet close and replenish it for a while....

In all likelihood, will stick to these set-ups for the time-being but eventually I will be looking at rigging a stage bottle, a canister light and acquire an AL BL with smaller wing for my annual winter warm water diving trip...lol

 

[dj10022]

Thanks RTee. A lot of the saga was because I needed to thread gingerly around my instructor's feelings. I love him but I felt he was trying to push his gear on me and I needed to give him time to get to the realization that it won’t happen without being blunt while preserving the relationship. He is an awesome guy and one of the best instructors I've seen. Everyone's happy now. I bought all the stuff from his store's inventory so that covers for not getting that Ranger out of the store.

I have a question though: the STA that I got has two fixed bolts that attach to the soft back plate (or hard back plate for that matter) with the bolts going through the BP and sticking out inside of the IQ pack. In addition it uses two wing style nuts to fasten against the soft back pad. OMS provides an additional padding that helps cushion the two wing nuts pushing against the spine but I just think that's not a great design. Why wouldn’t the bolts work the other way, starting from inside the back pad, going through the plate and the wing and fastening onto the inside groove of the STA? It would certainly eliminate the need for additional back padding...
So, since I am impulsive by nature last evening I took the STA to my little basement shop and managed by using a combination of gentle knocks with the hammer and a flat screwdriver to detach the bolts. Today I went to Home Depot and bought two zing plated hex nuts (which are probably not ideal for salt water so I'll need to go to a boat store and get stainless steel ones) and washers and I am going to mount everything tonight reversing the bolts direction. The only problems I can think of is that the hex nuts will stick out about 1/8 of an inch more than the bolt head did on the inside of the STA groove but I don’t think this will really make a big difference in keeping the tank really tight against the STA. And, that if you want to change the setup (different wing or adding a BP) it will take a couple of minutes more to tighten the bolts with the tank straps on. So, since I am new at this setup I was wondering if I am setting myself up for problems down the road or I am making sense? What do you guys think, has anyone done this? Am I missing something?

 

[The Chairman]

Wow... you needed a STA for a single tank? I haven't had to use one of those in 8 years or so.

 

[dj10022]

I realize my post may have been unclear NetDoc, but just for clarification I did not get a metal BP. I am using the soft BP that comes with the OMS IQ backpack. How do you suggest I get the tank strapped to the soft BP without the STA? I didn't see any openings for tank straps on the soft BP...

 

[The Chairman]

I am not familiar with the newer IQ system... In fact, I know that I had to use a STA when I had one, oh say, 8 years ago. I just thought that they would have solved that by now.

A STA sets the tank away from your body another inch or two. Not much, but it affects balance. Most single tank set ups do not require a STA anymore. I've got three left over from back then. A stainless one, a plastic one and a plastic one that was cut into two. I can't remember WHY we did it that way. Odd spacing on a non-standard plate, I think.

 

[dj10022]

So what do you do NetDoc, just strap the tank to the BP?

 

[fnfalman]

So what do you do NetDoc, just strap the tank to the BP?

I don't know about OMS system, but you can do that to the Dive Rite. There is a bit of flopping around, but not much. I chose to add the STA to the rig and the tank stayed put. I suppose I could have put up with the very minor tank movement, but I didn't.