BCD advice

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eleutheradiver

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Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Location
James Cistern, Eleuthera, The Bahamas
My beloved Aeris Atmos XT died this year during a search-and-recovery dive for, of all things, a lady's dress.

I've looked around the local shops and haven't found anything comparable to it. So my question is basically this: what's this year's Atmos XT?

By that, I mean:
* Wing-style BC (or comparable design with back-inflation that tends to keep you flat instead of vertical at depth)
* Integrated weight pouches (handles 10-13 lbs comfortably, but can fit 20 if I need to wear a 7mil now and then)
* Has tons of rings to clip stuff to, and lots of pockets

Any suggestions?
 
Good quality dive gear can last almost forever. Used gear of just about every make and model is available online through various websites including Ebay and Amazon.

So with all of the above in mind, why not either replace your Atmos XT with the identical make and model- and or fix whatever broke or wore out (not clear from your post, all you say is your BCD "died").

I did a search on your model BCD on EBAY and found one currently for sale. Don't know your size, and again don't know what part needs replacing (that you could pull off another BCD purchased used), but it's a place to start. Sometimes you have to set up a search and when items matching your criterion are listed for sale you'll be notified, and it can take a while so be prepared for that.
 
I would not buy used Aeris gear now since the company no longer exists,0

Besides the Brigade wgich is a Ranger jacket with ab Escape wing, Zeagle also sells the Ranger itself - a heavier duty model, the Stiletto (single tank only) and Express Tech, a modular soft back plate model that takesmost of their wings and either weight system.

ScubaPro's Seahawk might be one to consider also. Or their new Hydos which can be configured several different ways,

Aqualung also sells their Dimension model

There's others obviously but these might be more available on Eleuthera
 
I would not buy used Aeris gear now since the company no longer exists

Why not? A good used BCD of the same brand and model is probably dirt cheap. So what the manufacturer isn't in business, you can pull parts off of one or the other should something break, and lots of BCD parts are universal. I think of used dive gear as disposable- if it breaks- replace either the entire thing or a part from a compatible piece of gear.

Definitely cheaper than buying a new BCD for over $500 thats for sure.
 
Why not? A good used BCD of the same brand and model is probably dirt cheap. So what the manufacturer isn't in business, you can pull parts off of one or the other should something break, and lots of BCD parts are universal. I think of used dive gear as disposable- if it breaks- replace either the entire thing or a part from a compatible piece of gear.

Definitely cheaper than buying a new BCD for over $500 thats for sure.
In the case of Aeris that might be true for a while yet but soft parts like tank supports - which there are 2-3 threads here about failures on that particular model - are not readily available. Maybe a little more so with Aeris since some of their models share commonality with Oceanic products.

In my area, the local Aeris/Oceanic/Hollis dealer sold off their Aeris stock and no longer promotes them at all.

$500 buys most of the products mentioned in this thread new (except the Hydros) which is what the OP seems to want.

Why is that a price point for you? My Ranger was closer to $900. Your argument does not hold up because you've personally set that limit.

There's a lot of 20 year old $50 junk on eBay. I recently saw my first BC on there - a 1981 At-Pac. About 15 years ago the bladder cracked and separates and leaked air like a sieve. By your logic I should have bought another one and salvaged parts from it right?

Plus the OP lives on Eleuthera - I'm guessing he doesn't have a lot of options there. Some of the Bahamas Islands don't even have a shop, operations are run at the dock off the boat.

Possibly not even Zeale but more likely ScubaPro, Aqualung and Mares.
 
Why is that a price point for you? My Ranger was closer to $900. Your argument does not hold up because you've personally set that limit.

There's a lot of 20 year old $50 junk on eBay

There is a lot of good, used serviceable dive gear on Ebay and elsewhere that sometimes is barely used, like new, for a fraction of new that can be used in whole or for parts, especially in the case of the diver who started this thread- who likes a particular BCD that is no longer manufactured.

I'll guess that lots of divers buy gear thinking they'll use it enough to make it worth the hefty purchase price and end up diving a handful of times before giving up on it- and as a good example, my BCD which I paid $75 for was over $600 retail and when I opened the box it was as good as brand new and has served me well for quite some time.

It's not always about the money- but when it is, regardless of one's personal limit, there's always going to be a savings if you are careful and thoroughly research what you're buying.
 
I don't buy used gear personally but I'm sure you're right.

In my class decades ago a mom./spoiled rotten kid bought about $2K of new gear each, junior failed certification (something about the instructor coming up wrapped around hs legs to slow him down)

I saw Mom a few days later at the store - my buddy DM'd there - he said the most they'd offer her was 50% on gear that literally saw water twice. If the ngr. (type A) was there - even less.
 
My beloved Aeris Atmos XT died this year during a search-and-recovery dive for, of all things, a lady's dress.

I've looked around the local shops and haven't found anything comparable to it. So my question is basically this: what's this year's Atmos XT?

By that, I mean:
* Wing-style BC (or comparable design with back-inflation that tends to keep you flat instead of vertical at depth)
* Integrated weight pouches (handles 10-13 lbs comfortably, but can fit 20 if I need to wear a 7mil now and then)
* Has tons of rings to clip stuff to, and lots of pockets

Any suggestions?

Do you have an AquaLung dealer? My regular buddy has the Dimension. Back inflate. Loves it. Lots of pockets. Just get it withOUT the non-standard I3 inflator. That’s an extra $100 or so you can spend on something else.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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