Choosing between Transpac and Brigade?

[reefrat]

Hi all

Used to live in Western Australia last time I posted but now I'm in Houston Texas and exploring the Caribean etc...great stuff!

I need a back inflation bcd that packs reasonably small and light for travel, but I don't want a stripped down version made of lighter material (if possible)!

Thinking about these two:

Zeagle Brigade- I like the integrated weight system and pockets. Not sure about the shape of the wing.

Transpac II- I like the travel wing because it's a continuous ring, easy for dumping on ascent. Also like the versatility of this unit although I have no immediate plan to dive doubles.

I know there has been discussion about these before but how well do they pack for travel?

 

[Bruce3]

well i was bent on buying a brigade up until i tried on my friends DR TranspacII and i loved it! its simple and gets the job done. but just to be sure i tried on the Ranger at my LDS and i didnt really like it. although i didnt dive in it i came to the conculsion that ranger was just to bulky compared to DR transpac. if you want something really like and compact look into a Aluminium backplate set up. but at the end of the day try both on an d see what you like!

 

[djanni]

Hi all

Used to live in Western Australia last time I posted but now I'm in Houston Texas and exploring the Caribean etc...great stuff!

I need a back inflation bcd that packs reasonably small and light for travel, but I don't want a stripped down version made of lighter material (if possible)!

Thinking about these two:

Zeagle Brigade- I like the integrated weight system and pockets. Not sure about the shape of the wing.

Transpac II- I like the travel wing because it's a continuous ring, easy for dumping on ascent. Also like the versatility of this unit although I have no immediate plan to dive doubles.

I know there has been discussion about these before but how well do they pack for travel?

I have a Zeagle Stiletto which is a little smaller than the Brigrade and a TranspacII with Travel Wing. There's not much difference in the way they pack but the nod goes to the Transpac. Take the cam bands off either and the BC lays flat. Roll up the cam banks or lay them flat out. You can take the wing off the Transpack and roll it up real tight and that's why the Transpac packs a little more compactly. You can pack clothes or whatever in and around them - they just disapear into the suit case.

The Transpac is more versatile I guess. Especially if you're thinking about doubles but then there's a lot more fiddling and adjusting and rigging and etc that goes with that. If you like to tinker you might like the TPII a little better. If you just want to put it on and go you'll like the Zeagle.

There both great. The Zeagle is more comfortable and I like the feel of the cummerbund. i like the Zeagle ripcord system too. The Transpac is pretty cool because it's different from most others and you can attach everything, including the kitchen sink, to it. Both are almostly endlessly adjustable for fit, so that's not a concern at all.

Buy the one that speaks to you when you walk by the rack.

 

[reefrat]

Thanks for the replies, have been off-line all day due to a power cut so only just read them.
Haven't decided yet, the zeagle sounds like the no hassle option for all round single tank diving and the Transpac will pack slightly smaller for travel!!

 

[sasscuba]

Love my Brigade. I have a bigger dive bag for travel and could care less if it is packs a little larger.

 

[TheRedHead]

The Brigade is rather bulky in the front and the wing has a tendancy to trap air. The Transpac is more streamlined, but it can be tarted up like a BC. You should also check out a lightweight BP/W with an AL or Tobin's plastic plate.

 

[SteveFass]

Reef Rat - you know, just because you're looking at the Transpac doesn't mean you're also obligated to get their travel wing. Wings from other manufacturers will also fit the transpac.

 

[Jarrett]

This one is fresh on my mind, so I have plenty to ramble on about

I've had the Brigade for a year now and loved it. I was completely happy with it until I took it on a trip to Cozumel last summer. It was a bit of a pain to pack for Cozumel trips and is a bit bulky with lots more material, pockets, weight pouches etc. than I need for my type of diving (Texas & Cozumel) I actually dove with a guy in a BP/W in Cozumel and after looking at how streamlined his setup was I started rethinking my BCD a bit. So I bought a Dive Rite Transpac II on a whim to try out with the ability to take it back if it didn't work out.

The first thing that I noticed is the Dive Rite appears to be made with higher quality materials, especially the wing. The Brigade uses a pack cloth wing I think and the Dive Rite wing materials seem to be higher quality. At first with all the padding, big rec wing, oversized weight pockets, I didn't like the Transpac so much. But I took it home, stripped the padding, weight pockets and extra D-rings. I then added a Dive Rite Travel wing and some small XS Scuba weight pockets and tried it again and really liked it a lot. It's important to note that this is not something I could have done with my Brigade. In this configuration, theTranspac is more comfortable than my Zeagle Brigade on land, but especially morese underwater. Much less material physically on you and I like that feeling.

What I gained with Transpac over Brigade:

More comfortable on land and water
More streamlined/less material on my body
Packs better
Need less weight to sink (around 4lbs less)
Better materials (especially the wing)
More customize-able (I can easily change the config for each dive)

Things I lost:

The Zeagle Rip Cord weight system (never used it)
Pockets (rarely used)
The Yellow Thingies (those are nice )

For carrying things, I do one of two things. I can either clip it to a D-ring if I want it up front or on a small ring on the soft back pad of the Transpac if I want it out of sight. If I need a pocket, I bought a Zeagle Zena expandable pocket (from ScubaToys) that installs on the Transpac harness in about 5 seconds. But usually I don't need pockets so I don't install it.

I just sold my Zeagle Brigade in the classifieds section. It was a great first BCD in my opinion. Very good grab and go setup, but as I get more experience as a diver I am finding my view on equipment is changing. Even now I am entertaining the idea of a DR Transplate or DSS Single Rig setup. Not so much for functional reasons as with the Brigade to Transpac move, but more just to see what all the BP/W hubbub is about.

If I was buying the Transpac new again right now, I would get the harness, a Travel or Venture wing, and not buy their weight pockets. I would look into either the Dive Rite or OMS clipper pockets or even the XS Scuba weight pockets (NOT the ones that attach with velcro though, I had one fall off on a dive)

For comparison, here is a pic of my Zeagle Brigade and Dive Rite Transpac together:

http://www.elliscountyequine.org/images/100_0472.jpg

If you have anymore questions, feel free to post or PM. Hope this helps.

 

[PerroneFord]

The Transpac is more versatile I guess. Especially if you're thinking about doubles

The Transpac is not compatible with doubles. TransPLATE yes, TransPAC no.

 

[Scubasw]

I was just reading jarrett's comments above and wanted to add some of my own on the other side, I own A Zeagle Ranger, used primarily for drysuit diving in a Public Safety Diver capacity. I also own a Zeagle Escape which I or my son uses for warm water diving and I also teach pool sessions with it. I just bought a Zeagle Brigade which is a Ranger harness and an Escape wing. This will serve as my primary warm water rig along with a backup to my Ranger for cold water diving. I don't dive a BP/wing, nor am I a great fan of "minimalist" diving. It may have it's place, but it is way too limiting for the types of diving I do. Everything from Public Safety Diving in water between 31 and 80 degrees, pitch black visibility to 100 foot clear. Day, night evening or whenever. Solo or with a buddy. North Atlantic or caribbean. The Zeagle integrated weights allow me to easily vary the amount of weight I'm wearing based on all my other gear including size/material of tank, drysuit or wetsuit, 3mm suit or 7 mm, other gear I'm carrying or anything else.

Things I gain with my Zeagle's
Ability to easily vary my weights while keeping the same exact weight system/dump everytime.
Ability to move some weight to the rear with the rear weight pouches whenever I need to.
2 built in pockets(3 on the Brigade) for carrying samll items such as noise makers, surface markers, signal kit, small tools, extra mask when wearing a full face setup.
Zeagle's lifetime warranty on their gear.
Ability to go single tank or use it with doubles just by removing the cam buckles and bolting it to the tanks.
Comfortable fit with a full sizing system.

While I don't want to turn this into a BCD vs BP/wing thread, I did want you to know some of the advantages to the Zeagle system. Give the Zeagle a chance and you may find you like it. For that matter try both and think about how each would fit into the styles of diving your interested in. If we all agreed on the best gear setup, only one manufacture would be in business and they would only make 1 BCD.