First set of gear: Zena and Reg Options?

[cheetohcat]

First of all, thanks so much for all the contributors to this board. I've learned a lot just by searching and reading thus far!

I'm a new diver, looking for my first set of gear and I'm leaning (heavily) towards the Zena after a lot of research and reading up on reviews and I'm still debating the reg. I'm in So Cal, so the majority of my diving will be done here in in cooler waters in a 7 mil wet suit.

I'm 5'6", 125 lbs and long waisted, so the Zena custom fit really appeals, along with the corset design since I find the cumberbund on most of the jacket styles which are narrow enough for me always ride up too high and the sternum strap feels like it's choking. I also didn't like the bulk of the jackets/hybrids.

So, my question for those with any experience with the Zena are, 1) did you find that the sizing charts were pretty accurate for you? and if you were right on the borderline between two sizes in measurement, did you go with the larger or smaller? 2) Can the Zena be customized for color (beyond just the vest color options) similar to other Zeagle BCs? 3) Does anyone know when the new Zena lumbar pad available?

Regarding regulators, since I am in cooler Cali waters, from what I understand, an environmentally sealed 1st stage is not a requirement, but is probably a good idea. Would love any thoughts/advice on that from any other Cali divers! I was looking at the ZX Flathead VI, 50D, or DSV, and would love to hear from anyone who's used them vs. the Atomic or Aqualung regs which have also been recommended to me.

I'm planning to go with a combo Octo/Inflator reg like the Octo-Z as well.

Any and all help is welcome and appreciated!

 

[ScottZeagle]

I have never actually used a Zena, but I might be able to help a little...

Sizing chart should be pretty true. If you are borderline, I always suggest that you err to the larger side.

You can get custom colors on the Zena...no problem.

How much weight are you wearing with your suit? You might want to upgrade to the 44lb bladder, if you are wearing a good amount. The lumbar pad is available now...

The Flathead VI would be a great reg for you...or the DS-V...up to you.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[cheetohcat]

I have never actually used a Zena, but I might be able to help a little...


How much weight are you wearing with your suit? You might want to upgrade to the 44lb bladder, if you are wearing a good amount. The lumbar pad is available now...

The Flathead VI would be a great reg for you...or the DS-V...up to you.

You mean the Zena didn't fit your girlish figure? Thank you for the sizing advice!

I'm currently wearing 16 lbs with a steel tank in salt water with the 7 mil, and hoping that figure will keep dropping as I gain more experience and stop holding air etc. I'm also in training on the fitness side, so I'm going to be dropping down another 5 lbs in the next month. Do you think the standard bladder be okay?

I was checking out scubatoys and saw that they had a lumbar pad but it looks bigger than the photos of the Zena one...is it the same, or is it only available through my LDS Zeagle dealer?

For the reg, is there a reason you'd recommend the other two over the 50D? I was def leaning towards the Flathead VI since it's such a good value right now with the new 7 coming out.

Thanks!

 

[Jimmer]

Hi Cheetocat. I own two DSV's and two Flathead VI's. When I bought my first Zeagle reg, I chose the DSV since it was enviro sealed, less money than the Flathead VI and the 50D, but also I personally didn't see the advantage to having the swivel on the first stage. I now have 2 Flathead VI's on my doubles, and the DSV's are for my stage regs for my upcoming decompression class. I'll let you in on my personal findings so far. I did a side to side comparison of the Flathead and the DSV at 125 feet deep in very cold water, and honestly, I couldn't tell the difference if I had been blindfolded. I was told by Jim Fox (the engineer at Zeagle who designed the regs) that the Flathead really doesn't come into it's own in terms of out performing the DSV until you are past 200 feet or so. They both breathe dry, they both are excellent in cold and deep water (if you ever head that direction), and they are reliable.

Long story short, you wont be dissapointed with either reg, but seeing as the Flathead is so discounted right now, I'd likely go that route, just to have the little bit extra capacity of the Flathead, in case you ever decide to head towards tech diving.

As for your questions about Aqualung, and Atomic, I don't personally have any AL experience, but have done air share drills with my tech instructor who uses Atomic. I couldn't really feel anything special about them. It didn't breathe any smoother, it costs more, and I personally don't like piston regs for cold water (my personal opinion there), and I went away still feeling like my Zeagles were the better choice.

I hope this helps a bit.

Safe diving,
Jim

 

[cheetohcat]

Jimmer, thank you for providing such a great side by side comparison of the regs, and for passing along the information from Jim Fox re: performance. You make a really good point about the benefit of the flathead if I ever venture into tech diving.

Glad to hear you're happy with your choices as well (I dread buyer's regret for my start up gear...).

Do you have the Din models of the regs? I was thinking of going with Din and just getting the Din to Yoke adapter as well.

 

[Jimmer]

Cheeto, all my regs are DIN regs, with the exception of one of my single tank setups, that has standard length hoses, and a Yoke fitting, for when I am in the pool assisting with classes towards my divemaster cert, or loaning to someone that is accustomed to "conventional" gear. In this case I use it so that my gear "matches" what the new divers are learning to use, but I do actually have the DIN fitting for it, in case I ever decide to switch it back to DIN. After that I go back to my backplate/wing, DIN tanks, and long hose reg setup, for both doubles and single tanks.

My suggestion is to buy it as a DIN reg, and add the Yoke adapter to your dive kit. Then you have all your bases covered. Then when you start buying tanks, purchase them with "pro" valves, that are 200 bar DIN with a thread in plug that allows a yoke reg on over top. Then you have your bases covered for any combination of tank and reg you might end up borrowing/loaning/renting.

Jim

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

So, my question for those with any experience with the Zena are, 1) did you find that the sizing charts were pretty accurate for you? and if you were right on the borderline between two sizes in measurement, did you go with the larger or smaller?

Regarding regulators, since I am in cooler Cali waters, from what I understand, an environmentally sealed 1st stage is not a requirement, but is probably a good idea. Would love any thoughts/advice on that from any other Cali divers! I was looking at the ZX Flathead VI, 50D, or DSV, and would love to hear from anyone who's used them vs. the Atomic or Aqualung regs which have also been recommended to me.

I'm planning to go with a combo Octo/Inflator reg like the Octo-Z as well.

Any and all help is welcome and appreciated!

In terms of weight and height, you're about the same size as my wife (you're a couple of pounds lighter) who uses the Zena. She was right on the border between small and x-small. She went with the small and everything fit but the waist. She could cinch down the 2 waist straps as far as they would go and the bottom of the vest would still flop around. She ended-up replacing just the vest with an x-small and couldn't be happier.

My wife and I are down in SoCal a lot. Mostly Huntington Beach and San Diego and the water temps really don't hit the point that most would consider cold enough to need a cold water reg. I've yet to see it below 60F, but I know some places can go as low as 55F. I believe most manufacturers consider cold to be under 50F. I dive an Atomic ST1 that came environmentally sealed and my wife dives a Scubapro S600t/Mk25t that's not sealed and neither one of us has any problems.

I've used the Zeagle and really couldn't tell the difference with my Atomic (sorry, never used an Aqualung). So I don't think there's a wrong answer between the two. If you feel you need a cold water reg I really wouldn't recommend an integrated octo/inflater since none of them are cold water regs. And I hate to say this because I really like Zeagle (I have a Ranger), but if you do decide on a integrated octo, I wouldn't recommend the Octo-Z. My wife had one and it's really hard to breath. At first I thought she was just being picky, but then I tried it and she was right. We tried having it tuned a little, but that resulted in a couple of free-flows. She switched to an Atomic SS1 integrated octo/inflater and is happy. Just as a side-note: The topic of using an integrated is a contentious one here on the boards, so expect some flack.

In terms of DIN vs. yoke, I really couldn't tell you. I'm just a simple recreational diver so a DIN has no advantage for me. Just keep in mind that if you decide to travel, the majority of tanks you're going to run into are yoke, so don't forget the adapter.

 

[cheetohcat]

Just as a side-note: The topic of using an integrated is a contentious one here on the boards, so expect some flack.

LOL - yeah, I saw that on a couple of threads as I was searching for reviews of the integrated octos. Thank you for the warning, and I hope it doesn't come to that! I think there are benefits and drawbacks of both, and I think just comes down to your own comfort level, and the type of diving you're doing at the end of the day.

Thank you for the Zena fit tips too. I'll def keep that in mind as I can probably do either the XS-SM vest, and same with the front panel, but probably a med in the shoulder section. Thank god for custom fit.

Good input on the Octo-Z as well..do you think it was a defective one, or needed repear? Was Zeagle or your local shop able to fix it for you before you guys went with the SS1?

 

[Chad Carney]

Hey Cheetohcat,

I think there's been some really good advice so far, so I'll just touch on a few points.
I've been a dealer for Zeagle since the early 80's, and also carried Aqualung and Atomic, and they all make mostly good gear. I've also been a Zeagle rep, but presently just a private instructor.

I'll balance the report here by stating "I like AIR's" and have used the Octo-Z extensively even to 200' and find they breathe quite well. I have 3 now, 1 since it was first introduced about 2 years ago and have had no breathing issues, with just regular service needed. However, you will find that it's pretty par for the course to detune any spare regulator a bit to hedge against air leaks.

Sounds like you are well on your way to using as little weight as necessary, and the Zena's 34 lbs bladder is already enough for your needs. I use the Stiletto (35 lbs lift) even with a 30 cf deco bottle and steel tank deep with my 7mm suit and hooded vest... no problems. I recommend trying on BC's just like wetsuits, to insure the best fit and that you like the feel.

Zeagle regulators have been the least service needed I've had in many years of using between 6 to 12 regs in classes, from the above listed companies and just about every other brand. Great breathing performance and top notch manufacturer support!

Stay warm & good diving!

Chad

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

Good input on the Octo-Z as well..do you think it was a defective one, or needed repear? Was Zeagle or your local shop able to fix it for you before you guys went with the SS1?

We thought the same thing, that maybe something was wrong. So we had 2 different shops look at it and both said the same thing. That it was working just fine. So we had one shop tune it (because as Chad pointed-out most standard octo's, integrated or not, are de-tuned to prevent free-flows) but to get it to breath as well as my SS1, caused problems with free-flow. Now is when I should probably give the standard disclosure (as if you didn't already know)- I use Atomic. Both as my primary and my safe-second. However, I seem to be somewhat of a freak, in that I don't have brand loyalty and would be just as happy recommending, or giving praise to another brand if it fits the criteria. This tendency has also made me somewhat of an outcast in the Ford truck community, since I have no problem praising Chevy, Dodge, or heaven forbid, Toyota. But anyway, back on track. One of the most often heard complaints about octo/inflater's is that they breath horribly. Or as one fellow SB member put it, "it's like breathing through a wet sock." I've never tried that, but it is a great visual. This is said about pretty much every brand and model, except the Atomic. It really does breath nearly as good as my primary. I've tried it as deep as 110fsw.

But Chad brings up a good point. That is; how something breaths can be subjective and comparative. When I say it breaths horribly, I'm using my primary as my basis of comparison. Is that a fair benchmark to use?! You bet! Because if something goes wrong and I need to be the OOA "donor", I have to breath off of that bad boy and I want it to breath about as well as my primary. Try as we might, we just couldn't get a balance between tuning and free-flow that matched the SS1.