Help picking BC - Excursion, Islander, Ranger or ?

[undefined]

I'm trying to pick out a BCD and am having a heck of a time. After reading for countless hours here, I'm still no better off (but I can empathize with the previous poster who said they thought their head might explode from searching). I'm planning on getting my divemaster and instructor by the end of the year, so whatever I get needs to be something appropriate to DM and teach in. I am interested in BP/W, but I would prefer at this point to get more standard rec gear so as to be able to teach by example. The shop that I would like to get my DM at uses jacket style for their rentals, but I am very open to getting a rear inflate.

What I have gathered so far is that the prefered solution is a backplate and wing. OK. I hear you, and when I finish DM + Instructor I'll come back and get one before moving towards any tech diving. Before then I still need to find something for the here and now.

I've been leaning towards the Oceanic or Zeagle gear as I am planning on buying all of my gear from ScubaToys, and they carry both lines. I like what I've read about the Oceanic Excursion and the Zeagle Ranger. With regards to the Excursion, my single concern is that the dive shop that I wish to complete my DM through generally has their DM/DMT carrying a little extra weight to provide to students and fun divers that might need extra weight during a dive. I'm unsure how I would manage this with the Excursion, as it does not appear to have any accessible pocket. For those of you who dive the Excursion - is this something that you could accomplish, or does this rule out the Excursion?

The Ranger seems to have an absolutely religious following by many who dive it. The only concerns that I have are being unsure how the ripcord WI system works, and the lack of a handle (at least visible in photos) is a bummer.

The Islander looks like a watered down version of the Excursion, with the addition of zippered front pockets. There don't seem to be as many opinions here on SB about the Islander...

The only jacket style BC I have been eyeing is the Oceanic Probe LX. The Probe LX has ample pockets, at least based on photos, but it puts me back in a jacket style. I've seen both positive and negative comments about this BC on this forum...

Before anyone asks:

Diving Type: Rec / soon to be DMT
Water Temp: high 70's low 80's
Photography: Yes
Tech Diving: No
Wreck Penetration: I'd like to
Cave diving: Not in the foreseeable future
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 170 (expect to be 160 before getting DM)

If you can offer any advice, insight, or just an opinion I'd very much appreciate it.

 

[Squidboy]

I've used a Zeagle for years. I've got a zeagle 911. The ranger does have a handle and I would learn how to re thread the cord before using it. Its not all that hard. Zeagle also stands behind their BCDs really good. I would also consider if you are going to dive with twin tanks or not, the ranger will do that too. I've dived with twins and singles and have had no problems.

 

[jpcpat]

Especially with the hard use from a DM & Instructor course, I'd go with the Zeagle. I dive with a Ranger so I guess I'm part of the cult. The handle is bright red and just where you want it. IMHO, it's the best integrated release in the industry. Rethreading is a snap.

I used mine for my entire DM course, and will use it for the instructor course this summer.

 

[diversteve]

Handle for carrying or handle for the Ripcord? The Ripcord handle is the red one on the left side in front. Pulling it drops any weight in the two front weight pockets. If you want to read about rethreading it, you can d/l the Ranger manual from the Zeagle website. The back trim pockets have their own Velcro releases.

The Ranger does have a thin padded strap designed to keep the top of your tank from banging around. It also functions as a handle - at least mine did till last fall when it tore completely off while I was handing up my BC/tank/weights.

If you get a Ranger, get the lumbar pad. It's really comfortable. Another nice feature is the PFS system, you can custom fit it to your body shape/size. Joe at Scubatoys somehow can do this over the phone. And if your weight varies you can move the sides in/out almost 2 in. using it's screw fasteners.

And should you want more lift for twins or to carry extra weight, their largest bladder has 65lbs. of lift. You might also consider the LTD as it has zipper fasteners underneath the bladder wings for useful attachments like a Pony/Spare Air holster or another pocket. And it comes with extra bottom d-rings.

My only problem with the Ranger after 4 years is that when standing in it with a tank strapped in, it's pretty hard to open the front zipper pockets since they're stressed by the weight. Once in the water it's no problem.

 

[undefined]

Thank you all for your input. So far it is Zeagle - 3, Oceanic - 0.

As for diving doubles - I don't see that happening anytime soon. I can't tell you what will come down the road, and it is a nice feature of both the Ranger and the Excursion, but it is far less important to me than to others.

Any thoughts on the Ranger for ladies? My wife and I are both going to be going for DM + Instructor, and I definitely wouldn't mind having matching gear. I've looked at some of the ladies BC's (she didn't like the Diva XLT but was OK with the Ladyhawk) for her, but we haven't seen a local LDS w/ Zeagle or Oceanic. Everybody around here seems to push Scubapro, and I'm just not up to spend SP prices. (The Ranger LTD is still *much* cheaper than the SP Ladyhawk at the LDS)

 

[bperrybap]

John,
You could always hop a plane and can come to Dallas to see
everything and try it on in person at ScubaToys, even
jump in the pool with it to try it out.
RT from Nashville is about $180 now through March
on some of the American Airlines specials.
(My mother is flying in from there this week)

I can comment a bit on the Zeagle stuff.
I've been diving a Brigade the past year and half or so with
100+ dives on it.

The Brigade is the same BC as the Ranger.
The difference is that it has a different
smaller wing from the escape BC.
The wing is a smaller, simpler, lower cost design with less lift
than the ranger wing.
If you don't need to run doubles, the brigade is a cheaper
alternative. If for some reason you do go to doubles, you
can buy just a new wing.

Pockets are large. I put a safety sausage in one
and a backup light in the other and there is room left over
and I never really even know they are there.
There is also a 3rd roll down pocket for other stuff if you need it.

WI & Ripcord is a piece of cake. There is a single red handle
on your left hip. Rethreading is easy and takes all of a minute
of two. The newer rear weight pockets that attach to the
cam band have handles that are the same as the main
rip cord handle. The older cam band weight pockets
used a red loop of fabric.

The WI may not be an advantage for teaching though
as you may have to still use a welt belt for demonstration
and certain excercises.

Their service is awesome. My went back to the factory
twice for some minor stuff and they fixed it no problems
at no cost to me.

One of things I didn't like was the bottom/rear dump valve.
It faced the BC or your back rather than outward.
What I noticed is that when horizontal or slightly head down
you couldn't use the rear dump valve because it faced down.
Yes you can use it if you were going up too fast and it
works fine but I can't get it to work for minor bouyancy
adjustments. The pull dump cord and grab ball of the
rear dump valve also tended to get tangled in the bungie that is around the wing.

The newer bladders/Wings on the Zeagles now have dual
dumps rather than a single dump and they are now
on the other outward facing side of the wing. This should
make it better for dumping small amounts of air when
vertical or slightly head down. It will also keep the
dump valve ball handle away from the bungie on the
Brigade model.

So if you do decide to go with a Zeagle, ask about the bladder
and dump vavles. There are still some of the older units
around.

There is also another model the Stilleto. The stilleto is
similar to the Brigade but is a bit trimmed down.
No roll down pocket, a bit smaller pockets, smaller/thinner
shoulder straps. The bladder is the same design as the ranger
only smaller with less lift.

The Wing/bladder design of the Ranger and the Stilleto
do look nicer. They don't have the bungie but do have a flap
on the wing with a piece of webbing and buckle that attaches to
the front of the BC where the pockets and weight pockets are.
This flap wraps around a bit to the front. This along
with the webbing can slightly intefere with access to the
pockets.
The brigade bladder is different and doesn't have this
attachement on the wing.

The shoulder dump using the corrogate hose
on mine didn't work very well.
I took me quite a while to figure this out.
The problem is the corrogated hose. Zeagle has update the
hose on all their BCs to use a more rugged hose. This new
hose isn't as stretchy and uses alot more force to get it to
stretch. Also depending on where the BC lands on your back,
and the direction that you pull on the hose,
the amount of stretch needed to dump air changes.
So for me I could never get the dump to work.
I finally figured out if I pulled the hose down towards my
knees with the hose near my body it would not work, but
if I pulled the hose up twars my head with the hose along
my face it would dump just fine.
The difference being whether the hose was curved over
my shoulder or straight.

My solution was to change out the corrogated hose for the
older hose which is similar to the hose the OMS wings are now
using. It is much more flexible and stretchy.
Now I can dump using my corrogated hose just fine regardless
of the direction of pull on the hose.



--- bill

 

[bperrybap]

Any thoughts on the Ranger for ladies? My wife and I are both going to be going for DM + Instructor, and I definitely wouldn't mind having matching gear. I've looked at some of the ladies BC's (she didn't like the Diva XLT but was OK with the Ladyhawk) for her, but we haven't seen a local LDS w/ Zeagle or Oceanic. Everybody around here seems to push Scubapro, and I'm just not up to spend SP prices. (The Ranger LTD is still *much* cheaper than the SP Ladyhawk at the LDS)

Don't know about the Ranger for Ladies but there is the zeagle
Zena. My wife is small and this is what she uses. She loves
it. She tried on many BCs before this one and then stopped
looking. She really likes the corset design.
It does not have any side pockets like the ranger/brigade/stilleto though.

One thing to keep in mind about the zeagles that is really cool,
is that for a small fee, you can get them customized.
You can pick the colors of any of the parts and even get
extra D-rings or pockets sewn on or removed from the BC.
It adds a couple of weeks, but you can get exactly what you
want.
I haven't seen any other BCs that offer this.

Custom colors might be kind of nice for a DM or instructor.
Make you easy to spot......

--- bill

 

[herman]

I like the Ranger as well but here is something to consider. Most shops are pretty picky about the equipment their DMs and instructors use. You are an employee (more or less) at that point and you will be expected to toe the company (product) line. In short, if you intend to DM or instruct for a particular shop, you might as well go ahead and buy whatever they sell. I know of one shop that requires their staff to upgrade every couple of years to the latest and greatest. Unless your LDS is different, you might as well take this into consideration.

 

[undefined]

You bring up a good point about dive shop requirements to use their supported brand. Fortunately, that does not appear to be the case where I am hoping to get my DM.

I guess at this point my only question is - does anyone like Oceanic? Five votes for Zeagle and none for Oceanic so far....

Bill - I don't think I'm going to have the time to hop a flight to Dallas anytime soon. Business is insanely busy, and probably will be until the day we cut loose and head for DM.

 

[Dutch552]

I just placed my order for an Oceanic Excursion from Larry at ScubaToys. I felt that it fit me better than the Zeagles I tried and I was impressed by the quality of the construction as well as Oceanic's representation on the board. I don't need pockets but wanted a quick and simple integrated weight system.