My opinion of the Zeagle Brigade

[halocline]

I'm impressed that this thread has been up for almost a whole day and nobody has told him to get a BP/wing. Good restraint, BP/W fanatics!!

Seriously, what you're doing is good learning, and it is true that some of the features that are important to you now will doubtlessly become far less important with more diving experience. Fit is the most important thing and becomes more important with each subsequent dive. Both of these BCs have good reps and you'd probably be very happy with either; although, it's likely at some point you'll want to try something else. With that in mind, you might consider the resale value of each, and I suspect the zeagle is better in that regard.

BTW, Scott, as I imagine you're following this thread, I love my zeagle T-shirt that I won when the Spurs became, ahem, WORLD NBA CHAMPIONS.

 

[Hoosier]

I'm impressed that this thread has been up for almost a whole day and nobody has told him to get a BP/wing. Good restraint, BP/W fanatics!!

oh~~ you don't know why~~~

It is the Larry's product.... Eveybody loves Larry, not Raymond. LOL~~~~

 

[RonFrank]

The handle can also be used around the tank, most use it as a handle.
Next year Zeagle is going to switch to two bottom dumps instead of one. Shouldn't make a difference anyway.

Dive the BC and report back in a few months.

Actually it DOES on the Ranger, I can not comment on the Brigade sized bladder. My ONE complaint about the Ranger is like most larger wings, it WILL trap air. Unfortunately with dumps on JUST the left, in order to dump trapped air, one must do one of two things... get vertical, or roll to get the air on the left side of the BCD.

When I did my first Drysuit dive, this was a problem for me. I was already struggling a bit with my buoyance diving dry, and now on top of it, I'm messing with trapped air in the right side of my BC. Had I had a lower right right side dump, I could have easily dumped, but as it was I was doing some strange moves UW to get rid of my trapped air. My buddy even asked about it when we surfaced

Diving Wet I'm rather comfortable with dumping air that has become trapped, so I will get used to it diving dry as well, but it was NOT the first time I wanted a lower right dump on the Ranger (and the newer ones come with that, mine is from the late 90's). I'm planning on gettiing a new BCD next year (Brigade) but will wait for the duel dumps!!

 

[crpntr133]

Actually it DOES on the Ranger, I can not comment on the Brigade sized bladder. My ONE complaint about the Ranger is like most larger wings, it WILL trap air. Unfortunately with dumps on JUST the left, in order to dump trapped air, one must do one of two things... get vertical, or roll to get the air on the left side of the BCD.

The Ranger bladder does have the two dumps but the 34lb Bridage etc. bladder doesn't.

Most of what everybody is complaining about goes with the territory of owning a back inflate.

BP/W??!!! Naahh, buy a HUB! :rofl2:

 

[tangfish]

The Knighthawk looks like a great BCD to me, too big and bulky for my purposes but if I were to just dive around here I would seriously consider it, that and a ProQD+.

 

[RonFrank]

The Ranger bladder does have the two dumps but the 34lb Bridage etc. bladder doesn't.

Most of what everybody is complaining about goes with the territory of owning a back inflate.

BP/W??!!! Naahh, buy a HUB! :rofl2:

Mine does NOT as my post indicates... They added the right side dump around 2000. Many manufactures have 3 or 4 dumps on Back Inflate BC's. The donut shaped Wings from what I've read don't trap air.

Goes with the territory IMO is a nice way of saying live with a problem that can be easily solved, but no one has bothered. We are not talking Nuclear physics here, it's a freekin innertube!! And solved the problem is... unfortunately not on my BC.

I don't want to BLOW this out of proportion, and I'm VERY happy with my used Ranger purchase... but my next BC WILL have dumps on both sides of the wing!

 

[RonFrank]

Just figured I'd share my take on bottom dumps. Personally, don't care, don't need them, don't use them. I don't really care if it even has one. Here's the thought.

The only time air is coming out a dump, is if that dump is the high point on the BC at the time. If I am swimming, proper weight and trim, I'm neutrally buoyant. Now the only way air is getting to a bottom dump is if I start swimming down, and now the bottom dump is the high dump on the BC... But if I'm swimming down, any air that was in the BC is now compressed and I have no reason to dump air... I have already become more negatively buoyant. If anything I need to add air to the BC.

I have found most new divers spend more time pulling bottom dumps, and when they do, they are normally only introducing water, not venting air. But perhaps some others have a different opinion.

When diving in the Keys, we were often going from 40' to 20' just going over a coral head at some points. I did this not by heading up vertically, but by hovering in a horz position. Even though I was adding just bit of air in the BC, I found that as I ascended, I could not dump air as needed, it was trapped.

The simple solution was to position myself vertical, and then dump, but in reality it would have been much easier to just pull a lower dump. I dump from my left side lower dump now and again. It's not frequent, but if there was really no need to do so, why would manufactures even bother making such a design.

Maybe as I gain more experience, this will be less of an issue. It's actually not anything huge now, but as I am trying to pinpoint my buoyancy UW taking photo's, I do add air and dump with my BC to get it just right. If I'm NOT taking photo's, I can generally pay a bit more attention, and use breath, and cheat (finning) and not bother adding much air to the BC depending upon depth.

 

[crpntr133]

Mine does NOT as my post indicates... They added the right side dump around 2000. Many manufactures have 3 or 4 dumps on Back Inflate BC's. The donut shaped Wings from what I've read don't trap air.

Misunderstood your post. At either rate it looks like the Ranger does and the 34 lbs'er doesn't as of now.

 

[clgsamson]

Hey Adobo, not to make fun of your handle but the word Adobo is a tasty kinda beef dish made only here in the PI. It's one of my favorite.

 

[StSomewhere]

Deleted, point already made.