steelwindmachine
Contributor
I'm 5 dives new until last week. I did my cert dives at Dutch Springs, PA and froze my a$$ off despite being in a 7mil and the feeling of needles were being poked into my face, then the rest of the dives were in the Keys where I used my 3mil, much better, despite getting sea sick and having to lay on the boat for the 2nd dive.
I had a trip scheduled to Aruba for 7 months. Well before I was even certified. We (my girl who got me into diving) planned to dive on the Antilla and Pedernalis, 1 tank per day.
I was getting anxious and wanted my own BC after having crap fitment and comfort issues with the several jacket BCs I tried over the last year or so (did some unofficial test diving at my friend's Key's house last year - but that's between you and me
).
With the jacket BCs I tried in various sizes, I think all SeaQuest brand, I either felt like I was swimming in them with the tank wagging around or I was being squeezed like a banana in King Kong's hands upon any inflation.
Ok, so I didn't, but would recommend going to several shops or Beneath the Sea (I live close to where the show occurs) or LeisurePro if you're near NYC and trying on EVERYTHING before deciding. Once you narrow down to several choices, see if you can try before you buy.
Instead, I read about this primitive looking, bare-bones, primordial thing called a BPW. It looked uncomfortable, simple, but complicated at the same time and lots of people in ill-fitting jump suits (dry suits I guess) all proclaimed they were more awesomer than sliced bread!
Eh, I don't dive much and am not too enthused to dive much here in NJ after being spoiled by Caribbean visibility and water temps (it was 84*F from the surface down to 60' in Aruba), but who knows, maybe I'll be brave and get me a dry suit and jump in so I can see whatever within 10-30' - bleh
Then I learned of this somewhat new fangled Zeagle Express Tech. I read and read and read some more on all kinds of forums, even on this one and I actually was hard pressed to find much if anything bad said about it. That sure doesn't happen often. Usually there is at least a small cult of anti-"place a product of your choice here" haters. Well, I started loving the idea of the Express Tech but was worried that it'd be uncomfortable and I'd be cranky like a baby with a wet diaper during my diving.
I lurked, I poked around classifieds, I flirted with buying new, I waited. Finally, I found a deal that thought would have made me feel like a moron if I didn't jump on it. A 30-fresh water dive old Express Tech basic with full pad set, 4 stainless d-rings, 2 plastic d-rings, 24lb bladder, BX inflator, 2" crotch strap with stainless ring and looking really mint on eBay. I paid $143 total to get it to me.
When I opened the box, aside from some light wear marks on the tank band buckles, it was perfect. I tested the bladder and inflator, no leaks. It was indeed perfect.
Now, I had promised my significant other than I wouldn't buy any more gear before the Aruba trip. Well, despite the good deal, I don't recommend making promises and then breaking them for the sake of a good deal. Well, anyway, after a well deserved tongue lashing, we moved on and I used the BC on the trip.
Before heading off to Aruba, I made sure to reset the BC for me. I criss-crossed the shoulder straps to help keep the tank from riding up without using the crotch-strap (a BPW trick), whittled down to 3 stainless d-rings, changed the plastic buckle to a metal Trident buckle and added a $15 (on the Ebay from Dolphin Scuba) DiveRite Clipper Slate pocket where I put my tethered EMT shears, Fox40 whistle and SOL signal mirror and also thought I'd try the XS Scuba Quick Release weight pockets ($34 LeisurePro). I also removed all of the padding and sternum strap.
So, how was it? One word: Awesome!
On my two dives, certainly not enough, I seldom had to put any air into the bladder, used 10lbs of lead weight (previously had to use 15lbs), trim was pretty good - may need to move some weight to my chest or upper tank band and I felt like I was wearing a back pack with total freedom of movement. Oh, and it was comfortable. Aside from the weight of the tank on my back, I felt like I barely wearing anything else.
I love that I can customize it to however I want, it packs pretty flat, it's easy to service (strap breaks? steal someone's weight belt and use that ), it felt almost like I was wearing nothing but the tank, it also dried a bit faster than my girl's SeaQuest Diva jacket BC.
If you're unsure if you want to try something like this, do it at least once in the water. If you hate it, sell it - people will buy it.
At the surface, I did feel a slight face down push from the bladder if I inflated it a bit. However, it wasn't like someone was forcibly holding me forward. I was easily able to either 1. lean back and relax or 2. let the air out and float pretty well vertical with almost no air in the bladder. Though I did sorta enjoy leaning back on my own personal life raft while we waited for some bumbler divers get off the boat (yeah, took them like over 5 minutes to get in the water after everyone else was in, they hadn't checked their gear and just clearly didn't know what the heck they were doing)
For me, it worked perfectly. The only thing I'm considering changing is removing the XS Scuba Quick Release pockets in lieu of a dedicated weight belt since one of my pockets let go of a weight on a giant stride entry on the second site. Fortunately, the site was only 25ft and the weight was recovered and I was able to pop it back in - but I'm a little concerned about dropping a weight on a future dive.
All in all, I spent about $200 (BC, stainless clip, metal buckle, octo holder) and had a great dive experience. It does make me anxious to get back in the water!
I had a trip scheduled to Aruba for 7 months. Well before I was even certified. We (my girl who got me into diving) planned to dive on the Antilla and Pedernalis, 1 tank per day.
I was getting anxious and wanted my own BC after having crap fitment and comfort issues with the several jacket BCs I tried over the last year or so (did some unofficial test diving at my friend's Key's house last year - but that's between you and me
).With the jacket BCs I tried in various sizes, I think all SeaQuest brand, I either felt like I was swimming in them with the tank wagging around or I was being squeezed like a banana in King Kong's hands upon any inflation.
Ok, so I didn't, but would recommend going to several shops or Beneath the Sea (I live close to where the show occurs) or LeisurePro if you're near NYC and trying on EVERYTHING before deciding. Once you narrow down to several choices, see if you can try before you buy.
Instead, I read about this primitive looking, bare-bones, primordial thing called a BPW. It looked uncomfortable, simple, but complicated at the same time and lots of people in ill-fitting jump suits (dry suits I guess) all proclaimed they were more awesomer than sliced bread!
Eh, I don't dive much and am not too enthused to dive much here in NJ after being spoiled by Caribbean visibility and water temps (it was 84*F from the surface down to 60' in Aruba), but who knows, maybe I'll be brave and get me a dry suit and jump in so I can see whatever within 10-30' - bleh
Then I learned of this somewhat new fangled Zeagle Express Tech. I read and read and read some more on all kinds of forums, even on this one and I actually was hard pressed to find much if anything bad said about it. That sure doesn't happen often. Usually there is at least a small cult of anti-"place a product of your choice here" haters. Well, I started loving the idea of the Express Tech but was worried that it'd be uncomfortable and I'd be cranky like a baby with a wet diaper during my diving.
I lurked, I poked around classifieds, I flirted with buying new, I waited. Finally, I found a deal that thought would have made me feel like a moron if I didn't jump on it. A 30-fresh water dive old Express Tech basic with full pad set, 4 stainless d-rings, 2 plastic d-rings, 24lb bladder, BX inflator, 2" crotch strap with stainless ring and looking really mint on eBay. I paid $143 total to get it to me.
When I opened the box, aside from some light wear marks on the tank band buckles, it was perfect. I tested the bladder and inflator, no leaks. It was indeed perfect.
Now, I had promised my significant other than I wouldn't buy any more gear before the Aruba trip. Well, despite the good deal, I don't recommend making promises and then breaking them for the sake of a good deal. Well, anyway, after a well deserved tongue lashing, we moved on and I used the BC on the trip.
Before heading off to Aruba, I made sure to reset the BC for me. I criss-crossed the shoulder straps to help keep the tank from riding up without using the crotch-strap (a BPW trick), whittled down to 3 stainless d-rings, changed the plastic buckle to a metal Trident buckle and added a $15 (on the Ebay from Dolphin Scuba) DiveRite Clipper Slate pocket where I put my tethered EMT shears, Fox40 whistle and SOL signal mirror and also thought I'd try the XS Scuba Quick Release weight pockets ($34 LeisurePro). I also removed all of the padding and sternum strap.
So, how was it? One word: Awesome!
On my two dives, certainly not enough, I seldom had to put any air into the bladder, used 10lbs of lead weight (previously had to use 15lbs), trim was pretty good - may need to move some weight to my chest or upper tank band and I felt like I was wearing a back pack with total freedom of movement. Oh, and it was comfortable. Aside from the weight of the tank on my back, I felt like I barely wearing anything else.
I love that I can customize it to however I want, it packs pretty flat, it's easy to service (strap breaks? steal someone's weight belt and use that
), it felt almost like I was wearing nothing but the tank, it also dried a bit faster than my girl's SeaQuest Diva jacket BC.If you're unsure if you want to try something like this, do it at least once in the water. If you hate it, sell it - people will buy it.
At the surface, I did feel a slight face down push from the bladder if I inflated it a bit. However, it wasn't like someone was forcibly holding me forward. I was easily able to either 1. lean back and relax or 2. let the air out and float pretty well vertical with almost no air in the bladder. Though I did sorta enjoy leaning back on my own personal life raft while we waited for some bumbler divers get off the boat (yeah, took them like over 5 minutes to get in the water after everyone else was in, they hadn't checked their gear and just clearly didn't know what the heck they were doing)
For me, it worked perfectly. The only thing I'm considering changing is removing the XS Scuba Quick Release pockets in lieu of a dedicated weight belt since one of my pockets let go of a weight on a giant stride entry on the second site. Fortunately, the site was only 25ft and the weight was recovered and I was able to pop it back in - but I'm a little concerned about dropping a weight on a future dive.
All in all, I spent about $200 (BC, stainless clip, metal buckle, octo holder) and had a great dive experience. It does make me anxious to get back in the water!
