newbies buy first bcds by Zeagle.....

[Christina0701]

Hello,

So pretty much I'm just really excited about my recent purchase and want to share!
I bought a brand new Zena yesterday and my husband purchased a brand new Stiletto! The closest store to us here in CT was 1 1/2 hours aways but well worth the trip to get properly sized. I recently lost 15lbs and am trying to lose about 20lbs more so I was a little concerned about committing to buying a bcd but with a trip coming up quickly in late October (Turks & Caicos) I REALLY didn't want to have to rent another un-comfy one...The store owners sized me with a M back, S shoulder, and M front panel. They also believe that there was enough play in the front panel that future weight loss wouldn't be a problem and worst case scenario, I could order a size smaller front panel down the road...I'm assuming back and shoulder size don't change much with weight loss?

My husband who had no intention of buying walked out with his brand spanking new Stiletto! He had slight buyers remorse on the car ride home for spending such a large amount of money and kept second quessing if he should have looked into the Scout....I think he made the right decision after reading lots of reviews last night. Seems like the Stiletto has some more features and is maybe more versatile?

My other question was how they will hold up in the fading department? We want to take a refresher course and a nitrox course before our trip to get aquainted with our new bcds but I'm scared to take them in the chlorine and have them fade..

And yes we have been prancing around the house in them when we aren't at work

....October can't come soon enough!

 

[DiveMaven]

I have nearly 500 dives on my Zena with blue frint panels and it looks as good today as the day I took it out of the box!! Just rinse it really well after going into the pool and you should be fine. Have you been taught how your Zena should be properly adjusted so it never moves? Here's the quick tutorial, just in case....and you can double check your fit now without a tank as well.

The most important thing to know is that the MIDDLE strap of your Zena should fit at your natural waist. For boat diving, put your BC/tank on and tighten it down just enough to get off the boat. During your decent, go horizontal and loosen up ALL of the straps, pull down your Zena from the sides and tighten the lowest straps first. Tighten the middle strap, making sure it is at your natural waist or at the very bottom of your rib cage, depending on how you're built. Once your body straps are tight, lightly snug down the shoulder straps. If you've done it correctly, your Zena will never move on our body, no matter what position you are in. Your straps should be about 1/2 used, giving you space for thicker or thinner suits.

For shore diving, I tighten my shoulder straps all the way down first, making my tank as high on my back as possible to walk into the water. Once in the water, I follow the steps above. Then before I exit, I tighten the shoulders again to walk out.

If you want to check the fit at home, put on your wetsuit, put on your Zena with the straps loose. Position the middle strap at your waist and tighten the strap. Tighten the bottom strap, snug up the shoulder straps, and check for fit. If you've used most of your straps and are losing weight, you'll want to look at a smaller size.

 

[Capt.Gene]

Scout, made in China, 2 year warranty, no true weight system, sewn in place shoulders
Stiletto, made in USA, lifetime warranty, Ripcord weight system, modular shoulders.
Good choice!

 

[abnfrog]

cant go wrong with a real zeagle i have 6 including on rebreather...........................

 

[NCadiver]

Good choices on the BCD's. Soak them in fresh water before getting into the pool and rinse them afterwards.

 

[boatman11]

good choice! zeagle BCs are versatile, quite reliable, and easy to maintain. i have a ranger, and i have used it with single tank(with its system), single tank using single tank adapters, with a set of doubles (tried with back plate, and tried with mounting plates).
enjoy!

 

[ganu76]

I've had my eye on a Zeagle for a while now. (Either a Stiletto or a Brigade.) Congrats on the purchases!