Scubapro Knighthawk vs. T-Black

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rack201

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Hello

I don't want to start another BP+W vs. whatever thread here. I am unable to test out a BP+W before I need to purchase a BCD as I am relocating shortly and need to buy before I go.

So - I am down to either the Scubapro Knighthawk or T-Black. I know the Knighthawk is a back inflate BCD, and the shop guys tells me the T-Black is a 'hybrid'. T-Black looks the business but seems a tad bulky and over pocketed.

Do you good folks have any experience with either or suggestions on which to go for?
 
There's a lot of variety out there in people's choices on BC's, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'd seem equivalent to someone who'd had the time to give them all a fair test drive. I'd recommend that the closer you get to putting the buoyancy on your back around the tank the happier you will be in the long run. As you've noticed, everyone here who's dived a BP/W will favor it, and I'd venture that if you rule out that option, everyone who's dived a back-inflate BC very much would favor one over a jacket style or a hybrid. I specifically have a Knighthawk and I like it a lot. As soon as I dove a loaner back inflate BC I immediately knew I would get one over a hybrid or jacket; I really recommend testing one of each out if it's at all an option. Scubapros are overbuilt (but also very expensive), so on that the T-black and the Knighthawk are a tie. To make this a worthwhile response other than saying "go back inflation" let me tell you what I like / don't like about the Knighthawk, although to be fair much of it is what I like about a Scubapro BC which is common to the T-Black as well I suppose.

Good:
The little finger nub on the pull dump for the main inflator is a great easy way to drain water from your BC. The placement and design of the back dump is good. Scubapro inflators are serviceable and overbuilt, and the thumb/thumb as opposed to thumb/finger button placement is nice (skip the air2 is my 2 cents), and the round indented (inflate) vs trapezoidal rough (deflate) buttons can easily be told apart in 5mm gloves. The inflator has double zip ties at both ends as opposed to the usual single on most inflator hoses. The positive lock weight buckles I like A LOT better than for example the seaquest style click-in ones, which WILL fail (i.e. weight pouch goes to the bottom of the ocean type fail) if they get the tiniest bit of sand in them when using cold-water amounts of weight. The scubapro system is still very very ditchable IF you make sure your buddy always knows how your weights ditch, which you should be doing always anyway. I really like the 'set and forget' two piece cam band buckle style that scubapro uses because it lets you really get your strap on there tight and quickly, once you have it set for a certain size tank you won't have to adjust it basically ever, and combined with the adjustable handle / valve loop strap at the top it makes changing tanks a breeze for recreational set ups. In fact I'd add that style cam strap as an add-on if you buy a different brand of BC or a BP/W, (dive rite express has them I think), but plenty of people also really like the old school style buckles better for a variety of reasons that I'll leave it to them to bring up. The knighthawk is on the more streamlined side of things you can get if you're not going to go with a single tank specific BP/W setup; for example i think it's more streamlined than a zeagle ranger which is another great back inflate BC.

BAD:
The velcro loop that holds the bladder to the backplate at the bottom of it will always always always fail by essentially disintegrating if you dive it hard (seriously scubapro guys, this is a design flaw). I just zip tie it on there if necessary. Scubapro stuff is very much on the higher end of the price spectrum if you shop around. They are pretty zealous about dinging anyone with a gray market item, so if you purchase it used, non-authorized dealer, etc, you might get a dealer warranty but not a Scubapro one. The flip side of this (and why I mention it in the buyer beware side of my comments) is if you buy it authorized, which it sounds like you're planning, keep all of your paperwork and receipts carefully and make copies, and DO NOT remove the weird giant mattress tag thing that's on the back/bottom of it- that gets them all fired up. Again on the flip side, if you do keep your paperwork and tags they're very good about fixing you up- however read the fine print if you're on the fence about whether to try to save $ on a used one; I think inflator service isn't covered, or it's like regs where you have to service it way more often than needed to keep it under warranty, and the stitching is guaranteed for 2 years tops if I remember correctly - I've had the stitching go out on the edges of my weight pouches more than once- a shoe repair place can sew through that stuff and fix it for a few bucks and avoid mailing it in if it's out of warranty or if you need it done in a hurry.

Things you might not have thought of that are neutral maybe all in all: if you dive a trim back inflate BC or a stripped down BP/W you won't have enormous pockets on your BC. The Knighthawk has tiny but serviceable (once you get used to them) main pockets, the T-Black will have ginormous ones judging from the pic.
You'll see that just as many people go jacket>back inflate >BP/W, many people also go giant pockets > tiny pockets > no pockets on the BC as they go through things, but YMMV.

In the end you'll still hear a lot of "Get a BP/W" and I would consider that advice depending on what you want to do, but out of the T-black or the knighthawk (or out of back-inflate vs jacket or hybrid generally) I'd go with the back inflate and the knighthawk.

Hope this is helpful! If you have questions about the Knighthawk feel free to pm me.
 
Powerofslack sums up the Knighthawk nicely.
the only thing I would like to add to mine would be a crotch strap .. I find it riding up on me a bit when head down and have to give it a tug from time to time (this may be due to the "shape" the waist belt has to go around ;) )
 
Thanks for the input. I don't suppose anyone has any pics of the Knighthawk BC fully inflated? I'd like to compare it to say a Zeagle ranger for size.
 
No good pics right yet but (and I know that a bungee'd wing is kinda controversial) I like how SP did it on the Knighthawk .. the wing is folded lengthwise and the wings edge is bungee'd back underneath it .. this makes it able to inflate some without stretching the bungee and is also very streamlined when only partially inflated.
I do have a pic of me from the side at about 60ft
and the bottom one you can see that wing is rolled with the edge under it (behind SMB)

DB1.jpg


SMB_bungee_1.jpg
 
Powerofslack sums up the Knighthawk nicely.
the only thing I would like to add to mine would be a crotch strap .. I find it riding up on me a bit when head down and have to give it a tug from time to time (this may be due to the "shape" the waist belt has to go around ;) )

My first owned BC, after using a few rentals, was a Knighthawk and I had the same issue as D_B, except it was more profound on the surface where it would ride up and touch my ears. I solved that by selling my Knighthawk at a loss and switching to a BP/W with a crotch strap for what I sold my Knighthawk for and will never go back. How can something better be cheaper? You do not need 40 lbs of lift (30 lbs of lift is plenty), which only creates more drag underwater. Plus the foam in the Knighthawk has to be sunk so you also need to carry more weight. A stainless plate is negative to begin with so you can pull weight out.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...ystems/291653-bp-w-i-officially-dont-get.html
 

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