Scubapro Seahawk and Knighthawk

[STJ]

I'm in the market for a new BC and my top choices at the moment are the Scubapro Seahawk (new version for 2010) and the Knighthawk. There are other threads treating these two but with the Seahawk being new, I haven't come across much first-hand info. It has gotten some great reviews.

Anyone using the Seahawk? Particularly in cool Atlantic waters of New York - New Jersey for fairly deep wreck diving? (100' + with pony sling, lights, reel, steel 100, etc.) How does it fare in a tropical trip?

It's seems like the Knighthawk is tried and true and I can't go too far wrong if I buy it. But the Seahawk looks nice and steamlined in design.

Opinions please?

Also, any opinions on getting either with Air 2 v. ordinary inflator?

I'm also interested in alternative suggestions.

Thanks much.

 

[BDSC]

I was trying to decide between the Kinghthawk and Seahawk and went with the Seahawk because of the design of the pockets. I just like having large pockets that are easy to get to if needed. I only dive in warm water areas and even though it was my first trip with my Seahawk when I went to the Caymans, I can't say enough good things about it. Don't know how it would do in cold water with extra gear but I imagine it would be just fine.

 

[CaboJim]

I don't know much about the Seahawk. I've been diving theKnighthawk for about 6 years
& have been very happy w/ the BCD. I just bought the Litehawk, It is a slimmed down version of the Knighthawk. No velcro cumberbund, no extra padding. Both have the Air2.
The Litehawk comes with 56lbs lift vs 46lbs lift on the Knighthawk & Seahawk.
Because the Litehawk is basically a striped down version of the Knighthawk. I am figuring that I can lose about 4lbs of lead. I am diving it this weekend.....

 

[BDSC]

Love the AIR II. Wouldn't have it any other way. Been diving an AIR II for almost 20 years without ever a problem.

 

[-hh]

I'm in the market for a new BC and my top choices at the moment are the Scubapro Seahawk (new version for 2010) and the Knighthawk. There are other threads treating these two but with the Seahawk being new, I haven't come across much first-hand info. It has gotten some great reviews.

Anyone using the Seahawk? Particularly in cool Atlantic waters of New York - New Jersey for fairly deep wreck diving? (100' + with pony sling, lights, reel, steel 100, etc.) How does it fare in a tropical trip?

It's seems like the Knighthawk is tried and true and I can't go too far wrong if I buy it. But the Seahawk looks nice and steamlined in design.

Opinions please?

I'm in Northern NJ and I have a Knighthawk (size L, I think) if you want to borrow it to try it for a few local dives.

Not to blame the Knighthawk per se, but with my heavy UW camera rig, I don't like how a back-inflation design floats me on the surface, so I want to go back to a traditional Jacket style. As per my wife's rules, I can't really buy another new BC until this one is 10 years old, or I find someone who wants to buy this one used.

Also, any opinions on getting either with Air 2 v. ordinary inflator?.

Its been awhile since I've done a local NY/NJ dive, but aren't a lot of the boats still calling for a redundant air supply (ie, doubles or a pony)? As such, I'm not necessarily sure that an Air2 would be all that useful for you, unless you want to end up with a third regulator on your system.


-hh

 

[SailNaked]

I like my SeaHawk. I bought it to teach class in as my BP/W was getting too many questions from the students. I would not use this with a bunch of ornaments hanging off of it and certainly not for wreck diving.

The vents are well placed, the bunjied back inflate wing takes a little getting used to and I sometimes have to shift trim to be able to fully deflate it.

I would recommend it, as a good intermediate step to the BP/W and it will accept doubles (with kit). It seems well built, but will see how it holds up this year.

I dont like the Air2.

 

[STJ]

I bought the Seahawk and dove it in the Northeast for the first time this past weekend. Loved it. Hadn't used a back-inflate BC previously. I adjusted to it quickly and preferred it to the jacket style. Of course, that's subjective. It can easily handle Northeast diving and I'm planning on taking it to the tropics next month. It "held" me beautifully and it was a breeze to maintain good dive posture.

It's very well made - as it should be at that price - and I see no reason why it can't be used for wreck diving. With the right accessory pockets and pouches, it can be trimmed as tight as any BP/W's. It's also relatively easy to sling a pony off this BC because of the steel D-ring placements - that's not true of many BC's.

It is built more like a BP/W than a jacket style BC. It is like an intermediate step between the two. It does accept doubles and has sufficient lift, but I think a BP/W's would be better for doubles. For a single, even a heavy steel LP-95 or HP-119, it has plenty of lift, far more than you'll need, and trims beautifully.

 

[BDSC]

Did you go with an AIR II?

 

[STJ]

Yes, I went w/Air II, which I really like, but only in certain environments. I do a lot of tropical diving - which is mostly open-water, clear warm water, dives to less than 80', so I have only the second stage reg and inflation hoses coming out of the first stage, plus a transmitter for an air integrated wrist computer. That's a nice "clean" set-up in an "easy" environment. That much less to secure from dangling.

But in the Northeast for deeper wreck diving, I add an Octo and an analog console with SPG and depth gauges to my first stage, so that a buddy can just grab the octo without me having to switch to the Air II, and to back up the air transmitter, which can get knocked when poking around wrecks, or if the computer just quits. That makes the Air II unnecessary but so what; it's just more redundancy. (I also wear a dive watch on all dives that gives me time and depth digitally and also has a bezel. In the Northeast, I strap the watch to the backup console and at a glance, that console backs up everything in what can be some challenging conditions.)

 

[BDSC]

Most of the diving I do is pretty much tropical conditions and I think the AIR II is perfect for those conditions. Actually, I think it's fine under any most any condition. I wouldn't rig my stuff any other way.