SeaQuest BCD

[KaBoOm]

You can't really see it, but I'm wearing the QD+ in my profile pic, you can see it's not HUGELY bulky, but those pockets are a little fat especially with weights in.

That's one of the reasons I liked the Pro QD. The LDS was having a special on the Latitude model, but I don't think it was as high of a quality as the Pro QD. I like the metal D-Rings and such. Less plastic, probably lasts a bit longer too. I'm in this for the long haul, so I'd rather spend a bit more now and get more out of it!

Any thoughts on the regulators and computer I'm looking at?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

The Apeks regs have been rated as the easiest breathing regs of all, and they're very good for the price. This is what a lot of deco/tec divers use.

The computer sounds good also, I have a poll running in the Computers forum, and most seem to pick it over the other options. I would suggest you look at a wrist mount, and have just an SPG on the HP hose. Or, possibly go with a hoseless computer such as the Atmos elite.

 

[KaBoOm]

The Apeks regs have been rated as the easiest breathing regs of all, and they're very good for the price. This is what a lot of deco/tec divers use.

The computer sounds good also, I have a poll running in the Computers forum, and most seem to pick it over the other options. I would suggest you look at a wrist mount, and have just an SPG on the HP hose. Or, possibly go with a hoseless computer such as the Atmos elite.

Thanks for all the info. We're probably a little off topic, but what wrist computers are people using? The Atmos elite is probably a bit out of my price range right now. I think I've also decided to take a closer look at the Apeks ATX50. Probably time to visit the LDS and see what all this is going to cost me!

 

[skeet]

Call Larry at SCUBATOYS.com and give him a chance to help you. He will meet or beat any price and the service is superb.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

You might see if you LDS has a pool, and if so if they will let you use all the computers that you're interested in, so you can see how you like the interface on them. Most people like Suunto as a #1 brand, and below that it's pretty well evenly spread out. If you have poor eyesight you probably want to steer clear of the watch-size computers, such as the Suunto Stinger. I would suggest that you go ahead and get a nitrox-compatable computer, because odds are you're going to want to use nitrox in the future.

Check out these companies:
www.suunto.com(This site is down at the moment, but it will be back up soon.
www.diverite.com
www.scubatoys.com

I suggest that you compare prices between ScubaToys and your LDS, as ScubaToys has full manufacturer warranties on it's products, so it's just like buying from an LDS, but you probably will save some money.

 

[mossym]

Suunto are very popular, i have the vyper and love it, and will probably upgrade to the vytec in the future to take care of gas switching..i see suunto's mentioned as much in the threads here as any other wrist computer

 

[pilot fish]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new diver and just about to purchase my first BCD, regulator and dive computer. I wanted to get your thoughts on the SeaQuest line of BCDs, specifically the Pro QD and the Black Diamond. I had a look at these at my LDS and really liked them especially the Pro QD. Is there any issues with the brand or these in particular?

I'm also looking at the Apeks ATX40/ATX40 Octopus and the Aeris ATMOS 2 Computer console. If you have any thoughts on those, I'd love to hear them, but I will post my questions in the appropriate forums.

Thanks!

KaBoOm

I have the Seaquest Pro QD and love it. It is durable, good lift, great bladder for even lift, nice size pockets and great snap buckles at the shoulder, which makes putting it on and taking it off easier. You might want to look at the air2, reg built into inflator hose, which eliminates the need for an octopus and that long line. For reg I'd look at ScubPro MK25 S600. Gets great reviews.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I would stay away from the Air2. If you get that, then you must (well, you should) have a primary hose that's at least as long as an octo hose, so that you can share it with your buddy if need be. But, with that length of hose, you have a humongous loop of hose out to your right size. IMO, it's much better to have two 'real' regulators. There are tons of threads/arguments about this in the Regs section of ScubaBoard.

 

[MSilvia]

I would stay away from the Air2.

So would I, and I'd be inclined to stay away from potential buddies who use them as well.

It might look like a good idea at first, but think through how you would actually use one while ascending under control during an air share and you might agree that it's easier and more practical to use an octopus.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Yep. Keep in mind, when you're breathing off your power inflator, that's going to make some problems on ascent when you need to hold that inflator above you. Of course you could use the shoulder dump, which works unbelievably rapidly on the Pro QD+ (think a fully-filled bungied wing, almost explosive if you've got much air in it, so it's easy to over-do it), but the point still remains: you don't need to have your inflator in your mouth.