SeaQuest Black Diamond vs. Zeagle Ranger

[AKmountaineer]

I'm looking to purchase a good versatile BC, and I believe I have narrowed the field to the SeaQuest Black Diamond vs. Zeagle Ranger. Most of my diving will probably be dry suit (N. CA) with a goodly amount of gear. I've heard a lot of good things about both of these, which makes the decision even more difficult. Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[metaldector]

I dove a SeaQuest BC for years, but as it slowly wore out I decided to buy a back inflated BC. After many days of looking at various units I came down to the same two BC's you are considering. I have one dive buddy who owns a Black Diamond. He loves it. I have dozens of dive buddies that own Rangers (or Zeagle ranger type BC's) and they love them. What sold me on the Ranger was simple, RipCord release of weights, and American made. I have been very satisfied with my personal decision and have dove this BC for two years (about 80 dives). You should also do a search on SB for this topic because it has been discussed before. Hope this helps?

 

[mtiffee]

I think the Ranger is a bit "tougher" than the Black Diamond, IMO. I narrowed it down to the same 2 BCD's when I was looking to buy as well. I went with the LTD version of the ranger, something you might consider since you have lots of gear.. One of my LDS swears by the black diamond, the other swears by the Ranger.

I chose the ranger because it has a US flag sewed on.

 

[5615mike]

Zeagle has a better warranty. Have heard a number of stories about Zeagle replacing worn out parts that were not caused by mfg. error. Just plain worn out. Don't think you are going to get that type of service from SQ but you might. I would opt for the Zeagle. Oh yea, what mtiffee said..........cool flag!

 

[bwerb]

Or...you could look at the Seaquest Raider one step up the tech ladder from the Black Diamond.

I have one to sell if you are interested PM me.

 

[GDI]

Zeagle Ranger or if you want more lift Zeagle tech. Great warranty and very durable. the tech and the ranger are similar except only for the waist bands. Ranger (R) has a velcro and buckle Tech (T) has two buckles. R 44# vs T 65# lift.

 

[AKmountaineer]

Thanks for the advice. One of the things that was turning me off of the Ranger was SCUBA Lab's equipment reviews of these two BCs. They gave the Black Diamond the highest marks with not much bad to say about it except a slight winging effect when deflated. The Ranger, however, produced a longer list of drawbacks including "Slow pull dump. Marked inherent buoyancy. Storage pockets easily confused with weight pockets. Difficult to re-arm ditch system once activated." For you Ranger fans, what has your experience been with these issues? Thanks.

Ranger Review:
http://www.scubadiving.com/article/...9X10X11X12X13X14X15X16X17X18X19X20-16,00.html

 

[iflyprops]

Storage pockets easily confused with weight pockets. Difficult to re-arm ditch system once activated." For you Ranger fans, what has your experience been with these issues. Thanks.

Ranger Review:
http://www.scubadiving.com/article/0,7424,2-35-67-293-15-4X7X8X9X10X11X12X13X14X15X16X17X18X19X20-16,00.html

I have a Zeagle escape and have nothing bad to say about it. In fact I love it! Yes the pockets are easily confused with the weight pockets, however the zippers open in opposite directions and the actual pockets have a lanyard on the zipper. It's really all about knowing your equipment inside and out anyway. As for the ripcord weight system: It is, in my opinion, far superior to any other system, especially those containing velcro. Unless you dump your weights you don't have to worry about, just inspect it before every dive. "Re-arming" it is incredibly simple also. A trained monkey could do it in under about 5 minutes. Just pull the ripcord a few times and practice re-threading it. It is very reliable and incredibly simple. As you can tell, I am a Zeagle fan!

Oh Yeah, almost forgot. Pull dumps are pieces of (insert 4 letter word here) anyway. I am by no means DIR, but I do agree with them on some things. Dump the air with the oral inflator or the OPV's. Don't be a wus...lol
Good Luck in your decision!!!

 

[jerseybones]

I have a Black Diamond that i use when diving wet, its great! but I found it too constricting when diving dry. If you think you will be using one bc for both wet and dry and also not diving doubles, take a look at the Trans Pac by DiveRite or The similiar harness system by Oms they are much more versital and can be used with a backplate should you progress to doubles.

 

[TostitoBandito]

The Ranger, however, produced a longer list of drawbacks including "Slow pull dump. Marked inherent buoyancy. Storage pockets easily confused with weight pockets. Difficult to re-arm ditch system once activated." For you Ranger fans, what has your experience been with these issues? Thanks.

Ranger Review:
http://www.scubadiving.com/article/...9X10X11X12X13X14X15X16X17X18X19X20-16,00.html

First let me say that I have a Ranger LTD and I love it. Now, about the review. "Slow pull dump." Who cares? Like a previous response said, you still have your oral inflator dump and 2 rear dumps. It really isn't that slow anyways. "Storage pockets easily confused with weight pockets." The weight pocket is the closest to you on the inside and opens bottom to top with the zipper. The storage pocket is adjacent and outside of the weight pocket and opens top to bottom. It really isn't that hard to figure out. "Difficult to re-arm ditch system once activated." Ok, now this is really dumb. Think for a second about when you drop your weights. You could dive for years and never have to ditch weights in a non-teaching situation. It's not like you are going to ditch and do a emergency bouyant ascent, and then get to the surface and be in a hurry to get your weights re-armed in less than 10 minutes for another dive. You are going to have other things to worry about first. I would gladly spend the extra 5-10 minutes to re-arm the ripcord in exchange for this system's reliability and total superiority to velcro-based systems. It is impossible to accidently ditch weights yet very easy to ditch them in an emergency. Great system. Great BC.