storing my Stiletto, assembled or not?

[oreocookie]

I just got back from 3 months on Roatan and figured it might be easier to pack my bc if I took the bladder off. Turns out it was... now I'm home and probably won't be diving for 6 months (i'm hoping less than that, but we'll see). I'm wondering if I should reattach the bladder before I put it all away or leave it off until I'm ready to start using it again. Does it even make a difference? And is there really a "best" way to store it? I've heard "hang it up" and I've heard "lay it flat", so what's best?

 

[Jeff-F]

Hello there Mr Cookie. It won't make a difference either way if you leave the bladder off the BC during storage or put it back on the BC. We do recommend giving it a good, thorough cleaning before hanging it up and storing it away. Get some soapy water, rinse out the inside of the bladder assembly (easy with the Bx coupler) as well as the outside of the entire BC and then let it hang upside down to dry it out completely before storage.

When you're ready to hang it up for storage just inflate the bladder slightly so that the inside walls of the bladder aren't touching each other. Pardon the sales pitch, but an excellent accessory to make this a little easier is our Bx Oral Inflator. This will allow you to keep your inflator or Octo-Z hooked up with your regulator and gives you a method of orally inflating the bladder for storage. A handy tool and available at your local Zeagle dealer. :cool2:

Let me know if I can assist any further, have a good one!