Triple-L BC's and Products in general

[ScottZeagle]

It looks like most of you are happy with your BCs, and that is great! I have never seen these BCs, but I have looked at the website, and I agree that the price is quite attractive. That being said, I quite interested in knowing how well they will hold up over time, so I hope you folks will continue to give updates as you get more dives in with these BCs.

Dive safe and best wishes,

Scott

 

[Charlie J]

It looks like most of you are happy with your BCs, and that is great! I have never seen these BCs, but I have looked at the website, and I agree that the price is quite attractive. That being said, I quite interested in knowing how well they will hold up over time, so I hope you folks will continue to give updates as you get more dives in with these BCs.

Dive safe and best wishes,

Scott

Hi Scott - my brother dives your BC (Ranger) and I admit it's really, really well done - I especially like the ripcord pull on the droppable weights. I'd have liked to have gotten your gear, but with all the other gear needed as a newbie, the price won out. Obviously, there ARE some compromises with the Orion, but so far is been very good in my dives, but I doubt it'll be my only BC. I too, am interested as to how well they last, because I'm a firm believer in long term cost vs. purchase price (as long as I have the capital to start with, lol!).

Scott M: I should add that as I became more comfortable with the Orion (and diving in general!) that I put the inflator hose back in the sholder tabs the last few dives- and haven't had any problem. Also you have to sorta lean BACK not forward - my so-called 'sholder roll'.

Charlie

 

[Marek K]

OK, time to jump in.

I just receive a Triple-L Stratos BC in the mail. Before I get it wet and can't return it, I'd like some advice about fit...

I ordered a size L, going by the on-line fit chart. Mostly it seems to fit great, dry and with no wet suit. Shoulder straps are snug at about the mid-way point of their adjustment.

Except I'm wondering about the waist sizing.

The cummerbund's length is fine, and has a lot of adjustment in the back. But the strap over it, with the buckle, I'm not so sure about. First, the strap is elastic, which is a bit weird to me. I generally like my waist straps -- over the cummerbund -- really snug. The Australian reviewer at Dive-Oz -- www.diveoz.com.au/gear_reviews/display_review.asp?rid=9 -- had the same concern about the elastic. Though I suppose the elastic is good for compensating when the BC is inflated.

But with the BC fully deflated, I can tighten the waist strap all the way as far as it will go, and it's still not tight... That is, it's loose enough for the buckle to be about an inch in front of the cummerbund because of the new stiff material of the shell. If I pull the two sides of the shell together, I can get them to touch in front. I don't see any adjustments for the shell itself.

So my questions are... should most of a BC's waist snugness come from the cummerbund, or from the buckled strap? With use and softening, will this BC stretch, or shrink? Should I return it now for a Medium?

Oh... I haven't tried it with a wet suit because I don't have one yet. Much of my diving is likely to be in warm waters, and I run real warm... just a dive skin in 80F water. But I will be in the market for a 7mm suit soon, for local diving.

Oh, if anyone has any specific questions about apparent quality, features, or finish (all look very impressive), I'd be glad to answer. Won't be taking it into the water until I'm more confident about the size, though...

--Marek

 

[Sirto]

OK, time to jump in.

I just receive a Triple-L Stratos BC in the mail. Before I get it wet and can't return it, I'd like some advice about fit...

So my questions are... should most of a BC's waist snugness come from the cummerbund, or from the buckled strap? With use and softening, will this BC stretch, or shrink? Should I return it now for a Medium?

--Marek

One thing to consider is that in the medium the Orion does not have the two rear fixed weight pockets which are helpful for trimming.

Oops, just reread your post and saw you are talking about the Stratos rather then the Orion. You may want to check if the same comment applies.

 

[CHUD]

OK, time to jump in.

I just receive a Triple-L Stratos BC in the mail. Before I get it wet and can't return it, I'd like some advice about fit...

I ordered a size L, going by the on-line fit chart. Mostly it seems to fit great, dry and with no wet suit. Shoulder straps are snug at about the mid-way point of their adjustment.

Except I'm wondering about the waist sizing.

The cummerbund's length is fine, and has a lot of adjustment in the back. But the strap over it, with the buckle, I'm not so sure about. First, the strap is elastic, which is a bit weird to me. I generally like my waist straps -- over the cummerbund -- really snug. The Australian reviewer at Dive-Oz -- www.diveoz.com.au/gear_reviews/display_review.asp?rid=9 -- had the same concern about the elastic. Though I suppose the elastic is good for compensating when the BC is inflated.

But with the BC fully deflated, I can tighten the waist strap all the way as far as it will go, and it's still not tight... That is, it's loose enough for the buckle to be about an inch in front of the cummerbund because of the new stiff material of the shell. If I pull the two sides of the shell together, I can get them to touch in front. I don't see any adjustments for the shell itself.

So my questions are... should most of a BC's waist snugness come from the cummerbund, or from the buckled strap? With use and softening, will this BC stretch, or shrink? Should I return it now for a Medium?

Oh... I haven't tried it with a wet suit because I don't have one yet. Much of my diving is likely to be in warm waters, and I run real warm... just a dive skin in 80F water. But I will be in the market for a 7mm suit soon, for local diving.

Oh, if anyone has any specific questions about apparent quality, features, or finish (all look very impressive), I'd be glad to answer. Won't be taking it into the water until I'm more confident about the size, though...

--Marek

I too have a Stratos. I normally wear XL, so that's what I ordered from Triple-L. The XL Stratos was too large for me, very similar to what you're describing. I returned it for a Large and I'm happy with the fit on that. The return process was pleasant, too -- they shipped the Large after I emailed them the tracking number for the XL I was returning so I wouldn't have to wait.

I'm not a big fan of that elastic band. It's okay, but I think I'd like it better with non-stretch material. I'll get around to replacing the strap on my own someday, but the elastic will do fine until then.

 

[Marek K]

Sirto--

Yes, I think the Stratos has two fixed weight pockets back there in all sizes.

--Marek

One thing to consider is that in the medium the Orion does not have the two rear fixed weight pockets which are helpful for trimming.

Oops, just reread your post and saw you are talking about the Stratos rather then the Orion. You may want to check if the same comment applies.

 

[Marek K]

CHUD--

Yeah, I read your experience with the sizing. First thing I thought of; I was just too lazy to go back and quote you.

Once the BC is inflated, there's a big difference. doesn't seem too large across the front at all. Of course, it won't be inflated most of the time.

My wife looked at the BC on me, and she doesn't think it could be any smaller. And that now seems to be true, with any air in it at all. (I had first been trying it on straight out of the box, with zero air.) It does feel nice, overall!

Also keep in mind that I'm trying this on with no wet suit... I will be diving it that way at least some of the time, but not always.

So, tell me in more detail how the Large that you're happy with fits you. How far down are your shoulder straps pulled? (On mine, there's about a 3-inch gap between the end of the strap padding, and the top of the pockets... seems just about right.) How does your cummerbund fit? (On mine, the velcro adjustments behind the backpack are just about congruent... that is, neither hook nor pile sticks out. And in front, the pile side of the cummerbund overlaps the hook side all the way to the end when it's snug, but with no overlap.)

I've just got a feeling that the elastic buckled strap isn't there for "structural" snugness; just to keep the pockets from flapping around. The structural role is done by the cummerbund. I agree, though; I'm not convinced about the elastic. Maybe just needs getting used to.

How did the fit change once the thing was in the water?

Nice to know about their exchange policies, if necessary.

Thanks for the help!

--Marek

I too have a Stratos. I normally wear XL, so that's what I ordered from Triple-L. The XL Stratos was too large for me, very similar to what you're describing. I returned it for a Large and I'm happy with the fit on that. The return process was pleasant, too -- they shipped the Large after I emailed them the tracking number for the XL I was returning so I wouldn't have to wait.

I'm not a big fan of that elastic band. It's okay, but I think I'd like it better with non-stretch material. I'll get around to replacing the strap on my own someday, but the elastic will do fine until then.

 

[CharleyT]

Orion Update -

My Triple-L Orion (Med) showed up today (yeah!). I bought it from a Scubaboard member, but it is in new condition.

I took it to the pool for some "play" before diving it tomorrow. Man was I impressed. It's built quite well and worked better than my older Zeagle BC. I'm hooked.

I'll give a report on it's performance tomorrow night or Sunday. We have 4 dives scheduled for Sat and 4 for Mon (if we can make them all), so it will get a workout.

Charley

 

[Marek K]

CHUD--

(Jeez, your avatar's giving me the willies...)

The more I look at this, the more I'm thinking that the Large I've got is the correct size for me. But that's not 100% yet.

I tried Triple-L's on-line Live Chat yesterday, asking about the fit and the structural role played by the elastic strap. I've got to say that I was disappointed, at least with the guy I was talking with. I obviously wasn't being clear about what my concern was... he kept coming back with non-sequitors like, "If you ordered a LG, you got a LG." Finally, he just said that if I'm unhappy with the fit, I should return the BC.

OK, he was obviously not a technical advisor... this isn't a slam, but he probably could have read off the BD's features for me off his cue cards, but not much else.

Anyway, what happened with the "$35.00 restocking/return fee" when you exchanged your BC? Heck, that's almost a quarter of the price of the whole BC...

Probably be more worth it to me in that case -- living here in Poland -- to just sell the Large BC to someone locally. Considering the LDS prices here, which seem to be even significantly higher than anything in the States, I'd certainly get all my money back. (I guess they've got to pay horrendous customs charges here.)

(Please, I don't want this to turn into another mail order vs. LDS discussion... Good points on both sides, but I still haven't gotten to the cost-vs.-benefit break-even point yet...)

--Marek

I too have a Stratos. I normally wear XL, so that's what I ordered from Triple-L. The XL Stratos was too large for me, very similar to what you're describing. I returned it for a Large and I'm happy with the fit on that. The return process was pleasant, too -- they shipped the Large after I emailed them the tracking number for the XL I was returning so I wouldn't have to wait.

I'm not a big fan of that elastic band. It's okay, but I think I'd like it better with non-stretch material. I'll get around to replacing the strap on my own someday, but the elastic will do fine until then.

 

[Stealth Turbo]

Just ordered an orion. For less then half the price of the bc i had planned to buy (aeris atmos xt) i couldnt pass it up. I hope i am as satisfied as most of you have been.

P.S. how long did it take most of you to recieve your bc?