marcurts:
Hi Everyone,
I new to this board and I find it very helpful, Thank you everyone!
I am looking to buy a new BCD. My LDS suggested the Zeagle Ranger and so have alot of other divers. My question is: Do I buy the BCD from the LDS or do I buy it online? Online with shipping and the exchange rate is $200 cheaper than the LDS.
Thank you for your comments.
Here's my story.
I originally was also thinking of getting the Ranger. My LDS suggested it. I don't like jacket style BCD's, as they tend to squeaze my cheast when inflated. Another thing I was considering is the fit, as I'm very skinny and seems the Zeagle's PFS system will fit me well (with a mediam shoulder and a small vest/waist).
I then learned that ScubaToys has a deal for $400 on 2003 Rangers. I send them an e-mail to get more info but they never response.
During the waiting for a response from ScubaToys, I saw the disscussion about Triple-L BCDs. I immediately got attract by their Orion BCD, which looks very similar to the Ranger. After reading some the review (one with more detailed pictures), I finally decided to get the Orion, for only about $150.
Here's the comparison between them. All back inflation and both have a lift of 44lb. Their qualities are similar and all look very solid. The Ranger is made of 1050 denier nylon while the Orion uses 840 denier. The Orion weighs about 9lb (I weighed it myself), and the Ranger is similar. Of course, the Orion doesn't have the Ripcord system, but I prefer the traditional pockets anyway. The Ranger's Ripcord pockets can hold 40lb of weight, but the Orion can only hold about 20lb. The Ranger can hold about 20lb trim weight, which is the same as Orion, but on Orion this is only available for size Large and above (I only fit in a medium). The Ranger has 2 pockets over the weight pockets, but the Orion doesn't and it has only one in the middle between the 2 weight pockets. One other thing is the Ranger has a hard backplate, while the Orion has a soft one, I personally don't see much disadvantage here (I think a hard one might be better).
One other reason for me to go with the Orion is that its wing is sold separately for about $100 (the harness is about $50) and can be easily attached and detached. I've read a lot of discussions about moving from Ranger (and other back inflation BCDs) to BP/Wing. In the future, if I have to do the same, I can build the backplate myself and use the Orion wing on it. Maybe you can also reuse the wing on the Ranger. But the Orion is a very much cheaper solution.
