Which XDeep BCD should I get? Help me with my analysis paralysis

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I am ready to get my own kit but my brain is working overtime to try and decide whats best for my current and future needs.

Diving style

• Always travel
• Recreational diving, occasional wrecks. Maybe the cenotes some day.
• General water temp: Coldest at 20C but I generally dive around 23-28C.
• Body tolerance: I run warm, I usually wear the least neoprene.
• Wetsuit: Rashguard to 5mm. Occasional 18C. No dry suit (unsure if this would change)
• Cylinders: Mix of 12L Aluminium and steel

Personal thoughts that I would appreciate different views on:

• The weight differences seem negligible to me since the heaviest Xdeep option, Zeos 38, at 3.5kg is already heavier than other BCDs like the Scubapro Hydros at 5kg.
• How much lift does a recreational diver really need? I used a buoyancy calculator and I should only need about 7kg of lift at most. An S size Hydros has about 16kg of lift. The Zeos 38 already beats that with 17kg. So the Zens 19kg lift might mean excessive bulk?
• I don't dive very often so I doubt I'll change out wings too much so the custom plates may not be an issue.
• Do I really need the double shell on the Zeos and Zen?
• Which of the BCDs look the coolest?

Conclusion:
I am leaning towards the Zen since it was built with a lot of considerations for comfort, has the most lift, but hear a lot of good things about the Zeos. And some might say the Ghost is a good fit.

Model	Ghost Deluxe	Zeos 38 Deluxe	Zen Deluxe
Pros	Lightest BCD Compact V shaped crotch strap with dual cam bands	Smallest form factor (based on XDeeps website) Standard configurations including backplate, strap, and cam bands	Nice and light Customisation options (color) V shaped crotch strap with dual cam bands Has the most lift (unsure if needed) Double shell (Unsure if needed)
Cons	Not customizable 3mm backplate Awkward dump valve placement (per Pearlman) Single layer bladders (similar to other BCDs but still prone to failure)	Potentially less comfortable (can add padding)	Potentially too large (underwater taco) with unnecessary lift

 

[Pearlman]

I dive a Zen and I don’t think it tacos - but I don’t dive with a rear-view mirror to check and neither do other divers in the water look at me and rub their belly signaling hunger because they see my taco …

Next week I get to dive a rental Zeos for the first time so I will be able to tell you a fair review 10 days later. Having owned the Zen for a few years I am tempted to say, “Just get whatever is cheaper”, between the Zeos and the Zen. But let me qualify that least-cost approach after a full weeks diving …

IIRC the Zeos28 (3.2kgs with Alu BP/W) is a version with smaller lift like 13 kgs … suits travel needs quite perfectly. Adding the Zen to your gear arsenal isn’t going to turn you into an underwater monk tbh. That requires finding a version of quiet intangible Zen and cannot be bought…

Recalling somebody else’s review online - The Ghost has the kidney dump jutting out on the side - which has the theoretical potential to scrape rocky walls or sharp metal on the outside of wrecks and get damaged if you are not careful. Generally as a rule of thumb, you don’t want any scratches where it doesn’t itch …

 

[happy-diver]

Inspired by a love of diving, engineered for maximum performance.​

We dive for different reasons, but whatever inspires us to take to the water, our gear must add to the enjoyment. Through meticulous design, by applying advanced materials technology and engineering expertise, the NX ZEN really does make us feel at one with the aquatic world.

Built for unmatched performance and comfort. Epic looks is just a side effect.​

Marketed for the discerning buyer that wants diving to be unnecessarily expensive!

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I dive a Zen and I don’t think it tacos - but I don’t dive with a rear-view mirror to check and neither do other divers in the water look at me and rub their belly signaling hunger because they see my taco …

Next week I get to dive a rental Zeos for the first time so I will be able to tell you a fair review 10 days later. Having owned the Zen for a few years I am tempted to say, “Just get whatever is cheaper”, between the Zeos and the Zen. But let me qualify that least-cost approach after a full weeks diving …

Awesome! Looking forward to hearing about how the Zeos feels!

I personally am leaning towards the Zen too. With your build though, I would be interested in hearing what suit and weights you use, and how the lift feels.

 

[rsfinn57]

I have a zen with steel plate as i dive in a dry suit at home. just ordered a ghost backplate and sta and will switch the wing over for travel. xdeep does sell this configuration called the zen ultralight

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I have a zen with steel plate as i dive in a dry suit at home. just ordered a ghost backplate and sta and will switch the wing over for travel. xdeep does sell this configuration called the zen ultralight

Yes I had a look and thought the ghost was a bit small so I'd opt for a Zen Aluminium instead. The plate would be 4mm instead of 3mm, and slightly wider which should be more comfortable. The added weight is negligible too.

I always travel to dive, so the steel plate is likely out for me.

 

[Pearlman]

Through meticulous design, by applying advanced materials technology and engineering expertise, the NX ZEN really does make us feel at one with the aquatic world.

TBH, I joined the FB support group for XDeep as soon as I got the Zen just after the lockdown and I was initially a little concerned by a few stories reported by owners about poor quality stitching which seemed to make a mockery of terms like “European Quality” and their sales pitch of “not made-in-China” However they were few and far in between and I haven’t tracked the group since a few years… luckily for me my piece has turned out to be flawless in production quality.

Awesome! Looking forward to hearing about how the Zeos feels!

I personally am leaning towards the Zen too. With your build though, I would be interested in hearing what suit and weights you use, and how the lift feels.

Only 1-1.5mm wetsuit/shorty or bermuda shorts so far. Nothing heavy. But where I am diving next week, they say water temps can reach 20-25C down south so I am getting a new 3mm I saw this July at a discounted price in Jakarta tomorrow. Of course the place has its rental wetsuits but my sense of civic-sense won’t let me pee in someone else’s wetsuit in peace and be a proud citizen of the diving world so here I am justifying my shopping fever the night before … (at this rate I will need a thermometer in my mouth as I type this) LOL … But I digress (there’s nobody/nowhere else in the world but here on a scuba forum that I can chatter excitedly about anticipating and spending $$$ on more scuba gear and feel welcomed and socially accepted) … (Sure sure! I tell ya! Will come handy on the many LOB trips down south with lower water temps that I can only dream of but never afford at >450usd a day)…

But that doesn’t change the type of diving though … recreational diving in warm tropical waters almost exclusively… the 19kgs lift seems quite an overkill then and so that’s why I would re-consider a 13kg wing for tourist style diving with travel. Just last night I escaped having to purchase an extra kilo of check-in luggage @40usd per kg (for the 2 outbound flights with a transit hop) at the airport, because my luggage weighed 20.2 kgs (just 200gms above the 20 kg limit, and they weighed my carry-on too!). And this after I had left my BP/W and fins at home because the dive resort has an all-inclusive package with rental XDeep gear … of course I still saved $$$ on pre-purchasing extra 5 kgs baggage add-on for my clothes (had I packed a full gear set - BP/W 3.5kg + fins 1.5 kg) … luckily they didn’t force me to open my luggage and throw my underwear into one of the airport dustbins to get rid of the extra 200 gms …

 

[boqurant]

The Zeos Standard (no uneccessary padding or clips) with 28 lbs (13 kg) wing and aluminium backplate will do you just fine, and be the simplest, most modular setup to swap-in new bits as when you need them.

FWIW our diving sounds similar and I've just dropped down from a older 25lb (11kg) Dive Rite Travel XT (which was feeling a bit flappy), to an 18lb (8kg) lift Apeks D18 with great success. I've kept the DR wing (which is still awesome and helpfully has highly compatible and replaceable parts, unlike the Apeks) for use in future temperate-water drysuit diving