why is zeagle brand looked down upon

[MoonWrasse]

My experiences, good and bad:

Good - i like my Zeagle regs DS-V/ZX (everywhere but upside down) and my DS (which
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Bad - dont like the ZX upside down, it breathes wet.

When you mean "upside down" do you mean while you are inverted, i.e. head down feet towards surface?

The reason I ask is that there are times when I prefer this position, such as when I was photographing that scorpion fish and I don't want my reg to fail at that moment

 

[simbrooks]

When you mean "upside down" do you mean while you are inverted, i.e. head down feet towards surface?

The reason I ask is that there are times when I prefer this position, such as when I was photographing that scorpion fish and I don't want my reg to fail at that moment

Yes me being upside down, either on my head or just facing the surface. However, no i didnt mean to intimate that it fails, just breaths a bit wet. My back-up envoy 2nd stage is a lot wetter than the ZX, but this might be a local problem with the reg itself rather than the design as they are pretty much identical bar the diver fine tune knob. I still recommend the regs they breath like a dream elsewhere and its hardly a problem in those positions, but noticible. I have heard that quite a lot of regs have this trouble, cant recall which brands/models were "supposed" to be drier by the reviews in those positions.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Ok, thanks for the quick reply!

I'm considering a ZX/VI, however I haven't finished my research yet.

 

[simbrooks]

Ok, thanks for the quick reply!

I'm considering a ZX/VI, however I haven't finished my research yet.

VI - there are 6 LP ports, is this with two sets in a triangular fashion on each side? I recall when it was 4, 2 per side and i have the 5, where only the middle one (pointing towards my head) gets used after the rest are filled up out of preference of not having that routing. I could see the 6 in two sets of 3 being a good improvement.

 

[OE2X]

From previous dealings with "OE2X", I feel that he is much more upset about the fact that he has been unable to sell his used Ranger BC than anything else. If anyone is looking for a Ranger BC, please contact him. Although I am sure that he did experience the so called "turtling" effect, it is not a common complant. If it was, I believe our company and its sales reps would hear about it more...the truth is, we don't. :06:

I'm glad that for your company that I'm in the vocal minority. I've heard many good things about other products of yours, but since I don't have personal experience with them I won't comment any further.

As I believe I've stated in the past, my attitude is not based on the fact that I have been unable to sell the BCD so much as the fact that I wanted to, after just a few times using it. I had been led to believe that the Ranger was the be all, end all of BCD's. After spending $511.00 on it - much to my surprise, it did not live up to the hype. This is where my disappointment stems from.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I have to say that I had 5 good years out of my Ranger during which time the outer shell started to fray where the inflator elbow connected to the bladder. The LDS (same one OE2X purchased his from) sent it in to Zeagle for repair at no charge to me. They made it better than new.

I was able to sell my Ranger for $325 (I'd paid $425) and replaced it with a Halcyon backplate/harness and pioneer wing. For the kind of diving I do there is simply nothing better than a bp/wing with continuous harness.

I still have and use Zeagle Tech50D regs though they are the Apeks ones. I've never used the new Zeagle regs so can't comment.

Why do folks bash Zeagle? Come on... this is the internet... we bashing everything!

 

[mrobinson]

I'd like to add to Uncle Pug point. If you do to sell your Zeagle, the resale value will help get your money back. Both my huband and I have sold ours at a really good price with 100+ dives on each.
Good luck and I hope that helps.

 

[ScottZeagle]

Why do folks bash Zeagle? Come on... this is the internet... we bashing everything!

I agree with the internet being an easy tool for bashing, however, I do not feel that Zeagle is "bashed" too much on this (or other) forums. Anytime you get a collection of people together, you will get differing opinons. That is a part of life....

The funny thing is, this whole thread started due to one experience in a dive shop - not on the internet! If the "thread title" had been worded differently, this thread may have taken any number of directions.

Scott

 

[Geezer]

I own 2 and have had some great help from Zeagle on a request I had. No equipment problems, just some mods I wanted to make. Like any manufacturer and model, each has some negatives and positives.There are things the Ranger does well and some it does not. This can be said of any BC and the reason I own 2. One for each type of diving I do. I seriously doubt you will find any other manufacturer of scuba equipment or darn near anything else for that matter, that has better customer service than Zeagle. Be very wary of any shop that trashs any brand without good proof of the problems with the equipment.
I have been diving a while so I guess I should know but, just exactly what is "diver friendly" anyway? I would think that easy to adjust, comfortable, well built, good warranty, customizable and good customer service would fit the bill.
Customer service is the reason Scott is on this board. A while back a couple of customers were not getting responces to their emails from Zeagle and were getting upset and happened to vent on this board. One phone call got him on the board in less than an hour, their problems were solved (bad email server they were unaware of) and he has been here since.
There may be a good reason that some other brand of BC may better suit your needs but quality is not one of them.

I have the same two, and second everything he said!

 

[diverbrian]

You have at least one fan. My preferred dive buddy uses a Zeagle Ranger and loves it. It is one of those deals where the BC fits her better than the other ones on the market. Make that two, as if she likes for her, I like it for her, LOL. One of the things that she likes is the teal color available as well. Go figure, she doesn't care for her gear being all black. Since black is the color of most of the gear that I shop for, that adds a good statement to Zeagle's fashion sense too!

Personally, I use a Dive Rite BP/W. But, that isn't really the same category of BC so you are comparing apples to oranges. I have yet to meet someone diving doubles (over 80 percent of my diving is in dual HP100's) who doesn't use a BP/W. So, if you are able to sell and service what you make, you are doing what you are supposed be doing.