XDeep BC

[CWSWine]

I just received my XDeep Stealth II sidemount rig and here are my initial impressions. This is the first BC I ever purchased that came with a very nice put together 25 page instruction manual. The first time adjusting the harness took a little time to get right but will be easy to make adjustments for difference between drysuit and wetsuit thickness. Each shoulder strap can be adjusted independent and same with the waist strap so you don’t have to adjust the waist d-ring each time you adjust shoulder straps. I also like that the crotch strap and the strap between the two back plates are not one piece, just makes it easier to do quick adjustments. Not having one continuous strap does interject failure points but the attachment points are well thought out and I don’t believe it would ever be a problem. Using the three different weights of webbing I thought was more of gimmick but it really does make the harness more comfortable and functional. One of my grips with other BC is that hard to find places to put pockets if you diving AL80 and drysuit and need 16lbs of weight. This BC has solved the problem; it comes with 4 pockets that go down the middle of the back that can take either 5lbs hard weight or 4lbs soft weight. If that is not enough weight it comes with two additional pockets that can be installed in several different locations on the harness. I did decided to go with the loop bungees and I changed the shoulder d-rings out to a low profile fix d-ring. The rubber d-rings on the waist and being able to slide them back d-ring forward during the dive is something I don’t think I going to like but were left in place and I will give them a try. I really like the being able to remove butt plate when diving AL80. I would give the harness a 9 out 10 and the only reason I didn’t give it a 10 is because of not being sold on the rubber d-rings.
The wing seems to be really well built with heavy outer shell and light inner bladder. There is a zipper in the back side so you can get the bladder and possibility being able to repair it if you are on you first day of live aboard and punch a hole in it. Also, unlike several other BC the inflator hose is long enough to orally inflate the wing. The wing has 36lbs of lift so for the diving I do with small steel and AL80 it should be enough lift. The wing is broken in to compartments so when inflated it doesn’t look like an over stuff couch pillow. The wing is attached to the diver using bungee cord and has no direct attachment to the harness. I have mix feelings on this concept of just attaching the wing to the diver and not the harness so I will reserve my positive or negative comments till I get a few dives on the system.
Just my history: I have owned a razor harness and msg bag, Diverite EXP, Oxy Recon and currently own a UTD Z, UTD Z-Plus, Hollis 50 and Hollis 100 and now a XDeep. I have some where around 150 dives in sidemount.

 

[scuba127]

Thanks for the review. Right now I have an Hollis SMS 50 and have run into some of issues with it that that this sidmount rig may address.

1. Belt material: I've found the material on the SMS 50 belt to be too light in that, as the the aluminum 80 becomes lighter and I move the bottom attachment on the belt forward to the front dring of the 2 drings installed on the belt, the tank pulls the belt outward from my body. I've worked at adjusting the belt but no improvement so far. I am speculating that the stronger belt material on the X Deep may address this issue.

2. D Ring Placement on the belt: I have found the static placement of the drings on the SMS 50 belt to be an issue in that I can't seem to get optimal placement with them. I keep moving them a little bit but maintaining maximum trim as the dive progresses seems problematic with static drings. It seems to me the ability to slide the d ring forward would be more conducive to controlling trim as the bouyancy characteristics of the tank changes.

3. Wing: I find the wing on the SMS 50 difficult to dump on the surface. Additionally, the gas seems to migrate the the top of the wing pulling the upper half of my body out of trim....it seems to me this is why the weight pocket on the upper part of the SMS 50 wing is located where it is - to counter this effect. From what I have seen the wing on the XDeep might solve this issue not mention the fact that another wing can be attached to serve as a redundant wing. The fact that the wing is not attached to the harness is a plus in my mind in that it will be easier to transport as a separate piece. This is pure speculation on my part.

4. Weights: The trim pockets on the SMS 50 seem to only be compatible with bullet weights, therefore, on my last trip, I had to transport my own trim weights because the destination has only the square weights. The XDeep seems to solve this issue for me.

For these 4 reasons, I am thinking about switching from the Hollis SMS 50 to the X Deep. I invite critique and comment as I have no expirience with X Deep.

Thanks again for the excellent review.

 

[CWSWine]

1. I do like the heavier material on the waist belt but in defense of the SMS50 you could replace the webbing for under 20 bucks if you wanted heavier webbing.

2. The sliding d-ring is extremely hard to slide and takes me both hands to slide even a couple of inches. In all fairness it’s brand new webbing that has never been wet and is really stiff. After a few dives or maybe when it wet it may work as advertized.

3. When I’m at the surface I roll forward do a bubble check, hook my bungees, last minute check before descending then I use the butt dump. I do agree gas can get trapped in the top of wing and Hollis has address the issue with the new Rec SMS50 with dump at the top. Looking at he XDeep I think it will be easier to dump but again I have not got this BC wet yet. I’m still not sure if I like the way the wing attaches, I have to see if the advantages out weights the negatives.

4. I agree 100% about the trim pockets being to small and chances of finding bullet weights while traveling is slim to none. Yes I do love the all the pockets on the XDeep and I don’t think it will be a problem getting into perfect trim.

I have purchased a lot scuba gear over the years that look good but after getting in the water it had more problems that what it solved. I will get the XDeep wet on The 16th of Dec for couple hours of diving and with that limited time I will post my opinion of the XDeep again.

 

[scuba127]

That would be outstanding. Looking forward to it.

 

[rongoodman]

I got into the Stealth 2 in Mexico a couple of weeks ago and love it--my Razor II is already sold and living in Chicago. I found the rubber rings to work very well with Al80s--it's much easier to move them forward a little as the tanks get light in the tails, rather then unclipping and reclipping them to the forward D-ring. The weight system works well too. I ordered the butt plate when I got home and am looking forward to trying the rig out with a pair of LP85s. I have mine set up with loop bungees too. One change I'm thinking about is moving the back-up lights back to their standard position below the chest D-rings. If it works out, I'd like to ditch the helmet, which I'm getting really tired of.

 

[JamesK]

Thanks for the review. I am seriously considering selling my UTD setup and purchasing this for my lightweight tank setup. I will keep my Manta wing rig for heavier and stage setups.

Ron, let me know how it works with the 85's. My main tank is Faber 85's.

 

[CWSWine]

I put 3 pounds in each of the four pockets, which made me over weighted, but I want to put some air in the wing and see how it affected trim. With 3lbs in the top pocket I was head heavy so I may play around with lowering the weight pocket. The lift was in the middle lower part of the back and I could maintain trim with air in the wing and didn’t have to worry about controlling a bubble. My sidemount instructor emphasized that trim should be done with an empty wing using weights but I just want to insure that the wing didn’t affect that trim.

Next I sent the next hour with 2lbs in each pocket and was in perfect trim with very little air in the BC. One of my concerns with sidemount rigs in general is that fact that at the surface they have the tendency to roll me forward, XDeep was a pleasant surprise and would float me upright with two AL80 at 2700 psi. I have the wing setup for low profile so when fully inflated at the surface it does squeeze but nothing really uncomfortable. The dump being in the middle took a little getting use to but easy to dump 99% of the air out the BC with just a slight head down attitude.

What I didn’t like: The rubber D-Rings got to go. The rubber d-rings are very thick and I use small clips on my AL80, which makes really hard to clip to and hard to slide forward. I’m going to back to fix d-rings and clipping the tanks forward when the tanks get light. The wing covers where I normally would put my aft d-ring so the aft d-ring sets farther forward then BC like the SMS50. Example would be on the SMS50 compared to the XDeep the aft d-rings on the XDeep set about 1 1/2 to 2 inches farther forward. I’m still not sure of the benefit of the wing being separate from the harness is a plus or minus but it does work.

Overall I really like the XDeep, the weight system is the best I have used and the fact that it uses standard weights found while traveling. I can’t emphasize enough how much I like the weight system and the fact the wing has 37lbs of lift. Did I mention I really like the weight system. I can get the XDeep, LavaCore, Regs, Boots, Mask and computer in legal carryon bag with room left over.

It looks like you could put a 10L MSR bag inside the zipper on the wing with oral inflation tube if you wanted a redundancy – just a thinking out loud.

 

[JamesK]

Thanks for the extra info. Leep it coming as you continue to use the setup. The fact that this setup can be used without the wing is a selling point to me. Some places I do not use a BC at all. The harness looks nice to me and the weight system is another huge selling point.

 

[Colliam7]

I just received my XDeep Stealth II sidemount rig and here are my initial impressions. . . . Just my history: I have owned a razor harness and msg bag, Diverite EXP, Oxy Recon and currently own a UTD Z, UTD Z-Plus, Hollis 50 and Hollis 100 and now a XDeep.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a true GEAR JUNKIE! Good for you.

 

[CWSWine]

Here is my last pool session with XDeep


[video=youtube;G-pEplR42ho]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-pEplR42ho&feature=youtu.be[/video]