XDeep Zen vs Scubapro Hydros Pro if same price

[captnkuk]

Hi all,
After decades of diving on rental gear I am now thinking of buying a scuba gear for our family... which means 4x on each piece of equipment.
I've only dived cheap jacket-style BCDs that were available in various places around the world where we dived, but am very keen to go into BPW or the "hybrid" style such as Hydros.

Where I am buying the two BCDs would come roughly at the same price to me (650 EUR vs 680 EUR)... so price is the same.

I mostly dive tropical destinations, occasionally mediterranean; as a family we are recreational and not technical divers; even though I have been diving for 30+ years I have only dived single tank.

With this said, both BCDs are of similar weight (slight but really only slight advantage to XDeep) and similar price.

Can you please advise on which direction should I go and why? And please let's stick with these 2 models only.

 

[Pearlman]

I have about 50 dives with my new Xdeep Zen, and I am happy with it. Although 40lbs lift is too much for warm tropical water diving I don’t feel it to be bulky or oversized due to its design. Beware though that the marketing hype about “European quality” is just a bit of a hype as there are at least a few reports of poor stitching and seams coming off - Please find the Facebook page for Xdeep to locate those reports. I also see a bit of needless fanboyism around XDeep branded products. Thankfully the piece I got is without defects - I got it shipped all the way from Poland to my country (45% duties and taxes…sigh!) and it would have been very frustrating and impossible for me to ship it back for any kind of warranty repairs… The only sub-optimal design issue I find is that the centre fitted corrugated hose rubs against and chafs the skin at the left-back side of the neck unless your wetsuit has a bit of a collar. I make sure the collar is nicely pulled up before any dive and it solves the problem for me but there are also many wetsuits without a hint of a collar so it depends… YMMV. Recently I found a Tecline wing online with a design where the corrugated hose is towards one side that avoids this issue… quiet impressed with that thoughtful approach.

Also now that I am comfortable with a BP/W and by sheer coincidence I found a quiet a few dive shops in APAC (in online searches) that stock XDeep gear instead of the regular jacket style BCDs. It looks like XDeep is making quiet a push to grab some market share in the dive industry for rental gear with custom branding for each dive shop. I even dived with a shop that had only XDeep Zen BP/Ws in the Maldives (although I had my own). I am sure these shops will be happy to help you familiarise with XDeep gear as a customer and help you decide if you like the gear. Look for any RAID affiliated dive shop and the chances are that you will find XDeep gear.

 

[BoltSnap]

Hi all,
After decades of diving on rental gear I am now thinking of buying a scuba gear for our family... which means 4x on each piece of equipment.
I've only dived cheap jacket-style BCDs that were available in various places around the world where we dived, but am very keen to go into BPW or the "hybrid" style such as Hydros.

Where I am buying the two BCDs would come roughly at the same price to me (650 EUR vs 680 EUR)... so price is the same.

I mostly dive tropical destinations, occasionally mediterranean; as a family we are recreational and not technical divers; even though I have been diving for 30+ years I have only dived single tank.

With this said, both BCDs are of similar weight (slight but really only slight advantage to XDeep) and similar price.

Can you please advise on which direction should I go and why? And please let's stick with these 2 models only.

I have had my Hydro Pro for at least a year now, perhaps around 60 dives, and I love it. I used to use a BP/W for recreational diving (among other styles) but now the Hydros Pro is my main BC for recreation single tank diving (I use others occasionally). It is comfortable, easy to adjust and has all of the customization you may need. Better in every way than a BP/W for single tank recreational diving. Scubapro probably has the largest dealer network in Europe, probably in the world, and you won't have any issue in finding support for your Scubapro equipment. You won't look back after getting a SP Hydros BC (it is a VERY popular SP BC).

 

[captnkuk]

What you said @BoltSnap regarding network and aftersales support is a big plus for me re Scubapro. Major brand, services everywhere and very very long history and reputation. I also like the colour weight pocket covers so that each family member can have a different colour just for a bit of fun.
But with all the hype around BP/W I was wondering whether this may not be something that might be worth looking into more seriously… lots of comments about even better horizontal buoyancy etc…

 

[BoltSnap]

But with all the hype around BP/W I was wondering whether this may not be something that might be worth looking into more seriously… lots of comments about even better horizontal buoyancy etc…

I didn't see any advantage to a BP/W bc compared with the Hydros Pro at all in all of the above. Added advantage for the Hydros Pro is that it is very simple to adjust, adjust once, and you go diving. Easy and faster to put on and very stable.

NOTE: Hydros Pro is a single tank recreational BC (for all levels of recreational diving) NOT a technical diving BC. You can still use a pony bottle with the Hydros Pro no problem but not double tanks. In other words, no limits to the Hydros Pro for recreational diving at all levels.

 

[captnkuk]

NOTE: Hydros Pro is a single tank recreational BC (for all levels of recreational diving) NOT a technical diving BC. You can still use a pony bottle with the Hydros Pro no problem but not double tanks. In other words, no limits to the Hydros Pro for recreational diving at all levels.

Exactly. And if we do at some point want to do some technical dives here and there, we can still either (a) rent suitable BCD then for that particular purpose, or (b) invest into another BCD if that becomes a more frequent need.

 

[BoltSnap]

Exactly. And if we do at some point want to do some technical dives here and there, we can still either (a) rent suitable BCD then for that particular purpose, or (b) invest into another BCD if that becomes a more frequent need.

Technical diving is a whole different game. When you want to get into technical diving, you worry about the equipment then. In my dive locker, I have two different sections in the locker, one for technical diving equipment and one for recreational diving equipment. Enjoy recreational diving and have fun with your family. Plenty to do in recreational diving.

Let us know how it works out for you and if you have any further questions, please ask. You can send me PM's also.

 

[doctock993]

Just my personal experience with the XDeep Zen.
Previous BCD Zeagle Stiletto and Zeagle Express Tech Deluxe.
All diving recreational, tropical water - invariably distracted with a camera.
I added XDeep weight pockets, and a larger grab disc to the dump valve.

Experience: ~30 dives on XDeep
Really easy and stable bp/w to dive.
I was able to get comfortable and in great trim within 2 dives
Center mounted de/inflate hose seems weirder than it is in practice
Would benefit from an experienced person to help you fit initially and you WILL need a way to cut and seal the nylon webbing (it's very long)
Very easy to don/doff in the water
Weight holders look like they will tear will use
Compared to both the Zeagles I do miss the ease of air dump and multiple dump ports. I felt at times the XDeep bladder still retained air when I wanted it empty.
Far more firm/connected feeling when wearing and a tank attached (dual cam straps) than the Express Tech.
The Zeagle inflate/deflate hose connection makes cleaning every other BCD feel so much harder
I do miss a chest strap yet when underwater never felt like the XDeep needed one

 

[captnkuk]

Guys just a quick update... I had an amazing weekend opportunity to try Scubapro Hydros Pro, XDeep Zen, and Apeks WTXd30.
All were great BCDs and kept my buoyancy fantastically, but somehow I fell in love with the Apeks' minimalistic trim, excellent fit and just flawless performance under water. So it was a spur of the moment and I went ahead and purchased the Apeks gear (incl. XTX200 reg with XTX40 octo).

 

[Thermoinclined]

I fell in love with the XDeep's about 5 years ago. I have 5 now. All rigged for different diving needs. I highly recommend them