Hey everyone, I am new to this game and was hoping for some helpful insight. I have been researching the Zeagle Ranger and Seaquest Balance BC's and am kind of torn between the two. I notice that alot of people comment on the Ranger but have not seen to much on the Balance (maybe for a lack of looking). I want to purchase something that is going to be able to grow with my diving experience. Can some one line up the pros and cons on these two. Would apreciate any and all comments. Thanks.
Zeagle Ranger vs. Seaquest Balance
- Thread starter cazman
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I can't comment on the Ranger but I have a Balance and I love it. I have to admit that other than rental it is all that I have used but I can't say anything bad about it.
Chad
BTW welcome to the board.
Chad
BTW welcome to the board.
First welcome to the boards... a little personal info would be nice... where are ya etc..Welcome from North Texas
"grow with your diving experience"... hmmm... I have never seen the seaquest balance so I have no idea what it looks like. I have seen the Ranger and there are some HUGE fans of the Ranger on this board. What do you mean by grow...do you want to get into technical diving (Deep, wreck penetration, caves, deco, etc)? Your best bet would be go with a Transpack II or a back plate and wings. As you get more experienced and add stuff both of these BC's will allow you to make minor modifications and it will keep up with you. The Ranger has more than one wing I think, but still not the versatility of the Transpak.
If that isn't your intent then go with what ever is comfortable to you.
Good luck and keep it safe
Tom
"grow with your diving experience"... hmmm... I have never seen the seaquest balance so I have no idea what it looks like. I have seen the Ranger and there are some HUGE fans of the Ranger on this board. What do you mean by grow...do you want to get into technical diving (Deep, wreck penetration, caves, deco, etc)? Your best bet would be go with a Transpack II or a back plate and wings. As you get more experienced and add stuff both of these BC's will allow you to make minor modifications and it will keep up with you. The Ranger has more than one wing I think, but still not the versatility of the Transpak.
If that isn't your intent then go with what ever is comfortable to you.
Good luck and keep it safe
Tom
Chad & Tom,
Thanks for the welcome. Living in Southern California but hope to dive all of the imagineable. What I meant by I wanted a BC that would grow with me is if I want to adventure into wreck dives and maybe cave dives as I get more experienced would both of these work, which one would be better or do I want to stay away from them both. I don't want to purchase something and find out a year later that I will not be able to do certain diving with what I have and then find nyself buying what I should have purchased in the first place. You can only take the shop's opinion so far because they want to sell you what they got. I figured this would be the best way to get alot of input, unbiased on a certain level at that. The Ranger and Balance just happened to be the two that I have had my eye on and researching. Of course it may be possible that I shy away from both.
Cazman
Thanks for the welcome. Living in Southern California but hope to dive all of the imagineable. What I meant by I wanted a BC that would grow with me is if I want to adventure into wreck dives and maybe cave dives as I get more experienced would both of these work, which one would be better or do I want to stay away from them both. I don't want to purchase something and find out a year later that I will not be able to do certain diving with what I have and then find nyself buying what I should have purchased in the first place. You can only take the shop's opinion so far because they want to sell you what they got. I figured this would be the best way to get alot of input, unbiased on a certain level at that. The Ranger and Balance just happened to be the two that I have had my eye on and researching. Of course it may be possible that I shy away from both.
Cazman
I don't do wreck or cave diving right now but I am sure that you are going to hear from members of the board that are better equiped to answer your question. For recreational diving I think the Balance is a good choice but it may not be suitable for more technical dive profiles, I will defer to my more knowledgable board mates.
I am off to dive now. I will be watching this post when I get back so I can see what advice they give you.
Chad
BTW if you plan to get into that sort of diving I suspect you are going to be hearing more about backplates with wings.
I am off to dive now. I will be watching this post when I get back so I can see what advice they give you.
Chad
BTW if you plan to get into that sort of diving I suspect you are going to be hearing more about backplates with wings.
TexasMike
Contributor
First off, two facts:
Now with all that being said, let me confuse you even more
. I also agree with Tom that you should take a long look at the Backplate and Wings style BC, such as the Dive Rite Transpac (and the others). The reason I say that is take all the reasons I like the Ranger, and then add in its increased versatility.
BP/Wings BC's can be (by design) setup for each particular dive profile that you are attempting. In other words, these BC's can be torn down, and then reassembled with the correct configuration to meet the current dive's requirements. They are very capable at handling recreational dives, and are designed for the aggressive technical dives. As my buddy Marc told me, "Each piece of dive equipment is a tool. You choose the best tools for the job and the dive." Marc owns both a Ranger and an OMS BP/Wings BC's. When he is diving recreationally, he will jump in with the Ranger and a single tank. When he is diving on wrecks, technical diving, or doing deep diving with intentional deco stops, he will use the BP/Wings.
Now you're probably thinking, "Hold on, up there you said you're all for the Ranger. What's this praise for the BP/Wings?" And it's a good question.
Now that I have much more experience (Both in the water, and out by learning from this board and my intructors), I will probably upgrade to the BP/Wings BC's. But most likely only after I enter into dive profiles that exceed the Ranger's capabilities. And that's a ways down there.
One of your criteria is not to have to replace the BC you choose quickly. If you see yourself moving into tech diving within the next 3 years (in otherwords, like me, you're going to get all the instruction and dive trips setup that you can afford), then make the BP/Wings choice #1, and the Ranger Choice #2.
But if you are going to hold off on Tech for a while, then go with the Ranger first since it will do you proud for all the recreational diving you will be doing, and still handle much of your technical training.
Thus ends my take on your question. I hope it has informed you some and provided some things to consider. If you have more questions, please post them. That's what we are here for.
--TexasMike
(and no jeers from the BP crowd here saying, "We told you so, Mike!")
- Tom is one of my Dive Buddies
- I own a Ranger BC
- He knew that I needed a capable BC that will handle both recreational and moderate technical dive profiles
- all components are modular, which results in about as custom fit a BC as you can get
- it will allow you to change out the bladder for increased lift that is often required for tech diving (remember, when doing tech, you're often schlepping lots of heavy gear around through the water)
- it will allow fittings for double tanks
- there are tons of attachment points for gear
- lifetime warranty
Now with all that being said, let me confuse you even more
. I also agree with Tom that you should take a long look at the Backplate and Wings style BC, such as the Dive Rite Transpac (and the others). The reason I say that is take all the reasons I like the Ranger, and then add in its increased versatility.BP/Wings BC's can be (by design) setup for each particular dive profile that you are attempting. In other words, these BC's can be torn down, and then reassembled with the correct configuration to meet the current dive's requirements. They are very capable at handling recreational dives, and are designed for the aggressive technical dives. As my buddy Marc told me, "Each piece of dive equipment is a tool. You choose the best tools for the job and the dive." Marc owns both a Ranger and an OMS BP/Wings BC's. When he is diving recreationally, he will jump in with the Ranger and a single tank. When he is diving on wrecks, technical diving, or doing deep diving with intentional deco stops, he will use the BP/Wings.
Now you're probably thinking, "Hold on, up there you said you're all for the Ranger. What's this praise for the BP/Wings?" And it's a good question.
Now that I have much more experience (Both in the water, and out by learning from this board and my intructors), I will probably upgrade to the BP/Wings BC's. But most likely only after I enter into dive profiles that exceed the Ranger's capabilities. And that's a ways down there.
One of your criteria is not to have to replace the BC you choose quickly. If you see yourself moving into tech diving within the next 3 years (in otherwords, like me, you're going to get all the instruction and dive trips setup that you can afford), then make the BP/Wings choice #1, and the Ranger Choice #2.
But if you are going to hold off on Tech for a while, then go with the Ranger first since it will do you proud for all the recreational diving you will be doing, and still handle much of your technical training.
Thus ends my take on your question. I hope it has informed you some and provided some things to consider. If you have more questions, please post them. That's what we are here for.
--TexasMike
(and no jeers from the BP crowd here saying, "We told you so, Mike!")
TexasMike
Contributor
Oh, and one more tip....
The Backplate/Wings BC's, Ranger, and many other models have been discussed at much length here on ScubaBoard. I would encourage you to use the search feature to find other threads that might help answer your questions.
But as always, we're here to help you.
The Backplate/Wings BC's, Ranger, and many other models have been discussed at much length here on ScubaBoard. I would encourage you to use the search feature to find other threads that might help answer your questions.
But as always, we're here to help you.
Texas Mike,
Well said. That is pretty much what I wanted to hear. I think you hit it right on the head with the Ranger coming first and BP/Wings coming second. I feel that it would take some time for me to outgrow the Ranger making the later option not practical at this point. I try to progress at a fast rate with anything that I do but I feel that BP/Wings route is a little bit more than I would need. I like what I've heard from you regarding the Ranger being so versitile and customizable. I guess the next step is to go hit the pool and see how it feels. I kinda felt that the Seaquest would not be the BC for what I am hoping to get out of one over the next couple of years. I think you have driven me in the right direction. Thank you.
Cazman
Well said. That is pretty much what I wanted to hear. I think you hit it right on the head with the Ranger coming first and BP/Wings coming second. I feel that it would take some time for me to outgrow the Ranger making the later option not practical at this point. I try to progress at a fast rate with anything that I do but I feel that BP/Wings route is a little bit more than I would need. I like what I've heard from you regarding the Ranger being so versitile and customizable. I guess the next step is to go hit the pool and see how it feels. I kinda felt that the Seaquest would not be the BC for what I am hoping to get out of one over the next couple of years. I think you have driven me in the right direction. Thank you.
Cazman
TexasMike
Contributor
You're welcome....and hitting the pool or a local dive site is a good idea. You might ask the shop owner when/where he plans to dive locally and if you can tag along with one of the Rangers. This way you can take it though its paces on a "real" dive.
Few things I've learned on the Ranger:
Let us know how things go, and we look forward to your continued participation here.
Few things I've learned on the Ranger:
- Experiment with just where you position the BC on the tank. Somewhere is the sweet spot that will help you with being horizontal in the water (you don't want it to high or low).
- C O M F O R T is a big thing with any dive equipment. Make sure the LDS is willing to trade out the different parts of the harness system so that the Ranger fits you well. And over street clothes in the store doesn't count. You have to dive with it wearing the wetsuit you will most often use.
- Do get the Yellow weight pouches.
- Don't over tighten the shoulder straps. If the BC rides too high on your body, it can affect your trim underwater.
- Consider carefully the decision on whether or not to get the integrated octo or not. Some people like them, some don't. I don't. And if you are going to get into techdiving, don't.
- The lumbar pad is a nice accessory.
Let us know how things go, and we look forward to your continued participation here.
scubabunny
Guest
Another option if you are planning to get into more technical diving is Seaquest BlackDiamond. It is also a back inflate, but it has more lift that the Balance, and I THINK you can get a bigger bladder if you get into dual tanks (but, don't quote me on this). It is designed to be more "tekkie" and is usually a good buy for the buck.
If your shop carries the Balance, it should carry (or be able to get) the BlackDiamond. Check it out too.
I know...just when you had your mind made up!
If your shop carries the Balance, it should carry (or be able to get) the BlackDiamond. Check it out too.
I know...just when you had your mind made up!
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