Zeagle Ranger

[PARADISE HUNTER]

I just bought one. The quality is much better than other BCs I've owned. Thick material, heavy stiching, six ss D rings, it even has quick release trim pockets (doubt one would need them). No traping of air issues so far. I was a little surprised with the weight, but that is what happens when something is well designed, but it is certainly manageable when traveling. Perfect BC if you are doing both cold and warm water diving. You can custom fit the pieces (medium sholder, large waste, etc.)
This was my first purchase from Scuba Toys and I was very happy. They give Scuba Board members a great discount and it comes with a lifetime manufacturers warranty, unlike other online retailers.

 

[jfoster33702]

Larry, cummerbunds don't trap air, they add drag. I've never seen a Ranger without the padding, but you see more of them than I do.

No BC will trap air if you have your positioning down, but most divers inflate their BC (not a practice I recommend, but it's extremely common) prior to entry, then to descend, they merely hold up their inflator hose to dump air. In that situation, it will trap air. Leaning forward and to the right, you certainly can dump all the air. Few divers lean forward and to the right, most add lead to compensate because they aren't even aware there is any air trapped.

I'm in my OW class now, and I can tell you that yes, they do teach leaning to the right to help empty all of the air from the BC. Perhaps those that don't know could be educated instead of simply faulting their gear. I'm sure if you took the time to explain it to someone and give them the choice between a adopting a technique or replaing an expensive piece of gear - they're going to be leaning.

I get this feeling there was something else that you wanted to say/suggest but are holding back..making vague suggestions, hoping someone will pick up on it. If there's something you wanted to say, what was it?

 

[Walter]

I said exactly what I wanted to say. I agree training should be improved, but this thread is about BCs, not training. If someone owns a BC that traps air, I'd suggest learning a work around to make it work, OTOH, if someone is looking to buy a BC, I'd suggest getting one that doesn't trap air.

 

[Flea Dog]

Love it, Love it, Love it.

Would buy one again in a second!

Flea Dog

 

[RPanick]

I started with the Concept II, absolutely love it, and use it for teaching in the pool and travel. For cold water diving I bought the Ranger LTD simply because it had a lot more capabilities including D-Rings, very adjustable, modular, more pocket space and was better at holding more weight when diving cold water.

The previous suggestion about where do you dive and how is something that you need to answer. I'd never consider trying to travel with the Ranger, its simply takes up too much space.

 

[RPanick]

This may be considered a mortal sin, but you can order it specifying the color of the sections. In my case it makes picking me out by students and dive buddies.

There is a danger though, you should choose your colors carefully, my Maze and Blue may be potentially fatal when diving in Ohio, particularly towards the end of the year. Go Michigan

Also the dive police may get you for violating the Henry Ford rule, any color so long as its black.

 

[hopeitsapar]

I had a minor branded BC, to start, but soon bought the Ranger LTD, and love it. I would buy it, and never look back

Safe Diving!!

 

[shark.byte.usa]

I have a Ranger and love it, very durable. If I were to do it again, my honest first choice would be a BP&W, then the Ranger, but I have no regrets and If I decided to make a change I would give the ranger to my son and be very happy with him diving in it for many years to come. I like that the parts can be swaped out, such as If I gave it to my son, we could replace the L harness with a M and all would be good.

I don't see how the cumberbund is any more drag than a waist strap or cumberbund on any other bc or a weight belt in a BP&W setup, There is no padding unless you add a lumbar pad which comes standard on the LTD, mine doesn't trap air, use of the inflator pull dump gets rid of any excess if you have it.

Go for it, you won't be dissapointed.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I have and Ranger and so does my wife. Two buddies I dive with often also dive Rangers. I tried a few others but none fit as well or were as well constructed as the Zeagle. Kind of made me wonder when I found ou these people got their start making equipment to jump out of perfectly good airplanes but they make top quality gear.

 

[Scared Silly]

I have been diving a Ranger for about 7 years now. It is a very durable and flexible BCD. I like the weight integration and the fact the badder is balistic cloth. I have used it for cold, cool, warm water diving wearing anything from a dry suit to a fleece skin. I have recently transitioned to using a BP. I just bought the BP and used the bladder from my Ranger. It does have a few "tech" items like D rings and what not which as nice but for real tech a BP is the way to go. But it does work. For travel it is a bit bulky and is not as streamlined as when using a BP but that is my only complaint.

The other side is that it is a Zeagle. Which as a company they are top notch. We recently sent our BCDs in for a minor change over. During that time they inspected our BCDs and on miine replced the LP inflator for no charge. They added pockets to my wife's Concept II. So as brand they have my $$.