Zeagle SAR BC

[Diver18]

Anyone using this BC? Opinion?

 

[Gary D.]

We have found that the Ranger and Tech are better suited to our needs.

Gary D.

 

[bridgediver]

I'd stay away from this one for 2 main reasons

1) It's "identical" to the zeagle 911, which we use. There's a list on here somewhere that I made that describes why this one is a POS for PSD (or any diving IMO)

2) The only thing different between the SAR and 911 is that the SAR has a lifting harness. If you need to be lifted out of the water than you'd be better served wearing the proper harness beneath the BCD -- wearing a seperate harness is a good idea even if you're not getting lifted

If it we're me I'd go for the black diamond or a BP system. You can get 2 decent BCD's for one of these.
We got fooled into this "gimick" gear and I hope you don't too!

 

[christianweber]

after the zeagle i swiched very soon to a proper backplate with a wing , the fit goes from a female 120 pounds to a guy with 250 pounds you just have to adjust the harness ,thats it and you get a perfect fitting gear , metal bp harness and bladder is a very solid solution.

 

[Gary D.]

after the zeagle i swiched very soon to a proper backplate with a wing , the fit goes from a female 120 pounds to a guy with 250 pounds you just have to adjust the harness ,thats it and you get a perfect fitting gear , metal bp harness and bladder is a very solid solution.

Which Zeagle did you try and were you using it for PSD?

BP&W are great combinations for a wide variety of diving. But for PSD they can have their problems.

Eliminating buckles and going with a web and ring system slows the suit up time. Granted it may only be a few seconds but several things taking an additional few seconds can add a minute or minutes to getting into the water. When a life is on the line that is a lifetime.

As PSD’s we want the bulk of our weight, if not all of it on a belt. Integrated weights and/or a heavier BP are fine for a wide variety of diving but there are better options for PSD.

Even though we use Zeagle Ranger’s and Tech’s we do not use the weight-integrated feature.

It’s much easier to get out of and back into a Zeagle on the bottom. Unlike the majority of diving we get wrapped up in stuff quite often. We have to be able to get out of the gear overhead, to the right and to the left. Having the large buckles on the belly and both shoulders allow us to do this quite easily where a single strap doesn’t.

I spent a lot of years diving a single strap BP configuration. Sure I do like it but not in the PSD world.

Gary D.

 

[renpirate]

Hey Gary,

I have been toying with the BP/wing idea, but have the same reservations as you. What do you think of this solution. http://www.deepseasupply.com/page12.html It has the unencumbered front, but has quick releases that are adjustable.

 

[christianweber]

Which Zeagle did you try and were you using it for PSD?

BP&W are great combinations for a wide variety of diving. But for PSD they can have their problems.

Eliminating buckles and going with a web and ring system slows the suit up time. Granted it may only be a few seconds but several things taking an additional few seconds can add a minute or minutes to getting into the water. When a life is on the line that is a lifetime.

As PSD’s we want the bulk of our weight, if not all of it on a belt. Integrated weights and/or a heavier BP are fine for a wide variety of diving but there are better options for PSD.

Even though we use Zeagle Ranger’s and Tech’s we do not use the weight-integrated feature.

It’s much easier to get out of and back into a Zeagle on the bottom. Unlike the majority of diving we get wrapped up in stuff quite often. We have to be able to get out of the gear overhead, to the right and to the left. Having the large buckles on the belly and both shoulders allow us to do this quite easily where a single strap doesn’t.

I spent a lot of years diving a single strap BP configuration. Sure I do like it but not in the PSD world.

Gary D.

hi gary , the zeagle i had was the tech didn't dive to much with it at all couple dives , i did do some modifications on the jacket to make it fit better i wanted to feel like in a casting , removed after the first dive already the pockets swiched to a different ones , after a couple more dives i changed from mono to double tanks ,there i had to switch over to a rigid metal bp , ones you work on to get the gear off and on it is not as difficult as it seems in the beginning .

did some sort of canyon diving going trough small passanges huge stones , almost some cave diving ,just more narrow and just a couple meters long , than we had this towers of steel where we did our training in but on and off the jackets.
but now i canot imagine myself being in a soft or semirigid back plate with all the gear , but tree stages on ,i can't see myself doing that .
most of the dives i do right now the shallow ones are in the 130 foot range for like 80 min bottom time ,deeper towards 260 , with one or other hour hangtime ,having lots of gas usage. my dives are just dark and cold .most of them fresh water some of them are wrecks but that's pretty much it.

till i get in the water it is long preperation everthing takes time .

but diving have never been a quick job thing for me.

pazific sport divers i assume

 

[Gary D.]

Hey Gary,

I have been toying with the BP/wing idea, but have the same reservations as you. What do you think of this solution. http://www.deepseasupply.com/page12.html It has the unencumbered front, but has quick releases that are adjustable.

That is a better solution. You need to be able to release the shoulders and that looks like it would fit the bill just fine. Let us know what you find out.

Gary D.

 

[Gary D.]

hi gary , the zeagle i had was the tech didn't dive to much with it at all couple dives , i did do some modifications on the jacket to make it fit better i wanted to feel like in a casting , removed after the first dive already the pockets swiched to a different ones , after a couple more dives i changed from mono to double tanks ,there i had to switch over to a rigid metal bp , ones you work on to get the gear off and on it is not as difficult as it seems in the beginning .

did some sort of canyon diving going trough small passanges huge stones , almost some cave diving ,just more narrow and just a couple meters long , than we had this towers of steel where we did our training in but on and off the jackets.
but now i canot imagine myself being in a soft or semirigid back plate with all the gear , but tree stages on ,i can't see myself doing that .
most of the dives i do right now the shallow ones are in the 130 foot range for like 80 min bottom time ,deeper towards 260 , with one or other hour hangtime ,having lots of gas usage. my dives are just dark and cold .most of them fresh water some of them are wrecks but that's pretty much it.

till i get in the water it is long preperation everthing takes time .

but diving have never been a quick job thing for me.

pazific sport divers i assume

Hi christianweber

PSD's are Public Safety Divers.

The gear and the speed at which PSD divers get suited up depends on if it's a Rescue or a Recovery team.

In a Recovery operation you can “Normally” take your time. But the rules of engagement change in a “Rescue” situation and time is of the essence. Not many, I hope no, sport divers strive to get into the water in less than three minutes from the time they arrive at the dive site. And that is in cold water gear.

Time is about double that if we are going under the ice. Not the suit-up time but due to the additional time required for added safety related equipment.

Different goal, different mission, different equipment and different attitude towards diving.

You mentioned getting the BP off is not as hard as we might think. They aren’t and I dove them for the first 20 or 25 years, but there are better options for what we do.

When we try to get untangled it is with as little movement as possible. Having 3 release points is much simpler and requires less movement than just one release point.

Gary D.

 

[renpirate]

That is a better solution. You need to be able to release the shoulders and that looks like it would fit the bill just fine. Let us know what you find out.

Gary D.

Will do!