Zeagle Scout - enough lift?

[Scotttyd]

I am looking at picking up the scout for traveling. But I want to make sure I am doing my math correctly. I did use the calculator on the sticky, but tell me if my reasoning is correct.

Locally I dive exclusively steel tanks - usually HP130 or 100. With a 3mm wet (what I would be wearing during warm water travel). I wear 9 lbs lead in salt water, so I figure I would use 15 lbs with an AL80 at the resort. I used the calculator and this is also what I got. (I adjusted the wet suit buoyancy until I got the weight what I currently wear.) It says then I need 18 lbs lift. So if my reasoning is correct, the scout should work for me? Am I anywear on the right path?

For those of you that use the scout, how well dose it pack for traveling. I current have a brigade, it is slightly bulky (and a little to big for me now, that is why I am looking for another)

 

[cwkline]

Scotty,
I just looked up the specs on the Scout, and it appears to match the old Escape. I used the Escape (older model with 26lbs of lift) for all my diving from cold water quarry diving and mid-atlantic ocean diving to tropical diving. It served me well and I still have it and use it for a loaner BC. With my 7mm and 18 to 22 lbs of ballast I still had plenty of lift, and in a 3mm I used 10 or 12 lbs. You should be OK with this especially if you are only doing tropical dives. Hope this helps.
Safe Dives
Charlie

 

[anzac65]

Hey Scotttyd.

I have a Scout and I'm chuffed with it. Travels just fine. I've fitted it in a carry-on with my regs and "stuff" like book, ipod, drink and so on that we like to have with us on a plane, no problem.

I think it's about as minimalist as a BCD gets but it has plenty of lift. I only do Caribbean (so far) but saying that I did use it twice in the UK. It worked fine with two 5mm wetsuits and a steel (Faber) 12 litre.

If you want more lift you can order it with a larger bladder if you like. There's a guy on here, (Herman maybe ?, mouse avatar?) who has dozens and dozens of dives on one and rates it. Apologies if I'm wrong Herman.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I've received lots of complements from other divers on how mine looks. (The BCD that is, Ha Ha.)

 

[Scotttyd]

Hey Scotttyd.

I have a Scout and I'm chuffed with it. Travels just fine. I've fitted it in a carry-on with my regs and "stuff" like book, ipod, drink and so on that we like to have with us on a plane, no problem.

I think it's about as minimalist as a BCD gets but it has plenty of lift. I only do Caribbean (so far) but saying that I did use it twice in the UK. It worked fine with two 5mm wetsuits and a steel (Faber) 12 litre.

If you want more lift you can order it with a larger bladder if you like. There's a guy on here, (Herman maybe ?, mouse avatar?) who has dozens and dozens of dives on one and rates it. Apologies if I'm wrong Herman.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I've received lots of complements from other divers on how mine looks. (The BCD that is, Ha Ha.)

thanks for the info, yes I forgot Herman uses one, (actually I now realize I borrowed it from him at the pool over a year ago, that was before I had any idea what I was looking for). I usually use a 35 lb bladder, which is plenty, I just was not sure how a smaller bladder would work, but with all the airline restrictiosn and charges, I hate to pack more than I need.

 

[herman]

No problem, Scotty is a dive buddy of mine. I have the old style Scout than has a 35 lb bladder and no pockets. You only need enough lift to keep the tank, reg and weights floating. An 80 is about -2 full, a reg is -4 which leaves you with 19-20 lbs of lift remaining with a 25lb bladder so unless your carring a lot of weight there is no need for a larger bladder. A 3mm is about 8 positive and no telling what your body is but I suspect it's closer the neutral than you think. It would be a good idea to drop by the pool or quarry and do a really good weight check. I rarely ware a wetsuit in the tropics, I am good to around 78 deg with just a fleece lined skin which is neutral. For what it's worth, I dive 0 extra weight in fresh water and 4 lbs in salt (with no wet suit and an AL-80...and a BC if they make me ). I also have a 18 lb bladder for the Scout if you want to try a really small one. It would fit on your Brigade.

 

[diver 85]

I have dived the Scout with hp 120's and a 3 mm shortie on Cozumel many times---no problems for me...have the 24 bladder in mine & it packs great too for traveling.....Can get them for ~ $190 on the internet I believe(would have to do some checking on that price), $200 for sure...

 

[Scotttyd]

A 3mm is about 8 positive and no telling what your body is but I suspect it's closer the neutral than you think. It would be a good idea to drop by the pool or quarry and do a really good weight check. quote]

Neutral? I have a lot of , lets say, natural buoyancy, although my wife may argue that the density of the rocks in my head even that out.

I may take you up on the offer to try out your scout again, mainly for fitting purposes, although I should wait until we get closer to Bonaire time as I have lost 30 lbs in the past 3 months, and my goal is to drop 20 more by July.

I did a good weight check down in Florida this weekend, although with my steel tank and a hooded vest in addition to the 3mm, weight was spot on at 2.5 lbs with a near empty tank. Figure adding 6 lbs for an AL 80, 6 more for the salt water, drop two pounds for the hooded vest, that puts me at around 13. Although a pool check would eliminate some of those variables, and hopefully I have a little less bioprene in the future.

If you are doing 5 dives a day in Bonaire, do you not start to get a little cold with just the dive skin? or does that fleece give you more warmth than a traditional dive skin?

 

[mksmith713]

You said you were looking at the Scout for travel?
Do you take steel 120's with you when you travel?
Most dive operators I know of use AL 80's.

I have a Poseiden Techlift that I use for local diving (steel 120's or 100 doubles) but I use a DUI Intrepid Explorer for travel because it packs WAYYY better than the Techlift and works well with AL 80 to single steel 120's

 

[mksmith713]

The Scout is an awesome choice as well.........my bad.
Sorry I didn't address that........

 

[cool_hardware52]

A 3mm is about 8 positive

In my experience it would be a rare 3mm full suit that is +8 lbs. 3-5 lbs is a bit closer.

OTOH, a 3mm suit + an empty al 80 is about +8 lbs.

Always best to test your own suit and not rely on internet estimates.

Tobin