Zeagle Scout

[NuttyGambler]

(SORRY: Thought I was replying to the other thread, and it would not let me delete it)

I am again back to leaning to the Zeagle Scout.

Even after (if) I'm ready to move to duel tanks I could always keep it as my warm vacation BC.

I am going to watch the devopment of this as time goes on. But for now I can get this BC for $209 where I would be spending
$245 for BP/Harness/STA & Tank Straps
and anywhere from $175 to $278 for the wings.
(all prices do not include shipping)

I guess for what I want to do now, and the idea of very easy to pack with no extra weight. It is the price of set of single tank wings.

Or am I really going to look back at this with a I TOLD YOU SO?

 

[herman]

Hello NG,

I will give this a shot. I just got back from a week of diving in Bonaire with my Scout so here are my thoughts. I too was looking for a light/small travel BC and had looked into a BP/wing as an altermative but chose not to get one for several reasons, cost/weight/convience mainly. And like you, I have no intention of doing anyhing close to tech diving and if I do, then I am willing to spend the money necessary to purchase the proper equipment. I also had as a requirement that the BC have intergrated weights, I hate weight belts.

I found the Scout to be very comfortable and stable as long as your weights requirements don't go over about 10 lbs. After 10 lbs, it tends to want to roll you over on to your back and the only way I see to correct this is to add a weight belt. I was diving 8 lbs and found that worked very well for me. I could hover in almost any position I wanted. One of the positions I like to use when we are drifting along in a current is an upright "sitting" potition which I found very easy to do in the Scout. I had a personal mission on this trip to get my trim nailed dead on and found that if you place the weights in the back mounted holders and allow them to drop all of the way to the bottom, it tended to make me slightly feet heavy. After some trial and error, I made some weight "holders" out of plastic soft drink bottles to spread the weights out some in the pouches, trim is now dead on. I will be happy to give you details if you want.

All in all, I like the BC and it does exactly what I wanted it to do. If your weighting requirements are not too great and/or you don't mind a weight belt, then it should work well for you.

 

[landlocked]

Originally posted by herman
Hello NG,
I found the Scout to be very comfortable and stable as long as your weights requirements don't go over about 10 lbs. After 10 lbs, it tends to want to roll you over on to your back and the only way I see to correct this is to add a weight belt.

I recently tried out the new cold water neoprene with 24 pounds of weight and an aluminum 80 tank. It worked great. I use a weight belt. I found that with each neoprene configuration the front (belt) to back (trim pockets) weight ratio needs to be worked out. I was using 10 in the back and 14 on the belt. Very stable with no tendancy to roll. That worked well for this old rather pudgy guy. One of the great features of the Scout is that it works so well with a belt. I use a belt with 6 pockets and soft weights. I suspect that the one that Heath builds would work very well with a Scout. If your looking at diving strictly with one tank, you have no tech aspirations and cost is a factor, the Scout can't be beat. (I did remove the chest strap. Never missed it.) I fancy that the Scout would also be ideal for a vacation/travel BC as it takes up no more room in a suitcase than a diner jacket does. (The only draw back would be for divers who like pockets on their BC. The Scout is very limited with regards to pockets.)

 

[pipedope]

I like my Scout, very nice BC.

With my full wetsuit I use about 20 lbs of weight and can put it all in the weight pockets of the BC. It does tend to want to roll tank down slightly but only early in the dive when the tank is full. I don't find it to be a problem as it is easy to control and there are times when I want to be faceup underwater.

I also like the small, light and inexpensive points. I can have a full diving rig in a standard dive bag with the tank being the only exception.

I did keep my chest strap as I mount my Sea Snips on the left shoulder and chest straps.

It is a nice BC and GREAT for the money!

 

[art.chick]

I have to agree that the price is tempting in itself! If you decide to get a BP & wing later, perhaps you can get trade-in value on the Zeagle.

 

[IndyScott]

I use my scout for vacations and warm water; and use my black diamond for the rest.

Scott