BCD Opnions: Zeagle Ranger or Scubpro Nighthawk?

Hello all,

After 3 years of not having been diving, I'm in overdrive mode with equipment purchases, and have found myself in need of a new BCD. I've used a Scubapro Double Black jacket-style for 16 years and really like the ease of buoyancy control that it offers, but there's no question that back-buoyancy BCDs are much less restrictive. I've never dove with a back-buoyancy BCD though. Yesterday, I purchased a Zeagle Brigade (Ranger harness with Escape bladder) from Scuba Toys in Dallas, and compared it alongside a Scubapro Nighthawk at Lone Star Scuba in Fort Worth today to see which I favored. For the moment, the Zeagle is holding my favor.

However.....Thinking about the buyoancy control, I really favor the high, shoulder-mounted exhaust of the Scubapro over the Zeagle's upper shoulder-blade positioned exhaust. It just seems the Scubapro is likely to dump air more effectively for that exhaust area. Where the Zeagle has an inverted-U shaped bladder with individual dumps at the base of each "leg", the Scubapro has only a single dump at the bottom of the bladder, but the bladder is a flow-through design without the air trapping issues of the Zeagle. Again, the Scubapro seems to have an advantage here. The rep who sold me the Zeagle even mentioned how he has occasionally had an air bubble shift from one side of the Zeagle to the other, not causing any great problem but nonetheless he did have to adjust his buoyancy or perhaps his position to counter that change. Again, this just overall makes the Scubapro design look superior to the Zeagle.

Meanwhile...The Zeagle, with its soft backpack, fits very comfortably and has narrower shoulder straps than the Scubapro. The modular design of the Zeagle indeeds allows for a more customized fit. Both fit well and are comfortable, but overall the Zeagle takes the nod here. I also like that a soft backpack should pack a bit more compactly. If I were to give the two BCDs a 1(bad)-10(great) comfort rating, the Zeagle would be a 10 to maybe an 8.5 for Scubapro.

I've rarely used my BCD pockets but it is nice to have good, functional pockets that don't have to be unfolded. Here, the Zeagle easily bests the Scubapro, although the Zeagle pockets could somewhat easily be confused with their weight pockets. There are also several accessory attachment points of potential use, above and beyond the D-rings common to both BCDs. I also like the Zeagle's small roll-down pocket. If I wanted to carry a medium-sized flashlight, macro-mate lens, or other such items, the Zeagle pockets are very accommodating. The Scubapro has smallish zippered pockets good for a small flashlight, signaling tube, or other similar-sized items, but larger items would require using the single fold-down pocket that I find less desirable.

Pricewise, the Scubapro is about $100 more than the Zeagle, but that's not enough to be an issue to me when buying a BCD. Although I'm not a frequent diver, I'm nonetheless more concerned about good buoyancy control, overall comfort, and user-friendliness of the BCD. The integrated weights are great, and Scubapro is easily to dump & re-arm, while the ripcord-based approach of the Zeagle works great for dumping but is a nuisance to re-arm. I've never had to dump my weights though, so the convenience of re-arming isn't a major concern.

Of those of you who have used either, or even both BCDs, do you have any opinions to offer on what you like/dislike about each? In my mind, good buyoancy control is very important for u/w photography and thus the Scubpro Nighthawk is strongly tugging at me as more important than even the useful pockets and slightly better comfort of fit in the Zeagle. Both are such a dramatic improvement in comfort over the Scubapro jacket-style BCD, that either would make me happy.

Unfortunately, I can't take both BCDs and dive with them. It's one or the other. What I really want is the Zeagle Ranger harness with the Scubapro bladder, but that's not doable. I don't think either can be seen as a bad purchase, but there may be something I've overlooked that does carry even more favor to sway my final decision. Having to use both hands to dump both sides of the Zeagle bladder seems a possible nagging nuisance, but if I can get good weighting such that only minimal air needs to be added/dumped throughout a dive, that may be less an issue than I'm seeing at the moment.

I apologize for the lengthy post but just want want to make a well-informed decision. Any feedback that can be provided in view of the features discussed is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Daryl

I've used both BCD's in the past (as well as the NightHawk's ancestor, the SuperHawk NT), and eventually gave up the Zeagle first because of its weight and bulk. This is important to me, as I travel a lot for diving, so every inch and every pound counts. It may not be so relevant to you if you do mostly local diving.

Just to add to your dilemma, I've actually settled for a DiveRight BCD in the past couple of years. I use it mostly with the tiny lightweight TravelPak wings as it saves a lot of space and weight in the bags.

Daryl,

This is a very personal opinion, but if you like Scubapro and want ease of movement without a back inflate, look at the Glide Plus. It is not a back inflate, but it isn't a vest style either. Right in the middle somewhere. I find this BCD meets my needs very well by providing excellent buoyancy control and air addition/release. Plus, you can add the Air II and for go an extra octopus on your reg! I can have a "bladder" that is not really a wrap around only on the back and have something that doesn't restrict my movement. I can use the shoulder buckles for doning or doffing if I can't easlily slip out of it at the end of a dive. It is functional without being too busy and confining. The pockets are large and deep and the weight release system is easy to use.

The draw back if you travel is that it isn't the lightest out there. I have, however, taken it on a couple of dive vacations lately and been completely happy with it!

Matt,

Thanks...I'm assuming your Zeagle was the Ranger? If so, then yes, that model is more bulky due to the larger bladder and wings. The Brigage model is reportedly a custom made combination of the Ranger harness with Escape bladder for the Scuba Toys dive shop here in the USA. I find it and the Scubapro Nighthawk seem pretty similar in weight. The bulk of the two is also more similar than I'd have expected for a soft backpack vs. hard backpack BCD, but it may be that the Zeagle's modularity actually makes for a slightly bulkier design. I've not seen many Dive Rite BCDs to really form an opinon on them, but I think they tend to be more pricey than I want to spend at the moment.

Pat,

Curiously enough, I'd not really even given much thought to the more wrap-around style BCDs like the Glide Plus, perhaps just due to seeing and hearing more said about the back buoyancy BCDs of late. I suspect the Glide Plus isn't that much heavier than my Double Black (similar to Classic), but it probably is heavier than the Nighthawk. I know the Classic Plus felt quite heavy even compared to my older model. As for the Air II, I've got that already, and definitely favor it to an octo. Anyway, thanks for the comments...it certainly wouldn't hurt to take a look at the Glide Plus.

Daryl

Depending on where you do your shopping a Dive Rite Transpac harness and Travel wings could be had for a little more than $400.

My only bad comment on back inflate BCDs is that they tend to roll you onto your face when at the surface waiting to climb back on the boat or when waiting for the diver tender to come pick you up. Its easy to fight for a few minutes, but after waiting on the surface for 20 mins in Cozumel while our boat picked up another group, it got to be a bit much. Just my $.02.

If you want the Zeagle harness with the Scubapro bladder, buy a DiveRite Transpac and get a Travel wing or Venture wing. It's very compact, has the characteristics you want, and is modular - you can configure weight pockets and additional gear pockets to suit your needs. The weight dump system on the Zeagle is reason enough to not buy it in my opinion - I've seen far too many problems with them on our boats.

Thanks Brian and Ken,

I think I've pretty much decided to trust my instinct when I bought the Zeagle Brigade and will stick with it. If worse comes to worse and I find I don't like it, there seem to be enough Zeagle fans that I'd not expect it to be a hard BCD to sell for a fair price as used equipment. If I could find the Transpac w/travel wings for $400, I'd give it serious consideration, but the best price I've found short of eBay is $550, but more commonly around $650. Ideally, I'd want to buy it locally in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area so as to be certain of the fit without having to pay return shipping fees. As is, I know the Zeagle fits me comfortably and I'm not too concerned about the ripcord weight release...it is more of a nuisance to reload, but I like the concept of retaining a right-hand, single-point release akin to a weight belt. As for tipping face-forward on the surface, I've heard that is a common criticism of back-buoyancy BCDs, but with good weight distribution and not overinflating the bladder, hopefully I'll not find that too big a problem.

Thanks again everyone!

Daryl