Zeagle's rip cord system.

[WV Diver]

I have looked and lusted after Zeagle for a while, I love the concept of the module style BC and all the well adapted accessories that can be attached and how well everything fits together.

But I gotta tell ya, everytime I pick one up I just have to shake my head and wonder "What the hell were they thinking with this ripcord nonsense". If you spend alot of time with students or even just training this has got be a huge pain in the arse. The simplicity of replacing weight pouches by yourself or without having to take off the BC is paramount in my thinking. Not to mention the loosing or breaking of a ripcord.

Am I missing something obvious here? I guess those of you that have them are happy enough. Sell me on the idea of the ripcord. I just don't get it, why are they so popular? Wish I could have one to try out for a few dives.

[deepdiver47]

Understood WV,

I have had a Ranger of years and it is a snap to unzip my pockets and throw out those weight pouches myself. In an emergency would I grab that ripcord? Not sure, but I frequenty am taking my weight pouches out on a SS just for practice (I do other practice techniques at my SS, take off mask, get out of BCD, breath off of of my SS1 etc).

I do know for a fact that the ripcord system works very well. However, it is somewhat time consuming to rethread the rip cord system. Not hard, but takes time.

[ScubaToys Larry]

The whole concept that in my mind makes the ripcord superior is that as the previous poster pointed out - you can take weights in and out easily without using it. But in an emergency, one pull and you dump both sides at once.

In over 5000 dives, I've never had to ditch weights... but if you do - it's fast and easy. And while it will take about 2-3 minutes to re-thread it - the time savings is every time you put weights in - it's much faster than dealing with pockets, velcro, clips, etc.

We have to stock extra weight pockets for all the BC's we carry as people lose them all the time from them accidentally coming out because they don't get them in good. I've never lost a weight from a Zeagle.

[WV Diver]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

The whole concept that in my mind makes the ripcord superior is that as the previous poster pointed out - you can take weights in and out easily without using it.

I guess I never looked closely enough at these as I was not aware that weights could be moved in and out of the system without pulling the ripcord. I will have to take a closer look next time I see one. Is there a danger of losing the weights even though you may not lose the weight pouch itself? Now I wish I had one here to look at and play with.

[loudgonzo]

I occasionally pull the cord on my stiletto, not that big of a deal to rethread. Just a few extra minutes. I don't know or have heard of any issue of the thread wearing out due to weights rubbing on them, sort of like trimmer line.

Larry have you heard of anything like that?

[deepdiver47]

Your have the weights zipped in the yellow weight pouch and then it is zippered into a weight pocket located in the front on either side of the vest. It is essentially a zipper within a zipper and then loose weights.

On my Ranger I have 2 sets of front mounted zippered pockets on both sides (4 total). 1 set is for the weight pockets, the other is for misc stuff such as SMB, knife, CD, whistle and a reef hook. Love those pockets as it keeps my D rings free.

[loudgonzo]

Originally Posted by WV Diver

I guess I never looked closely enough at these as I was not aware that weights could be moved in and out of the system without pulling the ripcord. I will have to take a closer look next time I see one. Is there a danger of losing the weights even though you may not lose the weight pouch itself? Now I wish I had one here to look at and play with.

I typically use 3 and 4 # weights, maybe a 2 pounder, and have never had a problem with them falling through. The weight pouches they go in are
thesethings

I don't use them, and unless you are going to use small soft weights, you won't have a problem losing weights.

[WV Diver]

Do the ripcords stay attached to the bc if you have to deploy them or do the just come all they way out?

[ScottZeagle]

Originally Posted by WV Diver

Do the ripcords stay attached to the bc if you have to deploy them or do the just come all they way out?

There is a "stopper" in there that keeps the ripcord from coming out all the way.

Watch this and see if it helps you understand it better...

http://scubamarketingsolutions.com/ripcord.html

[greyzen]

video shows them in action
check it out:
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/video/zeagleweights.wmv