Eagle Bigade BC Blader

[coralcrazed]

I just went and finally looked and put on a zeagle ranger and stilletto. I have to say... WOW WOW WOW. It fit so nice. that is the ranger... which correct me if I'm wrong is what the brigade is... Right? I love the pocket placement and the heavy duty feel of the whole assembly. I also did not realize that the zeagle has two tank straps. talk about quality. when you put your hands on this thing you know its made well. I like the fabric and lov te fact that you have so many additional acssesories to the thing that it can literally grow with you. OK so enough rant... here are my questions:

1. what size bladder does the brigade have? I saw the stilletto and its considerably smaller and also a bit lighter.

2. what size bladder will I need to hold me up on the surface comfortably? I'm a big guy (all muscle ) I carry about 16-18 lbs of weight when I dive but may need a bit more depending on other equipment that I may purchase.

3. can anyone set me straight again what the brigade is??? I think it was the ranger body with the escape bladder? however, I do not see anything called the escape in the brochure that I got from the store.

4. what should I be looking forspecifically for the proper fit? one thing I noticed is that on the ranger the straps are much bulkier which I like but they felt as though they were riding a bit high. is there a way to adjust it? I'm sure there is butI thought that I would ask to be sure.


thanks so much for all of your help.

[jo8243]

I have a brigade and love it. The brigade has the bladder from the escape.

It has plenty of capacity for rec. diving.

Yes you can adjust the straps. The cumberbund can also be removed and adjusted in or out. Call Joe and give him your measurements and I'm sure he can tell you what size you need.

[creggur]

Originally Posted by coralcrazed

1. what size bladder does the brigade have? I saw the stilletto and its considerably smaller and also a bit lighter.

35lbs of lift, packs up nicely for travel..

2. what size bladder will I need to hold me up on the surface comfortably? I'm a big guy (all muscle ) I carry about 16-18 lbs of weight when I dive but may need a bit more depending on other equipment that I may purchase.

I'm 6' 185 and was carrying 18lbs of weight, floated me no problem at all, plenty to spare actually....I'm now down to 12lbs of lead and thinking of going to 10..

3. can anyone set me straight again what the brigade is??? I think it was the ranger body with the escape bladder? however, I do not see anything called the escape in the brochure that I got from the store.

It is the Ranger harness, with an Escape bladder. I don't think they produce the Escape any more. I could be wrong here, but I think it got replaced by the Scout in their lineup.

4. what should I be looking forspecifically for the proper fit? one thing I noticed is that on the ranger the straps are much bulkier which I like but they felt as though they were riding a bit high. is there a way to adjust it? I'm sure there is butI thought that I would ask to be sure.

The harness is very adjustable, and one of the nice things is that they are modular. Call ST with your measurements, and they can tell you what size of each componant of the BC you need and set you up with a custom fit if you need it..

thanks so much for all of your help.

Hope this helped..

[marchand]

The brigade, I believe, is a ranger harness with the escape bladder (35#)
Yes, there is a BC called the Escape, I have one.
the bladder works good for me. I weigh around 155-160 and am all muscle also, an carry about the same amount of weight with a 7-5mm farmer jon.
I haven't had much experience with the ranger, but I am fairly certain that you can adjust just about anything on it.

[CrzyJay456]

you dont need much air at all in the bladder to keep you floating at the surface... unless of course you are sevierly over weighed or carry every piece of dive gear you can strap to yourself.
you dont really have to worry about the bladder size until and if you start diving doubles.

these BC's are mix and match from what i understand, so it can grow with you... one size shoulders, with a certain size waist... cummerbund is optional i think, and that way you can get a BC that really fits you.

[coralcrazed]

thanks so much guys... I did some double checking on the zeagle web site and also on ST... ST still sells the escape however, Zeagle does not show the Escape on thier web site. I think it might be on its way out and maybe they make it just for ST being that they have this special brigade hybrid. Anyway, I have one more question...

does anyone know what is the difference between the ranger and the ranger LTD? I see on the ST web site the acssesories that are included is the main difference. Am I missing something? I think I saw the LTD today in the store but I'm going to call them tomorrow to be sure. Finally, is the brigade a ranger or LTD. again the ST web states its a ranger. Just want to be sure. thanks again.

BTW, I see that I miss typed Zeagle on the tittle of this thread ... I tried to edit it but it won't let me. how embarrasing

[crpntr133]

Originally Posted by coralcrazed

thanks so much guys... I did some double checking on the zeagle web site and also on ST... ST still sells the escape however, Zeagle does not show the Escape on thier web site. I think it might be on its way out and maybe they make it just for ST being that they have this special brigade hybrid. Anyway, I have one more question...

does anyone know what is the difference between the ranger and the ranger LTD? I see on the ST web site the acssesories that are included is the main difference. Am I missing something? I think I saw the LTD today in the store but I'm going to call them tomorrow to be sure. Finally, is the brigade a ranger or LTD. again the ST web states its a ranger. Just want to be sure. thanks again.

BTW, I see that I miss typed Zeagle on the tittle of this thread ... I tried to edit it but it won't let me. how embarrasing

I think the Stiletto is replacing the Escape, not sure.

The Ranger LTD has the zipper on the bladder cover that you can add accessories to. I think there are a couple other small things but not for sure without looking at the Zeagle web site.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Originally Posted by crpntr133

I think the Stiletto is replacing the Escape, not sure.

The Ranger LTD has the zipper on the bladder cover that you can add accessories to. I think there are a couple other small things but not for sure without looking at the Zeagle web site.

Pretty much right... The LTD just has the half zippers on the wing, then an extra D ring on the waist, and the lumbar pad is sewn in (I prefer it removable) and they toss in the Yellow thingies. So it's just a ranger with every option sewn on.

The bladder on the Brigade is the same one that they had on the Escape and Zena - and it's the one they have that packs the smallest - that's why we use it!

[coralcrazed]

hey Larry, just wondering... in referance to the inner bladder. can it be accessed (via a zipper) on the brigade? would you really need acess to it realistically? I guess if you punctured it somehow than having it removable would make it less expensive to replace and easyier (i'm guessing-I have no real idea).

and... please forgive the confusion (as it does not take much to confuse me ) I looked at the zena bc on zeagles web site and don't see that as being the same blader as what is shown on your web. Is it the same one?
http://www.zeagle.com/index.php?subm...cs&link=ZenaBC

To me your web picture of the bladder on the brigade looks more like the stilletto bladder or the scout bladder
http://www.zeagle.com/index.php?subm...ocs&link=Scout
http://www.zeagle.com/index.php?submenu=RecreationalBcs&src=gendocs&link =Stiletto&category=Recreational%20BCs

Naturally I have other questions:
1. Can you tell me what is the weight of the BC itself without the weight system? and
2. Can you get the trim weights on the brigade since there is no zipper like the LTD Ranger? your web sais that you can get trim weights optional... how much is this accessory?
3. Can you get the spare air attachment on the brigade? I would like to attach it like they show on the zeagle web site (under the wing) would it be possible to do this? how much is this accessory?

as always... thanks

[marchand]

I believe that the only way to access the inner bladder is to undo the stitching, unless they changed something recently.

I think that the zena and escape have bladders with the same lift, they might look different though.

Yes you can get the trim weights on the brigade. they attach to the lower tank strap, and the vertical strap things on the back of the BC. you do NOT need any zippers to do this. no idea how much the accessory is.

I am pretty sure you can mount the accessory zipper mount thing on the brigade; however, I wouldn't suggest getting spare air. If you want a backup air supply I would suggest you go with at least a 13cf pony. Spare air isn't much air. you can find a lot of opinions on this if you search scubaboard for something like "spare air vs pony". again, no idea how much it costs.