Scuba With Bill

First, let me just start off by saying that preference in BC’s is completely a personal issue. Some people love jacket BC’s. I’m not a huge fan. Some people may hate back inflated BC’s. I feel the most natural in the water with a back inflated BC. The reason I mention this is because regardless of what I say about the Zeagle Ranger BC, ultimately it’s your choice and your comfort that dictate whether or not it’s right for you.

With that out of the way, I do have to say that the Ranger is one of the toughest, most versatile BC’s I’ve ever used. It’s a workhorse. Zeagle makes some of the highest quality products on the market and the Ranger BC is their flagship offering.

First off, it is a back inflated BC. That means that instead of air entering various parts of your BC to provide buoyancy, the Ranger has a single bladder on the back. There’s much debate on whether this is dangerous due to tendency for back inflated BC’s (in general) to force a diver forward which would put them face first in the water if they were unconscious. The only time I’ve really noticed this is when I’m teaching a class and I have to stay completely upright in the water for extended periods. Normally, I give one good kick and I’m laying flat on my back on the water and I can stay that way for hours if need be. When I attempt to stay completely vertical on the surface the Ranger does have a tendency to keep tipping me forward which puts me at an uncomfortable angle. I’ve also been able to neutralize this problem quite a bit by using the optional tank-strap mounted weight system which puts more weight in the back and pulls you backward allowing you to stay vertical with minimal effort.

Other than that, this is a perfect BC for me. It’s tough, it’s got plenty of lift (44 lbs), and it’s versatile. The Ranger comes has what is called a custom fit feature which actually means that every single part of the BC is interchangeable. If I damage the shoulder straps, I can easily remove the shoulder straps and order new ones. You can mix and match parts to create the perfect fit. This also means you can upgrade your BC to the next highest model (the Tech) by swapping out key parts. All of these are held together by non-corrosive screws that make assembling and disassembling your BC a snap. For instance, I have the optional lumbar support pad in my BC. I use if when diving with a lot of weight (dry suit or 7mm) but I don’t really need it when I go to tropical dive destinations. It simply adds bulk to my gear bag. So, in 5 minutes I can simply unscrew the bolts holding the lumbar pad in and remove it.

Would I buy a new Ranger if I had the choice today (mine is 3 years old with more than just a few dives on it and it looks and feels brand new)? Probably. The only question in my mind would be whether I would buy the Ranger or go with a backplate and wings system used by technical divers. I don’t do any technical diving but I’ve heard some very good things about the setup from experienced divers. To be honest, I would probably own both

A good article on how to maintain your regulator and other misc. hoses.

Last weekend while I was diving with a buddy we got to where we were going to exit and I looked down at my computer which was indicating that I had already surfaced from the dive and that I was enjoying a surface interval. Now, as I was a good 20 - 30 feet below the surface I was pretty sure I wasn’t at the surface so I punched a bunch of buttons on the computer thinking it might come to its senses.

It was only then that I noticed that the battery meter was registering in the “need to be replaced mode.” The funny thing is that for the last several years I’ve carried a backup computer somehwere on me just in case but almost felt foolish for doing so. Not this time though. I reached in my drysuit pocket and my backup was working perfectly.

I had remembered what my now impared computer had said was my maximum depth during the dive (and had a general sense for the total dive time) and compared that to the backup and they seemed to match so it was a relief that I hadn’t been getting faulty readings and had been diving much deeper than I had thought I was but still an eye-opener that just because a computer goes into dive mode on descent doesn’t mean that it’s got enough juice to see you through the entire dive.

So the lessons learned here are:

a) Check your computer’s batteries every couple of years or so.

b) It’s always good to have a backup.

On a side note (that I almost feel foolish admitting); on my backup computer it has a voltage reading. If it goes below 2.8 I know to replace it. On my primary computer it has a bar graph that displays when you first begin your dive. I always check the voltage numbers on the backup and replace at 2.8 even though it could probably go all the way down to 2.0 before it becomes an issue. On my primary, I don’t think I ever really checked it because it only displayed for a few seconds when going into dive mode at the beginning of the dive. That’s a mistake I won’t make twice

BusinessWeek is running a short little profile on dive equipment company Halcyon and the DIR (Do It Right) diving philosophy. Just scratches the surface and I wish the reporter could have given it more space but then again, it’s not every day that a diving equipment manufacturer graces the pages of BusinessWeek.

NOTE: The following is an article originally written for Ocean Adventures newsletter.

I don’t think I ever pictured myself as a dry suit diver. Heck, I’ve braved Bavarian winters in nothing more than a tent. What kind of man needs a dry suit for So. Cal diving? Well lately, I’ve been that kind of man and I’ve been loving it.

California diving, especially during the winter, hovers just above the temperatures that most manufacturers recommend wetsuit diving for. The general recommendation is that 50 degrees is the absolute lowest water temperature a diver should expose themselves to in a wetsuit with 60 being the realistic minimum temperature. A typical Catalina or Anacapa dive ranges from 58 in the winter to about 64 in the summer. Even with a 7mm your body chills rather quickly under these conditions. While a three-tank trip is something we can normally stand with minimal risk of hypothermia, the big advantage of dry suit diving is comfort. Let’s look at why.

Wetsuits operate by trapping a thin layer of water between you and the neoprene of the suit. Your body warms up that layer of water and the neoprene provides thermal protection between the layer of warmed water and the water outside of your wetsuit. The major difference between wetsuits and dry suits is that water is a relatively poor insulator. In order for your body to warm up that layer of water it requires approx. 20 times the amount of heat to warm an equal amount of air. Dry suits work in a similar fashion as wetsuits but they are completely sealed and they use a layer of air as their main form of insulation. In other words, it isn�t simply being dry that makes a dry suit more comfortable than a wetsuit; it’s the undergarment�s ability to trap air that keeps the diver warmer. Without proper undergarments a dry suit diver would chill much more quickly than a diver wearing a wetsuit.

Diving dry takes some getting used to. First off, once you submerge, you no longer use your BC for buoyancy control. Since you use the air in your suit to adjust your buoyancy during the dive a prerequisite for dry suit diving is good buoyancy control. You use the inflator valve on your chest to pump air into the suit which accomplishes three things; it increases your buoyancy, it provides a layer of air for your body to warm, and it prevents suit squeeze. You vent air through a valve usually located on your left shoulder. Most dry suits have an auto-venting valve that will vent air as you ascend in order to prevent a runaway ascent but you can also dump air manually by pressing down on the valve.

Because of the new techniques you must use in dry suit diving it�s recommended you take the Dry Suit Diver specialty course. Ocean Adventures throws in the course with your dry suit purchase as a way to promote safe diving. In the course you�ll learn how to care for your dry suit, the new buoyancy control techniques unique to diving in a dry suit, and how to handle potential emergencies and problems. Once properly trained you can begin experiencing the joy of being more comfortable during and after your dives which makes diving more fun and enjoyable and allows you to continue diving all year round.

If you’re still unsure if dry suit diving is for you, stop by the shop or call and ask Steve about the next dry suit specialty class. You can rent a suit for the day and try it out while you receive instruction.