Schtirlitz

Hello all,

I am a fairly new diver and a complete noob on this board and I have some questions for you.

I need some advice and user opinion regarding the Riptide Zone II BC. I did my search on the board but was somewhat surprised not to find any posts regarding this particular make and model. However, there have been quite a few posts on ScubaBoard raving and praising it.

Also I posted the same question at the DecoStop and got like 50 viewing in the first day but no replies.. very strange may these guys at DecoStop are too "advanced" to bother with newbie like me... Oh well, I have been a fireman in New Jersey since 1998 and used Scott SCBA's with Full Face masks (fire version and translates as Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, without underwater) for many years in conditions that most of those guys never even dreamed off... like Zero viz, fire, heat, suspended from ropes, rappelling, on ladders at 100ft off the ground, confined space, swinging axe, forced entries, fire fighter search and rescue (FAST) etc.. Well anyway…

First of all, I have an absolute hell of a time to size anything for scuba because I have 36” waist and 48” shoulders and I am 6’0” tall, thus any wet suit I try or any BC has to be either custom built or have XXL size shoulders and L or sometimes XL waist. To make the long story short, the local shop where I got certified carried only one BC make that offered custom fitting (or rather custom one that I could afford. They also carry OMS, Poseidon, Dive Rite, Deep Outdoors, etc) was the Riptide Zone II and so I purchased one.

Riptide is designed and manufactured by the company called Custom Buoyancy. CB is also a designer and OEM for Dive-Rite, OMS, Deep Outdoors, and a few others… It has a 50lbs wing permanently attached to a Trans Pack-style soft harness and can accommodate a backplate: it has a pocket right behind the lumbar pad where a plate could be inserted for greater stability with singles or for use with doubles.

It has an integrated quick release weight system that could take up to 30 lbs of lead plus two un-dumpable trim-weight pockets located on the tank bands that can take up to 5lbs each, if I am not mistaking. Here is the link to the distributor’s site: http://www.diveutc.com/Riptide.html. Also Rodale’s named it ScubaLab Tester’s Choice: http://www.diveutc.com/RiptideTestersChoice.html

First, I have to tell you that BC looks and feels completely “bullet-proof” and also feels very nice when worn, both over a wet suit and even on bearskin in the pool. However, out of the box, the BC bladder kept on filling with water and was slooowly self-inflating. The LDS owner solved the self-inflation issue immediately by replacing the power inflator but the water-in-the-bladder issue is still there possibly due to my screw-ups when deflating it under water and also due to an apparent problem with the BC itself. We are still trying to figure it out.

Overall, in spite of some technical and /or experience problems, Zone II seems to be a very well-built system that is manufactured using very high quality materials and I think it is a pretty good beginner wreck / tech BC and it seems to serve my current diving needs.

Nevertheless, below are some items I need help with and some other problems I am still trying to work out, although I contribute some degree of it to my inexperience as a diver:

1. When used with smaller aluminum tanks in the pool it’s really a hell to adjust for neutral buoyancy, but doable with some practice
2. On a few occasions it seemed to rid up on me while worn over bearskin in the pool, but I am hoping to rectify this with wearing it over the suit for better fit and / or use of crotch strap
3. BC seems to trap air and sometimes you really have to try hard to get the air out by rolling to the right or lifting your left shoulder, etc…
4. On a few occasions I have had problems with longitudinal stability (rolling) underwater but weight readjustment seems to help somewhat… (Yes, I read the Stability article referenced in one of the threads here)

I would appreciate any input and /advice, even from the divers who have not had any experience with this BC but can elaborate on my “beef” list above in a general sense.

Thanks again to all.