After years of renting gear, I finally broke down and started looking around for my own. I blame the COVID lockdown and another member of my household for being a bad influence… at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 

Over the years my dive experiences have been good- but I always struggled with my BC for one reason or another- none of them ever fit me right. To give you an idea, I’m kinda small- I’m 5’2 and 120 pounds and short wasted- to the point that they would put me in XS and XXS at dive shops. But they still never fit right, and I ran into the same problems of my BC rising up on me when I got into the water (when it fit fine on land) and then I would spend the entire dive fighting with it to keep it in place. This caused me to waste gas and overall just made the entire dive more of an unneeded struggle. So, when I started looking for a BC again, I was super skeptical about finding something that would fit. In fact, I wasn’t very hopeful at all. 

That’s when I was shown the Zeagle Zena. The Zena design takes into consideration not just small framed women, but also that women in general have a different waistline than men. 

Finally! 

Zeagle has developed a BC with two pieces that are made to be independently fitted according to women’s chest, waist, and torso length. To be honest I think it fits and looks more like a corset as it cinches in two places- the waist and hips, for just the right fit. The front panel attaches to the rest of your BC and once you have the waist straps tightened you just have to pull down on the top straps and you have the most perfect fit I’ve ever gotten out of a BC! 

For you ladies out there that are more like me- or even have a hard time finding a comfortable BC, I wear a XS/XS whereas one of my best friends wears a M/S and is slightly taller, with a much larger bust than I am. But even being different in size and shape, we can both get that perfect fit because of that front panel. She actually tried mine out on a dive and could still fit in it comfortably because of the two side straps. Did I mention it even has a front zipper for easy on and off!?

For you mermaids that love color coordination in your dive gear, the front panel also comes in several color choices, black, pink, purple, and a teal. Our color choices have come a long way from, well… pink. I did stick with the black one though because I recently changed my gear colors from purple to the new aqua color that’s come out and I can’t for sure say I won’t ever want to change it again. 

The one thing I will tell you, is that it is a back inflate BC. Which some people do not like. If you have never used a back inflate BCD before this may take a little getting used to. I was never a fan of the ones I had tried in the past, but I decided to give it a try with the Zena. Honestly, it wasn’t at all what I had expected! 

Before I felt like I would not be able to stay upright when I tried other back inflates on, not to mention the issue of my shoulder straps rising up; but since the Zena is secured at the smallest part of my waistline- which actually holds it in place, this turned out to be a non-issue. 

The weight system is also pretty cool. You have pockets on either side which contain a removable yellow mesh weight pouch inside of them for easy access. Then you have two places in the back for your trim weights. I have found that the placement of the weights on the Zena are a lot more comfortable than past experiences with other kits. And, while it does have a rip cord weight system, I was told that in the event of needing to drop weight that It was actually just as easy to pull out the yellow mesh system inside of it. No fumbling inside your BC pocket to pull out all your weight- just grab the yellow pocket and pull it right out. 

Attaching your other equipment is pretty easy once you figure out what works for you. There is only one pocket- which I’ll discuss a little further down; and the rest of your kit can be attached by the 4 D rings that come on it. I was worried at first that streamlining my kit down like that was going to be a little daunting…. I happen to love pockets in all things including my BC! But after picking up a couple retractors it really wasn’t as bad as I imagined it being!    I’ll be honest, I’ve only gotten to use it about 10 times thanks to COVID, but I am getting things worked out where I want them to be and becoming much more comfortable with it. 

Now for the weight. This is a much more compact BC than most of the ones I have used, or read about, in the past. In fact, I am pretty sure it’s been touted as one of the perfect travel BCD’s. If not- it should be! 

Compared to others in my house, mine is TINY! It weighs almost next to nothing and folds in well for packing dive gear for travel. 

Cleaning this thing has to be the EASIEST I have ever experienced. The Zeagle Zena comes standard fitted with its Bx Coupler which allows you to screw on a regular garden hose and be able to flush out your bladder with fresh water no problems. Then just pull the left or right dump valves in back and you are done!

 If you ask me- that’s a pro in of itself because, and let’s be honest here, everyone loves to go dive, but cleaning everything out afterwards when you’re tired from a fun day is a lot. 

Now, for the cons, there aren’t many to be honest. 

One of my biggest issues with my Zena is the pocket. Because of the more streamlined design it leaves you with very little pocket space- and the pocket that does come on it isn’t very useful since it’s got a very narrow opening. It is expandable, but again, I’m not a fan of the small opening on it. Granted, there isn’t a lot of room for a pocket to begin with, but I’m still planning to replace it with something with a slightly bigger opening unless Zeagle comes out with a new pocket for it?? Hint, hint. 

Ok, well, actually there is another pocket option that I just found while writing this, the Zeagle Zeus and Zena Utility pocket. It looks to have a slightly bigger opening and is also an expanding pocket. It zips instead of using Velcro like the one that came with it.  I’ll have to update this later once I try that option. 

If you are planning to reduce how many lines you have on your kit, I’d suggest adding the Atomic SS1 as the replacement for your octo. It doubles as both your inflator, and your alternate air source. The key to this is- instead of traditionally you are handing your alternate source to your dive buddy, you now hand them your regulator and then use the SS1 as yours.  The reason I bring this up is that the Zena’s corrugated hose actually runs a little short to be able to accomplish using it as described. It works for now, but I think I’ll be replacing it in the near future for a little longer one so that it doesn’t pull. So, it’s not necessarily a con, but I wanted to throw it out there as something to think about- but not to detour you from getting it. 

The only other con I can honestly give is that I did have an issue with the zipper during one of my last dives. It just kept magically unzipping itself at the worst times. But I took it back to my local dive shop and they switched the front piece out for me and that seems to have solved the issue. That could also have just been a factory defect. Either way, I can say that I haven’t seen that complaint with anyone else on any forum that the Zena has been discussed on. So, it was worth mentioning, but not something I think you will have to worry about. 

Overall, I’m completely thrilled with the newest addition to my kit! It’s like Zeagle took everything women complain about with a BC and said- alright, we hear you- here ya go! 

Have you tried one out yet? Or do you already own one and love (or hate) it? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments!