Wow, long article that only posed more questions. I own a Zeagle Ranger and have dove with it ever since i was certified in one back in 02. I used to practice pulling the rip cord to ensure the weights would fall and that the plactic was not damaged. I do not do it as much as i should. I will say that through a couple of test i have found the cord to be difficult to pull, the weights did not always "drop" right out and it sucks to rewrap the cord. The newer methods are far better. That being said, since i am aware of how mine acts, i have learned and practiced to pull and shake the bc to drop weights. This may sound wierd to many of you, but overall i love Zeagle and will continue to dive with their equipment.
There is so much wrong with that happened and it can be as simple as the cord being wrapped wrong. Hopefully they (sherrifs department) fix this and it sucks we lost a life to find all this out. I am curious to what really happened though. When did he try to dump weights, after he was out of air? why not remove the system and buddy breathe to the surface? odd..