Dive Rite: Rec Wing or Dual Rec Wing

[damage]

Hello
I'm about to buy my first back plate and wing, I've been using Scubapro's glide plus the last six years and I'm ready to take my advance nitrox course, and later become a tech diver.

My question is this: I don't want to buy equipment that will not work for my future needs; as far as I know, among other differences in the dual wreck wing, is the Secondary (back up) corrugated hose that my instructor said is necessary for technical diving.

Nevertheless he told me that the Wreck wing can be upgraded in the future with the secondary hose. Is it true?

I will really appreciate any help.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I don't know about the upgrade, but you can always stack two wings if you need redundant inflation.

In most cases in colder water where a dry suit is used, the suit becomes the backup inflation source.

With a wet suit you may need redundant inflation if using double steel tanks that are more negative than you can readily swim up with a wing failure.

If you are diving double AL80s and a thin wet suit, you may not need redundant inflation.

The rec wing is one of the few wings that works ok with singles and doubles, but it is not ideal for either one. With 7.25" and 8" doubles combined with a plate with a flat profile, the air cell is narrow enough that the space between plate and wing will restrict it from filling to capacity, so the amount of lift it will produce in the real world is reduced. It is not a problem at all with a transpac and may not be a problem with a plate that has adequate "depth".

My advice though is to get a dedicated singles wing now and a dedicated doubles wing later when you need one.

If you get a rec wing, get rid of the shoulder dump and replace it with an elbow - its about $12 US and is cheap insurance against a potential failure of the pull dump.

 

[Karl_H]

Hi Damage

I have the Dive Rite classic wing for twin and it comes with a single hose/bladder but a second can indeed be added at a latter date if required.

My honest thought on this one is that a second bladder can cause often more problems - especially if any air is trapped cleaning - it sound obvious now but I've seen someone desperately trying to dump air from the primary bladder while fighting their buoyancy due to trapped air in the second bladder - and it was quite a while before they figured out the problem.... As I said sound obvious now but none of use in the rest of the group used second bladder so hadn't thought of that (I now always mention that in the equipment matching! )

It would be interesting to know people thoughts the second bladder, I've never used one, or thought it would be an essential requirement, but obviously there may well be some situations where it would be useful.

I'd recommend going with the single bladder and seeing how you find it, the classic wing can accommodate the second bladder at a later stage (although I'm not sure how easy this actually is?!) so you can add it if you feel you need it.

Karl

 

[halocline]

Believe me the rec wing (not "wreck") is plenty big enough for doubles. Now, if your name is Shaquille and you plan on huge doubles with a thick wetsuit and multiple stages, maybe you need something bigger, but normally it will work fine. It's a terrible single tank wing. I have a 30 lb travel wing and a rec wing which is supposedly 45 lbs, but it takes more than double the number of full breaths to inflate the rec wing; I think it's over 50lbs at least.

I've heard the arguments for dual bladder and I personally would look into alternate redundant buoyancy, like a lift bag or even just a big SMB.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Mattboy is correct - but only if the wing can fully inflate. Add 260 cu ft of gas in two steel tanks, add a stage and a deco bottle, a couple reels, a can light and back up lights, and then factor in a rec wing pressed between the tanks and a flattish profile plate and the odds are good that you will be hearing the OPV vent before you achieve neutral buoyancy.

The classic wing has a wider profile and does not tend to get constrained by the plate and tanks, and it also has 15 pounds more lift potential to start with.

 

[damage]

Thanks for your help;

I do most of my dives in warm waters, I don't think I will use a dry suit; perhaps a 5 or 7mm wetsuit tops, should I look for another wing? I've heard about stacking two wings, but some persons point me about the risk of doing it.

Should I consider buy the rec wing for singles and later buy another wing (aka classic) for doubles?

mattboy: why is this wing bad for singles?

 

[OBXDIVEGUY]

Mattboy is correct - but only if the wing can fully inflate. Add 260 cu ft of gas in two steel tanks, add a stage and a deco bottle, a couple reels, a can light and back up lights, and then factor in a rec wing pressed between the tanks and a flattish profile plate and the odds are good that you will be hearing the OPV vent before you achieve neutral buoyancy.

The classic wing has a wider profile and does not tend to get constrained by the plate and tanks, and it also has 15 pounds more lift potential to start with.

That was my exact set up with the Rec wing, but on a Transpac. Double 130s, deco, reels, light, etc. I dove it in a thick wetsuit a couple of times, but I can tell you I did not feel comfortable worrying about if my bouancy failed - I'd be screwed and I knew it.

I went with a Dual Bladder Classic wing. I opted for the dual bladder because I will not always be diving in my drysuit, which could suffice for redundant bouancy. In warm water, I can still dive in a wetsuit or less, and not worry about my bladder failing. You shouldn't ever have a problem with the backup bladder having air stuck in it. It should rarely be used, except to test it. Making sure it is bled off is an easy check on your predive list.

Anyway, I don't mean to start the whole dual / single bladder debate. There is a Dual Rec, just never used it. I used my single Rec for many years on single tanks and I was happy. I also dove it in double tanks and I was happy. It was just when I started to wear the heavy double tanks that I got worried.

 

[halocline]

Should I consider buy the rec wing for singles and later buy another wing (aka classic) for doubles?

mattboy: why is this wing bad for singles?

It's huge for single tanks. There's a bungie option that sort of keeps it from flopping all over the place, but it's going to be much too large a wing for single tank use. Dive rite is notorious for recommending too much lift and building wings that are bigger than necessary.

Its probably not the ideal wing for doubles either, but it's PLENTY (too big IMO) for my LP72s, which would be very similar in size to LP85s. As I and others said, if you're loaded up with really big doubles and lots of negatively buoyant gear, something bigger (wider)would be better.

You could talk to your tech instructor, but you should realize that double bladder wings are controversial.