How much lift does your wing have?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

The question is WHY and HOW 25lb negative on surface with wetsuit?? It is looking for touble to begin with

Just throwing those number hypothetically. But this conversation came up when this guy said that he, being a single tank diver, did not want to buddy up with a double tank divers because his singles wing does not have the ability to provide lift for both of them in an emergency where the other guys wing malfunctioned. I just wanted to ask folks if this was a legit concern.

 

[PfcAJ]

Balanced rig. Your friend needs to be able to surface with an empty wing. If he can't, somethings wrong.

 

[eelnoraa]

Just throwing those number hypothetically. But this conversation came up when this guy said that he, being a single tank diver, did not want to buddy up with a double tank divers because his singles wing does not have the ability to provide lift for both of them in an emergency where the other guys wing malfunctioned. I just wanted to ask folks if this was a legit concern.

You can always come up with corner cases where any particular setup will NOT be able to handle. If you decide to put yourself in that situation, then yes, it will be a legit concern.

Think about this, to be -25lb, a diver would need to carry about 300CF+ of air or nitrox. That is more than double HP100+a AL80 stage. Now, why would a diver with a single tank buddy up with one with so much gas? What kind of dive plan?

 

[Peter_C]

I use a 40lb Mach V wing for single tank diving because a 30lb wing won't float my kit with a full tank at home. Since most of my dives are cold water with a few warm water dives here and there, the "minor" sacrifice of the larger wing is fine by me. I really don't need to be streamlined or move very fast no matter where I dive.

 

[scubadiver888]

Peter_C, what are you diving that you need 40 lbs to float it? Are you putting all your weight on your kit?

I dive with a 7mm wetsuit and 14mm on the core (7mm tunic over the 7mm full wetsuit). I find I have to wear an additional 12 lbs to sink my wetsuit. I don't put it on my harness. I wear a weight belt. This way if I have to take my rig off under water I don't become positively buoyant. By wearing 12 lbs of lead I don't need a larger wing to float my gear. Steel plate and HP119 will float with a 27 lb wing... and I have a heavy, custom plate; it weights 8 lbs.

 

[halocline]

Just throwing those number hypothetically. But this conversation came up when this guy said that he, being a single tank diver, did not want to buddy up with a double tank divers because his singles wing does not have the ability to provide lift for both of them in an emergency where the other guys wing malfunctioned. I just wanted to ask folks if this was a legit concern.

Hypothetically, I guess you could talk about a wing that's shark and zombie proof. It doesn't mean that reality is being discussed. A diver that's 25lbs negative on the surface without some form of redundant buoyancy and/or the ability to dump weight immediately is doing something wrong. That's what the training would correctly address, not a recreational diver who's in the vicinity needing a monstro-wing to make up for the problem. And once you get into technical diving, doubles, lots of extra gear, etc....your dive partners will be similarly equipped or you won't be diving with them.

Having too large a wing takes away from the enjoyment of diving IMO. It's just more cumbersome to manage.

For most of my single tank diving I use a 18lb oxycheq wing, although I also have a dive rite travel wing. I don't really dive in cold water. For doubles I use a dive rite rec wing, to me it's plenty big even though its supposedly a hybrid single/double tank wing.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Balanced rig. Your friend needs to be able to surface with an empty wing. If he can't, somethings wrong.

Totally agree.

Warm water: 3mm full jumpsuit, SS BP, 25# Dive Rite EXP, AL 80. At end of dive my wing is empty and I can hold trim at 7', so a 15'-20' safety stop is easy. I carry NO lead.


Per your hypothetical, if lift during an emergency is a concern he needs to tell the doubles diver to be prepared to ditch his weights and/or the entire rig (assuming there is enough air to surface safely) But as stated before, every diver should work toward a balanced rig they can swim up without a BCD.

 

[Wookie]

Hypothetically, I guess you could talk about a wing that's shark and zombie proof. It doesn't mean that reality is being discussed. A diver that's 25lbs negative on the surface without some form of redundant buoyancy and/or the ability to dump weight immediately is doing something wrong. That's what the training would correctly address, not a recreational diver who's in the vicinity needing a monstro-wing to make up for the problem. And once you get into technical diving, doubles, lots of extra gear, etc....your dive partners will be similarly equipped or you won't be diving with them.

Having too large a wing takes away from the enjoyment of diving IMO. It's just more cumbersome to manage.

For most of my single tank diving I use a 18lb oxycheq wing, although I also have a dive rite travel wing. I don't really dive in cold water. For doubles I use a dive rite rec wing, to me it's plenty big even though its supposedly a hybrid single/double tank wing.

Good lord, some of these folks need buoyancy lessons. I also dive with an 18# Oxycheq wing, or an 16# DSS wing, or a Dive Rite travel wing. I dive neutrally buoyant with a steel 100 and a ss backplate. I dive solo, so if I have a buddy, they need to be solo too. In doubles, I dive a dual rec wing.

 

[Rich Keller]

I am weighted so I am neutral at the surface with an empty tank and empty wing. The only thing the wing needs to do is make up for the difference between a full & empty tank and for suit compression so my wing is only good for 26lbs of lift. I would have gone with an 18lb wing but it did not match up as well to the back plate type harness I was using. The smaller the wing or jacket is the less drag it will produce in the water and with just enough air in it to make up for a few pounds that will not be much. As for your buddy diving 25lbs heavy I would just start dropping his weights even though my wing would be just large enough to carry him at the surface.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Chillax everyone! I mentioned 25 lbs of negative buoyancy as "just a number." it is not to be taken literally. You may put any number in there that may make the world appear "sane" to you. But yes all that people have explained answers my original question.