bp/w advice - OxyCheq, others..

[dberry]

I'm sold on getting a bp/w setup for my first personal bc. After reading a recent thread here about costs, brands, and how most of the wings are (were?) made by a few OEMs, I began to wonder about the OxyCheq rig my LDS suggested. OxyCheq appears to be primarily an analyzer company that decided to sell other gear. That could be good news or bad, depending on their quality / price ratio. I've seen them mentioned in other posts, but not very frequently.

I'm hefty (read: fat), not too tall, and have been carrying a lot of lead. E.g 12kg (26#) with 5mm farmer + shorty in salt water with a Steel 15L (ca. Steel 120?). I don't like weight belts - they don't stay up on my ample waist which is bigger than my hips.

I'm looking at an adjustable harness and 40# wing (Mach V signature). DiveRite S/S XT LITE bp. This rig supposedly does not need a STA.

The 40# lift was suggested by an instructor with a build similar to mine. If I understand correctly, the only real downsides to a bigger wing is it's more to pack for travel and more drag (although others said drag isn't much different than a 30#).

The S/S bp may be heavier in a suitcase, but it means less lead in the pockets, yes?

The adjustable harness vs. a simpler / cheaper setup: I'm still new at this and want as much flexibility as possible to adjust comfort and trim. Dumb idea? Maybe after I've been at this for a while I'd be more likely to just buy webbing and parts and roll my own, but not at this point.

Opinions on OxyCheq? Recommendations for other manufacturers in a similar price range (or less!)? Reasons to spend 20% to get the newest and greatest? Go ahead, tell me I'm a newb, but tell me what else to think about.
Thanks!

-Don

 

[TSandM]

The biggest problem with a wing that is too big, is that you're going to put a small amount of air into it, and the air is going to go to the top of the side pontoon and be hard to dump. Wings which are appropriately sized for the amount of lift you actually need (which in your case is more like 30 lbs) are easier to vent.

Adjustable harnesses LOOK as though they're going to be easier to get right, but that's a misperception. With a simple harness, it is trivial to adjust the length of the various parts, and the D rings can be put wherever they work best for the diver.

If you really want to minimize lead you have to carry, consider the Deep Sea Supply backplate setup. You can buy weight plates to bolt onto the backplate itself, which add 8 more pounds to your back. My husband uses them and likes them. I don't, because I prefer to have the rig as light as possible for carrying on land and for changing out tanks on a boat.

 

[redacted]

If you insist on putting all your weight on your rig, you will need that 40# and it better be full or your rig may sink. If you move weight from your rig to yourself, you could probably go with a 30# wing.

Oxycheq makes good gear but their customer service stinks. They won;t respond to you but may respond to your dive shop (their real customer). But I get the impression some shops are beginning to drop them. Deep Sea Supply is a quality alternative but might be a bit more expensive. Their products and service are well worth the extra cost.

 

[tbone1004]

the X-tek thread has a lot of information on it.

STA is determined by the wing, not the backplate, I can't think of any backplates that don't have cam band slots anymore, though there is a Dive Rite plate without them in my living room right now.

XT-Lite isn't going to do a whole lot for taking weight off of your belt though I suspect you're still overweighted by a bit and switching to a bp/w will likely shed a few pounds just by nature of wing vs massive stab jacket. XT-Lite is only about 2lbs, so you'll want a full SS plate to shed 5lbs. If you're going to be flying to destinations outside of the country and can't put it in a carryon then it might factor in, but for local diving get the heaviest plate you can. Depending on cost, DSS does make a Large plate which is wider than others and weighs close to 6lbs vs 5lbs of normal sized plates, they also sell weight plates that can bolt onto the backplate which are 8lbs for that pair. So with SS cam bands at 1lb each, you can take 16lbs off of your belt with that setup. Downside is it isn't cheap, $330 for the backplate and weight plates, but their weight plates only fit their rig and depending on how antsy you are to ditch lead, it may help.

Oxycheq wings are very high quality but they use a very thick inner bladder material that is not particularly easy to pack because it is very stiff, CS is probably not the best in the industry if you have issues, but you shouldn't have any issues.
Cave Adventurers - Single Tank Wings - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
I understand supporting LDS, but make sure you aren't getting ripped off, Edd has great pricing and if you call may be even lower, the wings are very expensive though.

Steel tanks will also help your situation, Worthington HP 100's over the other brands are 2.5lbs negative when empty vs most other hp steels at 1.3, so that alone will take 7lbs off of your weight belt vs an AL80. PST LP104's are 3.3lbs negative and you can usually find a set of double 104's for $400-$500, break them into singles, and if you buy the DSS plate with the weight plates that would take away your weight belt altogether.

As far as shops go, before you buy, go visit Crazy John at Northeast Scuba Supply, he is a great resource, great instructor/diver, and always has some great deals on gear. He is a Deep Sea Supply dealer, as well as Oxycheq, Dive Rite, and many others.

 

[dberry]

the X-tek thread has a lot of information on it.
Oxycheq wings are very high quality but they use a very thick inner bladder material that is not particularly easy to pack because it is very stiff, CS is probably not the best in the industry if you have issues, but you shouldn't have any issues.
Cave Adventurers - Single Tank Wings - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
I understand supporting LDS, but make sure you aren't getting ripped off, Edd has great pricing and if you call may be even lower, the wings are very expensive though.
<snip>
As far as shops go, before you buy, go visit Crazy John at Northeast Scuba Supply, he is a great resource, great instructor/diver, and always has some great deals on gear. He is a Deep Sea Supply dealer, as well as Oxycheq, Dive Rite, and many others.

I'm fortunate in that Crazy John is 25min away and effectively IS my LDS. The rig I mentioned was suggested by one of his guys, but I'm always looking for second opinions (and third and fourth).

With this type of rig can you pack enough lead in pockets (ditchable and otherwise) to skip a weight belt? I've never been sure how much of my ballast needs to be ditchable in an emergency.

Thanks.

 

[Byte Me]

As usual, can't argue with TSandM's advice, spot on. One thing I'd add is every wing is going to put you in a different position in the water. For example, I have an Oxycheq Mach V 30# wing and regardless if I was using it open circuit with a steel 100 or my rebreather I was able to get perfect horizontal trim. I did find, however, that with the rebreather's addl weight it wasn't enough lift in the fresh water cenotes without a drysuit so I ended up with an SMS75 for CCR. Other wings I've tried would put me in either a head down or feet down position in the water and I'd fight to stay horizontal, with others it was just as easy to get perfect trim as with the Oxy. If you can try before you buy - do so. Find what works for you and take the advice from folks who take the time to understand how and where you'll be diving and with what gear so you can get fit with the right thing the first time. It'll be worth it in the long run to pay a bit more and get a great fit for all your diving that to buy a shiny new toy your LDS (or anyone else) has on sale or is pushing at the moment.

 

[tbone1004]

you can I'd look at the DSS plates if you want to shed all of it. Pockets are not particularly comfortable. A weighted STA might also be worth looking at since you can put 6-8lbs of lead in them, but they are about as much as the weight plates from DSS but it has the advantage of being universal on backplates

 

[uncfnp]

I have the Oxycheq 30. Excellent wing. Built like a tank.

 

[TSandM]

Ditchable weight is to ensure you can return to the surface, and to ensure you can stay there. If you are diving wet, your sources of lift are your wetsuit and your wing -- but the wetsuit loses its lift as you descend. If your wing were to fail completely (corrugated hose comes off) at 100 feet, you either need to be able to swim yourself up, or you need to have enough ditchable weight to make that possible. When you reach the surface, you need to be able to become significantly positive. If it's the end of the dive, you may have used enough gas out of your tank to be positive. Closer to the beginning of the dive, and depending on how you have weighted yourself, you may still be somewhat negative. You can tread water for a while, but in an urgent situation, it's better to be positive and not have to work. If you have no ditchable weight and no redundant lift, that might require jettisoning your gear.

You CAN buy weight pockets that thread onto a 2" webbing harness. The good ones have a D ring on one pouch so you don't lose your hip d-ring. They do make using a light canister more difficult, but for recreational diving, there are a lot of very good lights out now that don't require canisters.

The post above has a good point, though -- if you put ALL your ballast on your rig, you may need that bigger wing if you have to float your gear at the surface (getting back onto small boats, for example).

 

[Dave616]

The S/S bp may be heavier in a suitcase, but it means less lead in the pockets, yes?

The adjustable harness vs. a simpler / cheaper setup: I'm still new at this and want as much flexibility as possible to adjust comfort and trim. Dumb idea? Maybe after I've been at this for a while I'd be more likely to just buy webbing and parts and roll my own, but not at this point.

Opinions on OxyCheq? Recommendations for other manufacturers in a similar price range (or less!)? Reasons to spend 20% to get the newest and greatest? Go ahead, tell me I'm a newb, but tell me what else to think about.
Thanks!

-Don

Don,
I bought an OxyCheq 30# Mach V Extreme Wing because I wanted the most durable wing on earth. I think I got it. It's so small you wont even believe it has 30lbs. of lift. You probably don't "need" the Extreme version but I wanted a bullet-proof cover for my air cell.

I use it with a SS Plate (~6lbs.) and a standard Hog harness. If you have the harness adjusted correctly, you barely feel it in the water. I would start with the simple harness and then try and justify why you need a $55-120 "adustable/deluxe" harness.

If it's your first rig, call Edd Sorenson at Cave Adventures and he will hook you up with great advice and great prices.