A big thanks to Bryan and Vitage Double Hose - this is a very nice wing at a great price and I’m grateful to own one.
I finally got to dive my 18lb Argonaut wing yesterday, mounted on a Freedom Contour with a Scubapro MK10 first stage, AL80 tank, in the ocean with a 3/2 wetsuit.
The 18lb wing has plenty of lift with 12lbs weight (total) in the ocean - enough to stay above choppy water at the surface. I had to lay back a little more than with a semi-inflated 30lb since the lift rating assumes the wing is fully submerged, but that was easy to get used to. Having the right size wing made it much easier to empty all the air out near the surface (compared to my previous 30lb wing). I had previously struggled to stay down between 0 and 10 feet, but with the 18lb wing it was easy.
The long slots in the wing helped get everything perfectly adjusted so the wing wasn’t interfering with my reg connections. I’m using a SP MK10 which is kind of long and has the pivoting turret, and can mount my first stage in any orientation and adjust the wing accordingly. If I were to bolt the wing to the plate, I could use either set of holes and have the slots in the wing and plate aligned.
This was my first time using a 13” corrugated hose and I liked the change. With a 16” hose I feel like there’s a lot of ‘stuff’ dangling in front of me, and it forces me to find a way to tuck the inflator when I ‘m not using it. With the 13” the power inflator sits closer to my shoulder and just stays put.
With the Freedom Contour plate’s STA rails, I have to physically tuck the wing’s anti-roll bars between the STA rails, otherwise the plate sits crooked on the tank. I may consider removing the anti-roll bars at some point, but I don’t want to void the warranty any time soon. I’ll keep playing with it to see if I can come up with a better way to mount it or tuck the bars in.
Especially as a new diver, I can’t stress how lucky I feel to be diving such a sweet little rig. This forum has been amazing in many ways, and I particularly am grateful to those of you who’ve helped me get set up with my equipment. I’m sure you know who you are.