If Oxycheq wants to set themselves out from their knocks offs they should offer custom wings like you can get from Halcyon. Or multicam, I would pay extra for a multicam wing, because I'm an idiot.
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18# OxyCheq Mach V Wing - Digital CamoIf Oxycheq wants to set themselves out from their knocks offs they should offer custom wings like you can get from Halcyon. Or multicam, I would pay extra for a multicam wing, because I'm an idiot.
I used to be a dealer for Oxycheq and was around when Patrick came up with the Mach V. I was one of the very first to get one and try it. The first run of a few dozen he had made didn’t have slots or roll control, they had 11” center holes and you needed a STA. He changed that as soon as he figured out what geometery was best for slots and roll cushions. He also saw immediately what kind of demand that new style created. It was instantly successful. I redesigned my entire plate because of the Oxycheq Mach V change from the older signature and razor wings, so I was right in there with Patrick when all this happened. We used to communicate on the phone several times a week back in those days.
His idea was to create the slickest, narrowest, most streamlined single tank wing on the market to blow the doors off every other brand, and he succeeded. At the time he was facing some competition from halcyon, a few others, and to some degree DSS, but he always though Tobin was an idiot so he wasn’t terribly concerned about Tobin’s stuff due to the many design flaws he saw in his Torus wing.
Oxycheq took a little market share from Halcyon when their Pioneer wing used to be a single bladder style and they used to leak air out of every seam due to a bad internal urethane sealing job.
Patrick came up with the internal bladder Signature series wings and snatched a lot of business with that upgrade.
To this day the Oxycheq Mach V wing still rules overall in super streamlined design. A few have already mentioned the knock-offs like VDH and DGX. They are smart, because I’ll bet others will inevitably follow suit. You can already see it in in the Mares wings and the Apeks wing (and others) the influence that Oxycheq has had.
Patrick also was the one to come out with that sewn fabric travel plate. Mares even has a version of it now. The first time I called him to order a bunch of Signature wings, I told him about this new Freedom Plate back pack style plate that I had come up with and he mentioned he had a similar idea but to make one out of something like a tough conveyor belt material or fiber reinforced rubber like a commercial plate and it would be for travel. The fabric plate is what you got.
So there you have it.
What all this has to do with the difference/ benefits/ plus/minus of narrow vs wide, I don’t know, I was just giving some history.
I do not think VDH intended to copy the Oxy Mack V. The VDH wings have their own design elements, like the internal bungee system and they are a bit shorter and wider when inflated. But anyways, there are similarities as well, extreme both are in the small frontal footprint.
I love my Oxy Travel plate. Mine is an earlier version I guess. In any case, I have many dives on it and just recently fitted it back to my Oxy 18 when I put my VDH 23 on my VDH plate. My wife grabbed the VDH 18 out of my hands claiming it as hers!!!!!!!! Women!!!!!!!! I kinda like the 23 as it gives me a little bit more to deal with a steel tank or my camera when I forget to bring my float arms or offload lead for a switch to a steel tank. It is handy and still very small when the bungees have it fully retracted.
For warm water, tropical diving with minimal exposure suits, little or no weight load and importantly, aluminum tanks, 18 pounds lift wings are perfect. But, slip a steel tank into the rig, as I run into not infrequently in Florida and a few other places and I am now about 6 pounds more negative. Toss my camera in, up to 2 pounds negative without float arms and a exposure suit that needs lead to compensate for buoyancy and that suit then compresses at depth loosing much of that initial buoyancy and then consider as the OP points out that some plates might not allow full inflation, well, I have been on top with little positive buoyancy and the 18 pound wing inflated until it vents off! So, yeah, for such things, the 23 makes some sense. And, for all around diving, the 30 is still, IMO, the best size if one can justify only one wing. N
You’re right, the VDH wing is not really a knock off as much as it was heavily influenced by the Mach V.I do not think VDH intended to copy the Oxy Mack V. The VDH wings have their own design elements, like the internal bungee system and they are a bit shorter and wider when inflated. But anyways, there are similarities as well, extreme both are in the small frontal footprint.
I love my Oxy Travel plate. Mine is an earlier version I guess. In any case, I have many dives on it and just recently fitted it back to my Oxy 18 when I put my VDH 23 on my VDH plate. My wife grabbed the VDH 18 out of my hands claiming it as hers!!!!!!!! Women!!!!!!!! I kinda like the 23 as it gives me a little bit more to deal with a steel tank or my camera when I forget to bring my float arms or offload lead for a switch to a steel tank. It is handy and still very small when the bungees have it fully retracted.
For warm water, tropical diving with minimal exposure suits, little or no weight load and importantly, aluminum tanks, 18 pounds lift wings are perfect. But, slip a steel tank into the rig, as I run into not infrequently in Florida and a few other places and I am now about 6 pounds more negative. Toss my camera in, up to 2 pounds negative without float arms and a exposure suit that needs lead to compensate for buoyancy and that suit then compresses at depth loosing much of that initial buoyancy and then consider as the OP points out that some plates might not allow full inflation, well, I have been on top with little positive buoyancy and the 18 pound wing inflated until it vents off! So, yeah, for such things, the 23 makes some sense. And, for all around diving, the 30 is still, IMO, the best size if one can justify only one wing. N
I notice that DGX, Oxycheq, Mares, and Apeks all look disturbingly similar. I pondered over that for awhile, even thinking that maybe they were own by the same parent company (a case similar to Huish). But I did NOT know Oxycheq came out with the design first.
You’re right, the VDH wing is not really a knock off as much as it was heavily influenced by the Mach V. ------- If I was to design a wing ----- I would have a tough time trying to improve on the VDH wing to be honest.
...Unfortunately, as so many of us have experienced severe problems with supply, prices of materials, consumables, etc. VDH wings are on hold right now until further notice. This Covid crap really sucks!!!
If I was to design a wing, I would have to really think about it and find the perfect balance of characteristics. I think the Mach V inner panel is too narrow. I think it needs to be about 4” wide not less than 3”. And I think the wing should be a tad shorter too. It could benefit from a little more stability without tacoing. I would have a tough time trying to improve on the VDH wing to be honest.
...The OMS, Hollis, and several other of that wider inner panel, wide outer style are actually an older design from when single tank wings first came out. The Oxycheq Signature and razor wings were this style. They work, there’s nothing wrong with them.