Wing recommendations

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Tom Olsen

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Hi,

On our last dive trip the airline «lost» our dive bag. Both my wife and I were quite happy with our gear so buying it all again really is a pain in the a.. Anyway, it is what it is.

We both had Zeagle Express Tech Delux with 30# doughnut bladder, one piece harness and zip touch weight pockets. We loved the soft backplate both for comfort and for easy packing/low weight.
We dumped all the padding from the Delux package. There was just no need for it and it took forever to dry.

We do most of our diving in the tropics with just a Sharkskin top. However, some times we go where it’s required with a 7mm and a steel tank (5kg ditchable weight in addition).

What’s your thought about the bladder size? Just stay with 30# or would it be safe to go smaller?

We would like to stay with the same configuration,, maybe something that dries up a bit faster that the Zeagle,, even if that meant not quite as «bulletproof».
My apologies for being so specific but,, any suggestions people?

Thanks in advance for any input.
 
the deep 6 wing dries up fast, but the shell is lighter than you see on most other wings. the apeks PSD wing dries fast and has a fairly thick shell, just doesn't pack as well nor as light. the dgx and vdh wings are regular cordura instead of quick drying but otherwise are reasonable choices.

if you want one wing that does both warm and cold water, stick with something around 30 lbs of lift. a 30lb narrow wing isn't all that much bigger in profile than the 18lb oxycheq or vdh.
 
Thanks for getting back so fast.

Do you have any experience in using an alu backplate with just a rashguard or a Sharkskin? Is in comfortable or would you recommend some padding (I suppose the different makers are making them slightly different so maybe there’s no easy answer to the question)?
 
I dive a steel BP with just a rashguard probably 90% of the time and it's no problem at all. I used to dive an Express Tech myself and loved it but I like the steel BP more because it helps in the ballast department. If you decide to go with a metal BP, I would definitely recommend the DGX setup as it is nice and simple.
 
@Tom Olsen Just my $0.02. If you want to maintain your ability to dive a 7mm and a steel tank, I would not go smaller than a 30# wing.

The latest DGX single tank setup with the 30# wing is very nice.

Alternatively, the DGX SS BP, an a la carte harness setup, and the Vintage Double Hose Argonaut 35# wing is also a VERY nice setup.

I have the VDH 35# wing and I have dived with a friend that has the DGX setup. I like the VDH wing a little better. In part, I like that it has 5# more lift for seeming about the same size, but I can't say it's worth the extra $50 or whatever it would cost. That is up to you and your wallet. I think both wings are good.

The VDH 35 wing is VERY compact and streamlined. I posted a picture in one thread around here of me in the water with that wing. It dang sure does not look like a 35# wing. That may be, in part, thanks to the internal bungee that pulls it in some when it's not full.

I agree with @John Bortle that diving a regular BP with a one-piece harness of 2" webbing is comfortable. I have never felt a need for any padding (with any of the several BPs I have and have had). I mean, when you’re on land, it's hanging down from your shoulders, not pressing into your back. And once you get in the water and get horizontal, it weighs almost nothing on your back.
 
@Tom Olsen

You do not need to give up the soft backplate if you do not want to. Zeagle, Oxycheq and others sell a soft backplate. The DGX and VDH wings have long enough slots to accommodate a variety of backplates.

While some like to over complicate matters, If you are diving cold water you want a wing between 30-35 lbs. If diving warm then 18-35 lbs. So a 30 lb lift wing is an all around good choice. It is possible to use a lower lift wing for cold water BUT it would require a dry suit, so you do not have the buoyancy shifts like in a wetsuit.
 
It is possible to use a lower lift wing for cold water BUT it would require a dry suit, so you do not have the buoyancy shifts like in a wetsuit.

A drysuit is the last type of exposure protection I would be using if I had a low lift wing.

You (typically) have even more lead for drysuit diving than you would with a 7mm wetsuit. And if that drysuit has a catastrophic blowout (e.g. the neck seal gets a big rip), you would be very likely to be WAY too negative for a small wing to get you to the surface. I.e. the buoyancy shift from a drysuit failure has the potential to be much worse than the buoyancy loss from wetsuit compression.

Bottom line remains the same however: If you're going to dive in cold water, you probably want a wing of at least 30 # capacity. And, a good quality wing in the 30 - 35 # range will still be fine for warm water diving. Even at 35#, it's still smaller than the bladder in most integrated BCDs (at least, in Men's sizes of M and bigger).
 
A drysuit is the last type of exposure protection I would be using if I had a low lift wing.

You (typically) have even more lead for drysuit diving than you would with a 7mm wetsuit. And if that drysuit has a catastrophic blowout (e.g. the neck seal gets a big rip), you would be very likely to be WAY too negative for a small wing to get you to the surface. I.e. the buoyancy shift from a drysuit failure has the potential to be much worse than the buoyancy loss from wetsuit compression.

Bottom line remains the same however: If you're going to dive in cold water, you probably want a wing of at least 30 # capacity. And, a good quality wing in the 30 - 35 # range will still be fine for warm water diving. Even at 35#, it's still smaller than the bladder in most integrated BCDs (at least, in Men's sizes of M and bigger).

Unfortunately, I wrote that post in a hurry and I was not clear. I was meaning to say 18-30 lb lift for warm water and 30-40 lb for cold water. So I would recommend 30 lb as a good all around wing. I hope that clears it up for the OP.

As far as the dry suit goes, some divers do dive with a low lift wing and a dry suit. That is why I mentioned it. The rational is that the wing only needs to compensate for the weight of the air at the beginning of the dive. If the suit gets cut then the proper procedure would be to drop the weights. I don't believe the people doing this are doing technical dives where the risk of cutting the suit is great. I am not advocating diving dry with a low lift wing. I am sorry if my post came across like I was. Thanks for catching that.

In fact, I recommend diving with more lift (within reason) than a diver thinks they will need just in case. One of my frustrations with SB is posters confusing newbies over wing lift and plate selection. It is not rocket science.
 
In cold water the wing needs to compensate for wetsuit compression at depth. Local lakes here are like 40' to hard bottom at the deep end (counting 5 feet of muck I think) so no suit compression here. So I (rarely) dive here in my #25 wing and wouldn't've hesitated to use #18 if I had that. But that's only if all your cold dives are shallow.
 
grr...
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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