New BP/W suggestions please. 18lb wing in tropical waters - any concerns?

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dsvs

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Location
Malaysia
I’m on the verge of buying a BP/W as I’m fed up with rental jacket BCDs. For the foreseeable future all my diving will be here in Malaysia with a “cold” dive being 25C water. I generally wear shorts and a rash guard, for the colder or deeper dives it would be a full 3mm wetsuit. I also wear 2mm gloves and 3mm booties on all dives. With no wetsuit I generally need about 4kg of lead. I am unlikely to be going any deeper than 30m for now - tech certification is something I will probably look at in the future but that’s going to need a lot of new kit anyway. So for now it’ll be aluminium singles only.

I was looking at the DGX package which is well priced but would need to be shipped over, and the savings are small. Locally I’ve narrowed my options down to the Apeks WTX D18, Hog system with 28lbs wing, or possibly the Mares XR package with a 16L wing. All are plain webbing and aluminium backplates with different wings. My preference is the Apeks (build quality, reputation, good dealer) but I’m a little concerned that the lift capacity may be an issue. The 30lbs Apeks wing isn’t available indefinitely. The HOG system is a little cheaper but the wing design is wider and much less streamlined. The Mares is the most expensive and the wing although streamlined is much larger capacity than I need.

Am I being shortsighted going for the Apeks?
 
I would get a SS plate and a 30lb wing for that diving. 18lbs is fine as far as lift goes assuming you're using AL80's, but I find that the extra lift is very nice when you're at the surface and want to keep your head high and dry. Not having dove in Malaysia I don't know what your surface conditions are, but I tend to want the full 30lbs of lift when I'm in seas higher than about 3ft to keep my head high and dry.
If you're using 4kg with a jacket and you go to a SS plate you shouldn't need any weight which is ideal.
 
The other midway option (not quite a full BPW set up) you could consider would be an Aqualung outlaw with 25lb of lift, perfect for travel and tropical waters or the rogue which has 35lb of lift
 
I always tell my customers and students to go for the 30-32lb wing. It really isn't that much bigger and if you go HOG, the bungees on the underside keep it snug without interfering with inflation.
The other concerns are that unless you are diving a ripping current, just how fast are you trying to swim that wing drag is actually a thing? For the vast majority it's not.
People hear the term streamlined and take it to the extreme with no real basis in fact. It's like the one less hose argument for using an AIR II. Complete BS.
With a 30-32lb wing you also have the extra margin of lift to assist another diver who may need supported at the surface. That extra 12-14lbs over an 18 is going to be very nice in that instance.
I've owned 20,23. 30, and 32s from various mfgs. I only use a 32 now. Whether it's a single 80 in a rash guard or skin or an LP95 filled to 3400 PSI in a drysuit with 12 additional pounds of lead. No noticeable difference in swimming. Big difference when having to assist another diver or switch from an 80 to a heavy steel.
 
The 18 is plenty. I've used one for years in warm water, with both aluminum and steel tanks.

If you are weighted correctly, you have 12 to 18 pounds of spare lift at the surface (and 6 to 12 at depth). That's more than enough.
 
I personally like the extra lift, 30lb will be good, and if you upgrade to steel tank you don't need anything else,
It's the buy once idea, which doesn't usually happen.. you just get to buy something else instead:wink:
 
I had a 20# Eclipse and sold it. It didn't have any significant advantage over the 30# I already had.
 
I would just get the DGX SS BP/W package which comes with a 30lb wing. Their wing is very streamlined for 30lb of lift. If it's a little more than you need, who cares. If you decide to dive with extra gear, you have the extra lift. And the SS BP will make your rash guard weight needs at 4lbs ditchable or less and if you wear a 3mm, you can keep the same ditchable weight and add a couple cam band trim pouches.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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