30 lb wing or 40 lb wing??

[LOG-SPLITTER]

I will be purchasing my first halcyon eclipse bp/w and the question I have is what wing size to go with? 30 lb or 40 lb

I dive tropical as well as cold water diving up north here in Canada.
I have a 7mm wetsuit and will be getting a dry suit in the near future. I also dive with a single steal tank.

I would like to buy the 30 because its smaller but I have been advised to get the 40 lb.

Any advise would be greatly helpful! Thx

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'm not sure why you'd need the 40. I went with the (DSS) 30 and my diving is almost exclusively cold northern lakes and quarries. For single tank recreational diving, IMO 30 is all that you'd need. The wing needs to be large enough to float the rig without you in it. If it can do that, it's adequate.

 

[jagfish]

Besides sheer lift, there are other factors. In heavy seas, a 40 can lift your head a bit more out out the water.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Besides sheer lift, there are other factors. In heavy seas, a 40 can lift your head a bit more out out the water.

Jim,

I agree, however one must also consider the shape of the wing, and how it's mounted relative to the divers head.

Any part of any BC that's above the water does nothing to float the diver, because it's not displacing any water.

A wing with a narrow, low volume top arc, will float the diver further out of the water than a wing of similar lift that has more of it's volume at the top.

One design consideration on all DSS wings is the volume of the top arc, it's kept to a practical minimum. If the diver is properly weighted little just a few puffs of air gets his chin out of the water.


Regards,



Tobin

 

[lamont]

I think that experience level comes into it a lot, as well. My 40# Eclipse was useful to have because I was literally using it right after my BOW and that extra 10# of lift gave me some slop to totally screw up my weighting without having significant issues. For a more experienced diver on a single tank you probably don't need more than 30# of lift, even in cold water. On the other hand going with a 40# wing is only 10# extra of lift, and its a far cry from 120# double-bladder wings... I can still swim down my 40# wing in a stuck-on inflator drill...

 

[jagfish]

Jim,

I agree, however one must also consider the shape of the wing, and how it's mounted relative to the divers head.

Any part of any BC that's above the water does nothing to float the diver, because it's not displacing any water.

A wing with a narrow, low volume top arc, will float the diver further out of the water than a wing of similar lift that has more of it's volume at the top.

One design consideration on all DSS wings is the volume of the top arc, it's kept to a practical minimum. If the diver is properly weighted little just a few puffs of air gets his chin out of the water.


Regards,



Tobin

Hi Tobin
Thanks for that.

To the original poster's question, if one were considering two wings of different lift capacity of the same model from the same manufacturer, for me, buoyancy at the surface (especially in harsh conditions) would be one noticeable difference between the two wings.

 

[MonkSeal]

I would like to buy the 30 because its smaller but I have been advised to get the 40 lb.

AFAIK outer shell for eclipse 30 and 40 is the same one which means that drag for both wings is similar.

 

[TheFoggyMask]

I have a 40 pound lift bag on singles, hasn't given me any trouble. (not an expert)

 

[rongoodman]

If you're going to put all your weight on the BP, such as with the Halcyon weight pockets, weighted STA, etc., you need to have enough flotation to keep it on the surface without you in it. If part or most of your weight is on a belt or harness it's less of an issue.

 

[Jason Ooi]

Halcyon Eclipse 30 lb wing 11 lt tank is more than enough.