Advise neeed on new gear, weighting, and lift

[Xanthro]

I use a 30lb wing for cold water 7mm diving, so 30 so be more than enough for your tropical diving.

It's possible with the AL Plate that you will still be negative or nuetral without any additional weight. It depends on the weight of your STA.

I went stainless steel, but I'm a little taller and a bit heavier than your are and I never wear less than a 3/2. This means I need very little to no additional weight.

You are looking at around 1 kg difference in weight between the two. SS will last longer and the weight on your back makes trim easier, IMO, but they cost more, and it could make you negative.

 

[Sami]

I agree that an Al plate is probably the best choice for your first plate. I would suggest that you consider getting a standard one piece STA. They are much easier to use and the weighting is gonna be pretty close to what you need. Any of them would be fine... OMS, Oxy, H, Salvo... there's a long list of makes.

I would also suggest that a 30# wing is more than enough. In fact, for the kind of diving that you describe an 18# wing would be ideal... although you do sacrifice versatility with this little wing.

Thanks for the feedback. This is very helpful. With regards to the wing choice, one thing I liked about the Oxycheq Signature Series wing is that is has an internal bladder and is described as very durable. Is there an 18# wing that is also quite rugged? Or are the differences in ruggedness perhaps not that great (or important)? Also, from what I understand the 18# travel wings seem to be U-shaped rather than donut shaped, which I have read could lead to air being trapped. Should I be concerned about this? And exactly what do you mean when you say that I would sacrifice versatility with a 18# wing--do you mean that the 18# wing may be insufficient if I were to add weight by for example diving with a steel tank?

Sorry for all the questions--just trying to learn as much as I can before making this purchase!

As for the STA, I think you must be right about a one-piece STA being simpler to use than a two-piece version. However, they seem heavier and I am trying to avoid going negative. I am thinking that perhaps I should go with the Al plate and two-piece lightweight STA to start with, and then switch to a heavier one-piece STA if I find that I am positive and can add some non-ditchable weight to my back.

 

[mwpowell]

Does anyone have any opinion about whether I should chose the 30 lbs wing or the 45 lbs wing? As I mentioned I am guessing that the 30 lbs wing should be OK most of the time, but I am wondering whether there are circumstances when I may find an extra 15 lbs of lift useful (such as if I was to encounter a fierce downcurrent).

Or would I just be inviting trouble by choosing the 45 lbs wing?

The wind needs to compensate for the weight of the air in your tank and for the reduction in bouyancy due to wetsuit compression at depth. For the scenario that you describe I come up with about 20# of lift required, assuming a 5mm wetsuit plus gloves, hood, etc. So the 30# wing is enough.


The 45# wing might be better suited for folks diving a heavy steel tank in cold water with thick wetsuits. FYI, there is no difference in profile between the 30# and 45# Oxycheq wings.


Mike

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Instead of piecing this thing together with mutiple brands, why not just get an Oxy rig... wing, sta, plate and harness? Actually, if it was me, I MIGHT be tempted to wait for Oxy's new Mach V wing.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

It's hard to say on the durability thing... it seems like the inner bladder/outer shell designs would be tougher but I'm not sure that's the case. My single layer wings have held up fine over the years. Of course, that's just my experience... although, I do recall at least one of our wing makers saying that this difference is not as much as most think.

Regarding horseshoe vs oval... I don't personally think that it matters much... but... and I might be wrong here... I think that the Oxy 18# razor is an oval anyway! I tell people new to BP/wings that a horseshoe might be a little 'harder'... for a lack of a better term... in the beginning, but after diving it a while they will soon learn to use it and it will become a non issue. But, if it is an issue that concerns you, then you ought to just get an oval.

Versatility...

The little wings are stellar for 'lite' diving... warm waters, little to no exposure protection, low weight requirements. But... they won't do you much good if you go on a cold water trip and need more exposure protection and more weight. They are sort of a specialty wing. If all you are going to do is the 'lite' stuff, then you won't need anything else... and they'll be perfect! But if you are going to be doing a variety of diving then you are going to need another wing.

OTOH, a standard 27# or 30# wing can be used for just about all occasions. They are more 'versatile'. They just aren't as primo as the little wings for those warm water dives. Does that make sense?

I'm pretty sure that an AL plate and a single piece STA would work for you. The plate is gonna be around 3# neg and a standard STA is gonna be around 2# neg... 2 and a half if you get the SS buckles. That's a 5 to 6 pound negative rig. That should be fine for what you have described.

 

[Sami]

The little wings are stellar for 'lite' diving... warm waters, little to no exposure protection, low weight requirements. But... they won't do you much good if you go on a cold water trip and need more exposure protection and more weight. They are sort of a specialty wing. If all you are going to do is the 'lite' stuff, then you won't need anything else... and they'll be perfect! But if you are going to be doing a variety of diving then you are going to need another wing.

OTOH, a standard 27# or 30# wing can be used for just about all occasions. They are more 'versatile'. They just aren't as primo as the little wings for those warm water dives. Does that make sense?

That makes perfect sense. Thanks! The 18# wing seems like it would be ideal for local diving conditions, and I guess it would be easier to handle when travelling. Yet I think that I may be better off with the 30# wing since I probably will do some occasional diving in colder water with more weights and exposure protection. (Or perhaps I should get two wings and switch them depending on where I go? Hmmm.... It is tempting but I fear for the effect on my wallet. :14

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

I wouldn't overthink the wing size. The 30# is going to be fine and more versatile.

I've never dove an oval, but "air trapping" is not a problem if you are swimming in a trim position. It's another think that gets a lot more thought than IMHO it deserves.

As far as the violent downcurrent...again, don't overthink the thing. I'm not sure more lift would help you. You need to get out of the downcurrent at which point you can swim your rig up no problem. With singles, you just aren't going to have problems swimming the rig up.

Don't get lost in the sauce. You can't go wrong with what you have in your list. You don't need to buy two wings before you even have one.

 

[grazie42]

Hej Sami!

I´d agree with those suggesting al bp and a smaller wing...
18lbs is enough for me when diving steel single in a drysuit so I don´t see how you´d need more lift...also the al backplate will be good when you take your gear flying...Dive Right is another brand that may be easier to find in your part of the world...

When you do decide to "go tech" you can invest in a bigger wing (ca 50lbs) and keep the rest as is...if you do decide to go that route the extra cost of the wing is nothing compared to your other expenses and trying to get something that works for both single and doubles is not ideal IMHO...

good luck!

 

[lead bottom]

I dive with a Zeagle Ranger, and it works great. Love the back floatation. I will be buying BP/W very soon. I'm going with Halcyon SS & Eclipse wing. Great quality & service.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

The 18# is not suitable for cold waters, as stated above by several members. Especially not with steel plate and steel tank, since this is heavy non-dropable weight. It will however do nicely in your local waters, but so will a 30#. The 30# is what you're looking for, and it will serve you well even when you travel.

I haven't seen the Oxycheq's yet. But if you have a local supplier that doesn't rip you off, I'd feel ok with you chosing that brand. I've heard quite a lot of good about those wings. But there are other brands with two layers in the bladder as well.

AGIR, DIR Zone, Halcyon etc. I'm not too fond of some of the Dive Rite wings, since they aren't 100% single tank wings. For some reason they keep insisting on making "combos", for both single and double tanks. I see no point in that.

Keep it simple!