Argonaut Dive #18 Wing

[rsingler]

@DeepSeaPirate , maybe run a check with this little spreadsheet to prove to yourself that you'll have enough buoyancy with your chosen neoprene, using the #18. I think you'll be fine, but if you have values for buoyancy for your suit, it'll prove it to you. Suggest +15# for a 5mm suit in your input section, and +9# for a 3mm if you are an average-sized guy.
Advice on lift capacity for BP&W

 

[uncfnp]

Would you recommend this wing for someone who dives primarily warm waters (need a good travel wing) and a 3mm wetsuit with boots. I also would like to know if this would be fine for diving a 5mm with bootss and a hood for the occasional cooler water dive?

Or would you recommend the #23 over the #18 all this considering?

Its perfect for warm water travel diving with aluminum 80’s. Packs super small but extremely well constructed. I have it paired with a small stainless steel plate and have dove it with various layers of neoprene with no worries. I highly recommend it.

Now if you were diving steels I would recommend the larger wing.

 

[rsingler]

Its perfect for warm water travel diving with aluminum 80’s. Packs super small but extremely well constructed. I have it paired with a small stainless steel plate and have dove it with various layers of neoprene with no worries. I highly recommend it.

Now if you were diving steels I would recommend the larger wing.

Not to quarrel, but VDH's #18 will actually support steel up to 100CF/-5# empty buoyancy for all but the tiniest folks. It just means you don't have to carry any droppable lead at all. Maybe a good idea to have a sausage for redundant buoyancy in case of failure, but the wing will provide all that you need even with typical rec single tank steel, unless you're carrying a lot of extra junk.

 

[rhwestfall]

Up here in late summer (water above 72), I dive a 3mm shorty with a Worthingtom LP85 steel tank. The 23# is more than enough..... 18# would probably be magical, but I was too chicken to believe it...

Diving it in Curacao with an AL80 had me adding 10-12# of lead.

 

[uncfnp]

Not to quarrel, but VDH's #18 will actually support steel up to 100CF/-5# empty buoyancy for all but the tiniest folks. It just means you don't have to carry any droppable lead at all. Maybe a good idea to have a sausage for redundant buoyancy in case of failure, but the wing will provide all that you need even with typical rec single tank steel, unless you're carrying a lot of extra junk.

No quarrel. It just wouldn’t be my first choice. Personally, with steels I would and do dive a streamline 30. But in full disclosure when I am diving my steels, I also typically have a pony rig and hunting gear. At the surface my wing is pretty well full while I am waiting for pickup. And this is without any additional weights.

 

[Aloha Joe]

I absolutely love this compact little wing - I dive a Freedom Contour and my previous 30lb generic wing made the rig still really cumbersome. Obviously the 18lb wing is smaller, but it’s also tailored really well to keep excess material tucked in which is what my old wing was missing.

Edit: I had a question about the updated tank ‘stabilizer’ rods and was wondering how they might affect bolting the wing to the Freedom Contour. I edited the post because the way I asked the question may have sounded like a complaint or problem, but that’s not the case at all. I have my wing bolted with the top bolt to hold it in place while I change tanks, and the cam bands through both the plate and the wing, and it does exactly what I want it to. With a little creativity there are probably a dozen of ways to configure this setup.

I just hooked everything up to a tank for the first time and it’s by far the sweetest little rig I’ve seen in my long, extensive 37 dive career

 

[Bryan@Vintage Double Hose]

Maybe I can clarify this a bit......When I approved the original design of the #18 wing it was designed to fit the VDH plate which has elongated slots and the wing could easily be positioned at various heights on the VDH plate. Others picked up on the #18 wing and it was working well for them with plates OTHER than the VDH plate including adoption by @Eric Sedletzky for use with the Freedom Plate....Then a very prolific poster on SB who has never used one of the Argonaut #18 wings threw up a huge red flag saying the small slots in the #18 wing were not good and would not allow proper wing placement.....And you can imagine what followed...as often does on SB.
When I re-ordered the #18 wing I asked that they put elongated band slots in it like they did on the #23 and #35 wings they were making for me in an effort to remove any doubt that it could be used with any plate. In turn they made the tubes "stabilizers" the same length as the new elongated slots in the wing. I was solving an imaginary problem posed by someone who had never used or even seen an Argonaut #18 wing in an effort to head off future roadblocks.
Not sure there is a win for the customer and me here but that's why the modification occurred.

Note: I am expecting delivery of #23 and #35 wings next week. I will do a lot of new pictures for comparison and update all photos in the website store.

 

[Aloha Joe]

Thanks Bryan. The elongated slots are something I really appreciate, and bolting the wing on isn’t a requirement for any wing. It’s still going to work great with the Freedom Plate but I was obviously curious about the change. I hope the post doesn’t cause trouble, that was not the intent. Especially since I’m one with a hand-made custom plate!

 

[Aloha Joe]

Here it is - I love it! I took a pic of the Argonaut 18 next to the 30lb wing I was using. What a difference! Now I really can’t wait for my darn shoulder to heal...

 

[Aloha Joe]

It looks like it will attach over the rails with at least the top bolt, just needs a washer. That’s enough to keep it in place and it does exactly what I wanted it to do - doesn’t move when I change tanks, and has both cam bands securing the tank and wing to the plate.