Banded v. Unbanded Wings

[BigJetDriver]

If you buy the proper sized wing for the tanks you are diving then you don't need the bungees. To me, bungees are an attempt to fixing a problem that you shouldn't be having in the first place. Not to mention the other points that have also been brought up about drag and streamlining.

Considering the amount of junk hanging on and around your body, the effect of the wing on total hydrodynamic drag is, at most, negligible. We are just not hydrodynamically streamlined.

Wendy does have an excellent point, however, that is missed in a lot of these discussions.

The size of the wing based on your lift requirements, and the SHAPE of it (as in, where does the gas wind up in relation to your body) are much more important concepts for bouyancy control.

I dive a re-breather. ALL wings that I know of are improperly shaped for this usage. They are not small enough at the top, behind the neck, and do not provide lift specifically at the small of the back where weight such as tank valves and regulators are located.

Tobin George, of Deep Sea Supply Diving Accessories, has one in the works, but it may be a while.

Cheers!

 

[Dan Gibson]

But if you look at it from the standpoint that you need to get neutral at whatever depth you are at, the internal volume of the wing, bungeed or not, will need to by the same. Considering that, I would rather have a wing that lays smoothly against the tank and not one with a lot of ripples. Is the increase in drag that much for bungeed wings? I don't think anyone can say what the actual increase would be without really testing it.

My understanding of the banded feature is that the bands tend to minimize the size of the deflated wings (reduced drag etc)

 

[simbrooks]

I am sure i will get a blasting for this, but i cant see how the bungee can really push air out any faster as the water pressure (at a reasonable depth) will exert a far greater pressure on air in the wing than a little squeezing from some 1/4" bungee. I see it as a non-issue, the big thing i can see is the air trapping due to the weird shape the bungee makes the wings take on. I dont dive a bungeed wing, maybe they are an answer to something that wasnt really a problem and i am not sticking up for those types of wings, just questioning some of the "reasons" why they arent suggested, the bubble catching in the wing is the only one so far that makes any sense.

 

[BigJetDriver]

Is the increase in drag that much for bungeed wings? I don't think anyone can say what the actual increase would be without really testing it.

To repeat:

Considering the amount of junk hanging on and around your body, the effect of the wing on total hydrodynamic drag is, at most, negligible. We are just not hydrodynamically streamlined.

Cheers!

 

[ShakaZulu]

Man, those bungies were kewl when they first came onto the scene, I can remember my instructor, a tech dewd, had his doubles with bunged wings..........

 

[msandler]

The anti bungie arguments are, IMO and experience, are blown out of proportion and have little imperical or tangible evidence. You WILL be able to orally inflate them, you WILL be able to control venting, as opposed to getting hung up on things (?), an equall argument could be given that the bungie would also tend to keep the bladder out of harms way. I don't know how one can quantify the effect on drag. The difference of turbulent water (after passing over the diver, regs, manifold, hoses..) passing over the smaller profile (frontal area) of a bungied wing vs a "lose" wing is likely negligible compared to effects like posture, current, yada yada yada. [previouosly mentioned]. ither style will perform well with no noticeable advantages or disadvantages.

 

[detroit diver]

I might add one other problem w/ BWOD. If you were to puncture a wing w/ bungees, it will auto-deflate itself. With a non-bungee'd wing, there is nothing assisting the deflation, AND, you may be able to orient yourself so that you can keep some air in the wing.

 

[The Kraken]

Detroit Diver wrote:

"With a non-bungee'd wing, there is nothing assisting the deflation,"

. . . how about the weight of the surrounding water?

 

[simbrooks]

I might do an experiment this weekend - take my unbungeed wing and my buddies bungeed wing and invert them to put air above the simulated puncture (in this case the inflation hose itself), open the valve and see which if either empties - this is what i can see as the nearest thing to a practical experiment to show whether the force of the bungees are enough to push the air down and out of the hose. This would seem what you would do with a punctured wing, try to keep as much of the wing elevated above the hole - or is my physics wrong on this one??

 

[detroit diver]

Detroit Diver wrote:

"With a non-bungee'd wing, there is nothing assisting the deflation,"

. . . how about the weight of the surrounding water?

That's a constant with or without the bungees.