BP/W questions

[creamofwheat]

I did a search for BP/Wing and oh my, a good 20 pages popped up and it's really difficult to sift through everything to find the answer i am looking for. oye.

So I was in my LDS today picking up my rental gear for the weekend, and the topic of BP/W came up. turns out they have a couple for sale in the store, and me, desiring to eventually get into tech diving, started asking a billion questions including..."can i try it???" turns out yes, he will let me try it for a small fee, if i like it, he will sell it to me, but take off to fee i payed to try it out. not only that, there's a sale going on at the shop right now so it's like 35% off or something. oooooh....opportunites, opportunites...

anyway, my question is...i eventually may want to get into doubles. the shop has a 35lb lift one and a 50lb lift one i think. would a 50lb wing be enough to support doubles? i'd rather buy stuff once than buy something that wont be good for what i want to do in the future. or is that just a silly idea, and is it safer to just have a wing to support a single, and when i get into doubles, buy a wing that will support doubles? i can see potential problem if one of my inflator hoses malfunctioned if i was diving a single with a wing that could support doubles...talk about corking to the top if i dont disconnect it fast enough. anyway, opinions? thanks in advance.

 

[Captain CaveMan]

well to get one question out of the way 50lbs wing will be enough for the doubles. but its not made to be used with a single tank. the wing will taco above the tank. go with the 35lb wing and save your money to get a double wing when your ready. did you think of what type of harness you want to get. single strap or a confort harness. if you want to go tech get a single web or (HOG) style

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

You'll be more comfortable in either configuration with the appropriate sized wing. If you're a little strapped the Rec-Wing (51lbs I think) is a decent solution, just make sure to take the bungy off before you put it on doubles. And keep your reg in your mouth in high seas, with my doubles and a rec wing I don't float real high on the surface.

 

[rockjock3]

See, that is another nice thing about a BP/W. You can buy a setup now for the singles rig. Later, when you decide to dive doubles, you can simply buy the new wing and just swap it over in about 2 minutes. Then if you want to dive singles other times you just swap the wing out. Now you don't have to have two completely different sets of gear, but simply two different wings and you gear will always be setup just right for you.

 

[M_Bipartitus]

Don't worry too much about if a wing or harness choice will be applicable to tech diving unless you are close to doing it. Having a back-plate is a good start, but you will have to spend so much that one wing isn't going to make a big difference in a tech diving budget.

 

[rockjock3]

Ahhhhh, I need more money to feed the SCUBA beast.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Don't worry too much about if a wing or harness choice will be applicable to tech diving unless you are close to doing it. Having a back-plate is a good start, but you will have to spend so much that one wing isn't going to make a big difference in a tech diving budget.

What he said...don't think too far ahead. Get a good singles setup for now.

And it's not that a doubles wing will skyrocket you upward any worse than an inflated singles wing would at depth (after all, when properly weighted, you never have a nearly full wing at depth...generally it'll be almost empty). It's just that air will be floating around in too big of a bag if you use a doubles wing with a single tank. The wing will flop around, taco around the tank, and generally negate a lot of the benefits of streamlining and good buoyancy characteristics that a BP/W offer.

Good luck with your purchase. A BP/W is a good move, and it's cool that you can try one out before you buy.

 

[Atticus]

You definitely want a different wing for a single tank than for doubles tanks. I tried to use one wing for both and ended up buying two new wings.

I'd take a hard look at the backplate/wing/harness setup if you're interested in tech diving at some point. Opinions vary, so in an effort to NOT start WW3, I'll tell you what I presently use for single tank diving: Halcyon backplate, webbing, and eclipse wing.

 

[coach_izzy]

I concur! The single wing will be sufficient for now. Save your money for the larger wings in the future after you start to get a better idea of what kind of set-up you'd like. How's your exercise program going BTW?

 

[kidspot]

what others have said... if you plan to get into tech, you're looking at BIG dollar amounts in gear... another $250 for a second wing is small potatoes so to speak... so get a good singles wing for now and have fun diving... fwiw I use a 40# doubles wing and it's plenty to keep my head way out of the water when I dive doubles (which is very infrequently)

Aloha, Tim