BP/W questions

[BarryTX]

I am a novice diver, coming back to the sport 35 years after my original OW certification with many years of snorkeling but not scuba diving. I have now re-taken the OW cert course and am learning about the current technologies, and BP/W have me intrigued. I am interested for rec diving, and living in Texas, my diving will largely be warm water. I like the minimalism of the BP/W rig, and as my long-term interest is underwater photography, I like the reports of better horizontal stability with BP/W than jacket BC. It seems cost is the biggest downside.

However, I also see there are many permutations of wing and backplate depending on what type of diving, and I seem to see a theme in some of the postings that indicate at least some folks kind of want to use the minimum buoyancy wing and not have a bunch of excess lift capacity. Therefore, 3 questions:

1) For those who want to minimize the buoyant lift in the wing, is the reason solely to minimize the size, and thus drag, of the wing itself? If so, is this a big issue?

2) From a pure recreational diving perspective, is there any other significant downside to having a wing with a lot of excess lift capacity - like a 40# when 20# is the minimum needed?

3) Is it possible to oversize the wing that is needed for warm water diving to make your rig work in an occasional cold water diving situation, or is this flexibility just not realistically feasible?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Barry

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

Adding to much additional lift causes a wing to "taco" around a tank. This can have an effect of trapping air which is not a desirable thing.

I would advise you buy a wing that fits your single tank needs and if you move on to diving doubles then get a wing that fits your expanded needs.

I picked up the OMS 32lb wing for single tank diving and a 45lb Larry Green addition for diving doubles. I dive Dry and with aluminum tanks I never use the wing except on the surface.

Tobin from Deep Sea Supply makes lots of sizes of wings and offers great advice. I would suggest you give him a call and have him discuss things with you over the phone.

T

 

[rstofer]

Those darn wings are expensive! Too bad one size does NOT fit all.

NorthWoodsDiver has it right: buy the proper wing for the type of diving you are doing.

I use a Deep Sea Supply LCD 30 wing for wetsuit diving in cold water. It has plenty of lift.

A BP/W just doesn't lift you as high in the water as a jacket style BC. Or, it seems that way to me. With the jacket, a lot of the lift is down low, around the cummerbund. With the wing, as soon as part of it clears the water it no longer contributes to lift. As the tank clears the water it's weight is no longer supported by the water. The two are working in opposite directions.

If you have a chance to look at a BP/W underwater, you will note that the wing tends to wrap around the tank. The wing is only attached to the BP underneath the tank (regardless of how it is held to the plate, the tank keeps it in place). The more it wraps around, the more difficult it can be to vent it while maintaining a horizontal trim.

Richard

 

[fire_diver]

You are correct in your assumption. Get the smallest wing you need for you plate, weights, and gear (camera, lights, reels, etc). I recommend looking a tthe Oxycheq MAch V wing. These are considered one of the best singles wing you can buy, and it comes in multiple lift capacities.

The best thing about BP/w is that you can change aspects of it without dumping the whole BCD. Put however many D-rings where ever you want them. Want, pockets? add them. Don't want them, your's good too. Buying an LP 130 tank? Buy a new wing to fit that bouyancy need, without losing your whole rig setup. Plus you can switch back and forth bewteen wings, tanks, singles, doubles, etc.