BP/wings first dive report...and a question

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large_diver

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First the question – why do Halcyon wings have the rear dump facing your body instead of facing towards the surface….?

Now my long-winded gear review.....

The pieces -- FredT heavy SS backplate, two piece light STA, FredT harness kit, Halcyon Pioneer wing, new Halcyon cam straps/SS buckles, mountain bike tire tube (size = 26X1.75-2.35), 1/4" bungee. I also bought one of the over-priced Halcyon back-pad/pockets, but haven't put it on yet. Having seen some other posts regarding wing nuts loosening up, I was curious to see how tight they stayed during the dive (I noticed no movement).

I also ordered 2 additional heavy keepers from Fred (in addition to his standard harness kit), since I wanted to mount keepers at the 2 points where the harness passes through the bottom of the backplate. Note that Fred does NOT include these as part of his standard harness package. The standard harness package includes webbing (if you are large, Fred suggest ordering 2 extra yards, which I did), 2 x 45 degree “billy rings” (integrated D ring and keeper) – 1 for each side of your chest, 1 x 90 degree billy ring (left belt of harness), 2 D rings and 2 keepers (for crotch strap), and a SS buckle weight-belt type buckle.

I finally had some time to set things up Friday night. A word of advice for anyone doing this -- if doing it yourself for the first time, spend some time reviewing and printing out data from various "harness set-up" web sites. Although setting up a harness is not that difficult, it is useful to have something at hand to reference.

Comments on the FredT gear -- seems very well made. I paid the extra $$$ to have Fred sand down all the rough edges, and this was worth it to me. The final finish on the plate actually looks very similar to that on my TX-100 first stage (brass vs. steel, I know...).

I set up the harness following basic DIR guidelines – 1 chest D ring on each side and one D ring on the left belt. The crotch strap I set up using a keeper in the rear (I didn’t see the big need for a rear D ring…and I can always add this later) and a D ring and keeper in the front.. I also added my shears (mounted in a small velcro sleeve-pocket that slips right over the webbing) to my left waist. I had more than enough webbing – almost enough left over for a complete weight belt.

Total assembly time was 2-3 hours (including interruptions to watch snippets of Celtics-Nets game 6 and Lakers-Kings game 6....;-)

On to the diving...Nubble Light, York Beach, ME.....only got 1 dive in, since I managed to leave my fins at home, DOH. Luckily, my buddy Green_Manelishi lives close by and his wonderful wife brought over 3 spare pairs to try on....

Gearing up felt easier than with my Sea-Quest Pro QD. Having tried everything on the night before, I elected to wear my weight belt UNDER my harness. I tried it OVER my harness the night before, and it just didn't feel right and was hard to position correctly with the tank and harness already on. I decided to drop 15 pounds of weight to offset the heavy BP and light STA...this was probably too much given the -11 of BP/STA. As a result, I was kind of "floaty" at the end of the dive. Live and learn.

I really like the Halcyon tank straps. These are the “new model” straps that have SS buckles, but which don't "come apart" when released. They also have the cool "octo grip" material on the side that contacts the tank to prevent tank slippage. The strap buckles even have numbers next to each slot in the buckle to remind you how the threading goes in case you forget – handy. This is the first BC I've used with 2 straps instead of one – as a result, things felt very secure. One other note -- this is a potential source of tank "scuffing" for those who care, since the SS buckles make contact with your tank when closing them. Another issue -- my squat LP 98 is also about as short a tank as you would want in using this rig....the lower strap is mounted right down against my non-DIR boot, the upper is where the side of the tank first becomes perpendicular to the ground. I think this issue has been posted elsewhere by Windknot. One solution would be to use only one strap. Another would be to take the boot off.

The other source of tank scruffing is the SS STA – I will probably end up using some tool dip on my STA pieces before my next dive outing (no time to do it this time). I have an OMS 98 with the “painted” finish…. I could care less about scruff marks on my tank, but would like to prevent exterior rust.

Underwater, the rig felt stable. The harness stayed in place and did not shift – ah, the beauty of a crotch strap. The tank also did not shift. The inflator took a little getting used to. I decided to try the DIR suggestion for using a bungee loop on the harness in the same spot as the left chest D ring to keep the inflator hose in place. Not a big deal, but on my next dives I may pop the hose out of the loop when ascending/descending instead of trying to stretch the bungee. I think anytime you use a new BC, the differences in the button locations and force required to depress the buttons can feel strange at first – this will improve with experience. I also had a little trouble locating the rear pull dump underwater, since it is just the string with a small knot at the end. I may add a small knob to this on future dives (more non-DIR heresy). I’m also not sure why the rear dump is on the side of the wing that faces you (i.e. facing towards the bottom of the ocean) instead of on the back of the wing pointing towards the surface. Hmmm….

Hoses – I currently use a 5 foot hose for my primary reg. I used a 7 footer for about 20 dives and found it unwieldy sometimes. The 5 footer worked well when I deployed it….nothing in the way. One issue I need to check on future dives is whether a back-up light stored DIR style will be in the way with 5 foot hose routing (directly from first stage under arm). We’ll see.

Trim – I felt like my trim was OK, not great. I’ve been using ankle weights (not optimal, I know), since with my Sea-Quest, I always felt like I was standing on my head underwater without them. Further reflection this weekend leads to believe that this overly head down position was perhaps due to the presence of 10 pounds of non-ditchable weight that I wore in the QD in pockets up against my upper back (either that or my thick skull). With the BP, I had all of my ditchable weight on my belt, which may have been enough of a shift to make a difference in my trim. When I tried to hover this weekend without moving forward, my feet would slowly sink. I’ll try diving without the ankle weights on the next dive and see how things go. On the surface I did not notice being thrust forward when inflating the wing, although the ankle weights may have helped prevent this.

Billy rings – the thing I like about the billy rings is that they don’t move – the chest rings stick out at a 45 degree angle; the waist ring at a 90 degree angle. I practiced clipping/unclipping my SPG several times and when re-clipping it, I hit it on the first try almost every time without looking at it. I’ve heard some rumors that at least one GUE instructor has taken folks to task for wearing Billy rings, since I guess they are not quite as streamlined as moveable rings. I am a recreational diver and they seem to work for me. I guess I may hear differently when I get to the DIRF class in August……;-)

The dive itself was only about 25 minutes – I called the dive early given my underweighting. We hit a max depth of 38 ft. Water temp was 45F. Vis was <10 feet. G_M was diving dry, I was in my wet suit. Surface conditions were EXTREMELY windy (gusts close to 30 mph), but the wind was out of the west, making this site fine (except our hats kept blowing away). Air temp was very warm – it must have been 80F+.

All in all, a successful first dive with my BP/wings. Big thanks to GM for coming along!
 
Originally posted by large_diver
First the question – why do Halcyon wings have the rear dump facing your body instead of facing towards the surface….?

Less snag potential, easy to reach, allows dumping with head down attitude. Did you try using it? It works quite nicely.

Tom
 
Yes -- it seemed to work fine.....I just thought that you would want the dump at the highest point possible, i.e. the side facing the surface.
 
Originally posted by large_diver
Yes -- it seemed to work fine.....I just thought that you would want the dump at the highest point possible, i.e. the side facing the surface.

Sure, you would. It would be much harder to reach and would be a snag hazard though.

Tom
 
You might want to put the crotch d-ring in the back, this way when you clip anything off to it (lift bag or reel) then it doens't create any drag. The only thing that would ever be clipped off to the front crotch strap d-ring would be a scooter.

Once you practise using your rear dump you will hardly ever use your the other one. You will find that you really don't need the ball at the end of the rear dump either once you learn where it is and start using it more. The ball dangling is just an entanglement hazard, that's why Halcyondoesn't put one on there.
 
Originally posted by Wendy
You will find that you really don't need the ball at the end of the rear dump either once you learn where it is and start using it more. The ball dangling is just an entanglement hazard, that's why Halcyondoesn't put one on there.
With 5mm gloves on, I can't even feel the bare string...

I've been looking for a teardrop-shaped ball to put there. That should reduce the entanglement hazard enough, shouldn't it?
 
Wendy -- thanks for the comments.

I just don't see myself ever using the rear D crotch strap ring.....
I will probably put my lift bag/spool either in the backpack pocket or in a thigh-mounted bellows pocket (glued to wetsuit).

I did find the string somewhat hard to find at times. I am used to using a hip pull dump......and I really think a small knob would come in handy. I can't see that it would be anymore of an entanglement hazard than a reel or lift bag on the rear crotch D ring ;-)

.....especially since the dump is located on the side of the wing facing your body

-LD
 
When you are horizontal in the water the dump doesn't face your body... it faces out away from your body... and when you reach back don't try to grab the string... instead encircle the dump valve body with your thumb and forefinger and then close them... they will now be pinching the string... even works with thick drygloves.
 
I agree..I found I had to reach back (with MY 5mm gloves on) and just 'feel' for the round circle of the dump valave - once I found it, I just 'felt' for the string and got it...I too had thought about adding a ball on the end of MY dump valve, but now agree after using it for my weekend of check out dives, that:

1. A ball could be an entanglement hazard

2. The ball could get snagged on something and cause my wing to dump when I don't want it to!

I decided after about 6 dives with it to leave it stock DIR style...
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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