BP/Wings/STA

[tombiowami]

I have the Halcyon rig with ss bp and the newer Pioneer 27 wings. I am considering getting a single tank adapter for 2 reasons.

One is to make it easier to put the tank on with the new wings...

And two, and more to the point is to do away with keel weights and the like, to get some more weight off my belt and on to my back for trim and comfort.

I usually dive a 5mm wetsuit with 16lbs weight total, now I have 6 lbs in the bp and general 2 or so on a keel weight and the rest on the belt. I dive alum 80s for the most part.


A couple questions:
I am considering a couple different adapters,
the Halcyon costs 98 bux plus shipping and weighs 3 lbs.
FredT has one STA that is 2 lbs and one that is 5 lbs. and are 50 or so plus shipping.

Does anyone have opinions on having the 5 lb adapter and would that be too much weight back there for trim? I am also wondering if I could still swim that much to the surface in case of wing failure, it would be 11lbs plus the alum80, 4lbs or so negative.

Or would the 2 lb adapter work better?

I would like to stick with Freds as they are so much cheaper but I do like the 3 lb weight better than 2.

Any thoughts on this or things I have not considered?

Tommy

 

[100days-a-year]

I use an OMS,it's about 3lbs.It was the cheapest for me at $79.Consider that the weight would be non ditchable.For me... I am nuetral when empty (50psi)((yes 50))at 15' wearing nothing or a skin/polartec with the ss b/p and sta.If I dive an lp steel I'm pretty heavy at the start of the dive and none ditchable,with al80 I'm 6-7 #heavy.Wish I'd heard of FredT a long time ago .That $100 on a b/p and sta could have gone for other goodies.

 

[TexasMike]

Tommy...

Slightly off topic, but I was sitting here somewhat amused as to the paths you and I have chosen on our BC's

I remember during the early summer discussing the merits of the Ranger with you, and now we both are BP/Wings converts. And I thought it was amusing as to how we have evolved from our original contact with one another.

--TM

 

[Mverick]

I have a FredT 2 piece and like it alot. I don't use it with my Halcyon though. I don't have a problem with the way it mounts. I have the new model too.

Fred's is $50 or so but it doesn't come with the Cam bands. Which will cost you about $40 and up. The others usually come with the bands.

 

[Lost Yooper]

Your primary concern is to be able to ditch enough weight so you can swim up from deep depths with full tank(s). I am not a wetsuit diver and haven't done the experiment, so I can't help you with specifics. Looking at your numbers, I would get the 2lb STA and use an 8lb weightbelt. Then, with a competent buddy, I would try to swim up from a 130'.

Good luck.

Mike

PS. I love to see new "converts" to BP's and wings -- they just make sense. The rest of "it" makes sense too, but has to be seen and done to believe, I guess.

 

[Campana]

Originally posted by Mverick
I have a FredT 2 piece and like it alot. I don't use it with my Halcyon though. I don't have a problem with the way it mounts. I have the new model too.

Fred's is $50 or so but it doesn't come with the Cam bands. Which will cost you about $40 and up. The others usually come with the bands.

You can get cam bands for about $14 each, cheaper if your LDS has a used set, which they usually do.

I do use my 2 piece STA with my Halcyon, I like the solid mounting.

Dave

 

[detroit diver]

"And two, and more to the point is to do away with keel weights and the like, to get some more weight off my belt and on to my back for trim and comfort. "

Tommy,

I use a Halcyon STA, 37lb wing, and still need the keel weight.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by TexasMike
Tommy...
discussing the merits of the Ranger with you, and now we both are BP/Wings converts--TM

I have witnessed the conversion serveral times in person and it is always refreshing.... eh Yoop?

 

[Lost Yooper]

Tis indeed, sir. The rest of it is just as eye opening, but one must first have their eyes open a bit to see it.

Mike

 

[tombiowami]

It is quite remarkable how different it is. My whole story is that when shopping for a BC I was in a shop that sold Halcyon and asked about it since I had been reading up on DIR but did not know much about it. They shop guy went in to the whole tech spiel and how much they were, like I needed to buy a doubles setup with wing, etc, so a cool 2 grand, when I was just looking at a few hundred total for BC. I had mentioned the Pioneer wing but he did not bring that into the conversation and I did not know enough at the time to push.

Sooo, I ended up getting the Ranger as that was the best fitting one I had run across. My main dislike was that it would not configure very well to the DIR stuff I had been reading about, and it was constantly shifting while changing depths, I was adjusting it and pushing in all those dangly things.

Then after reading more on the EE site, and that deal to try the stuff for a month, I said, what do I have to lose? 15 bux shipping each way, about the cost of rental for a few days, and I was going to Ginnie Springs in a couple weeks so what the hay?

When I got the rig I was immediately taken aback by the quality of the craftmansship and gear. All seemed very sturdy. (except for those plastic screws that I will never understand, but to their benefit I have seen a post by JJ saying they do not like them either and are looking into replacements.) How many CEOs are that accessible? How many CEOs take their own shops off the wall equipment 3/4 miles back into caves at 300'.

Only one.
THAT, my friends, is standing behind your product. I don't see the WKPP crew using anything that is not buyable from the shop. Maybe they do here and there, but I have not seen it.

We stopped by the EE shop and I expected arrogance at my newbie status, wrong again! They asked me to bring it in and they showed me a few tricks to fit and stuff. Wow.

Both JJ and George are also available for questions on techdiver group or GUE group, just be aware of the strong opinion and delivery of one of them.

So, on my first dive the rig was a bit loose, and afterward I tightened it up.

The second dive I forgot to even monitor how it felt or worked! I was actually walking back to the car when it dawned on me. This system felt just like it was a part of me. This was also my first over head oriented environment and using lights, so there was task loading, but the rig was flawless the entire trip.

After that I knew that I would be selling the Ranger. I did try to buy the straps that change it from a large to a medium so my wife could use it and then found out that those straps retailed for a couple hundred plus dollars. And this flexibility is actually advertised, I can buy a brand new one on Ebay for 250 or so...

The Halcyon of course one just needs to adjust the webbing a bit for different sizes.

Anyway, for you all reading this that are on the fence about it, you can see where my thoughts lie. As has been mentioned, I have never heard of anyone going back to the bc after the bp/wings.

Tommy