Design my BP/W setup

[SangP]

aphelion,

A great setup regardless of price would be this setup. Why would you need to spend extra when a plate is basically a plate. I would go bout this route:

Hammer head cold water special $99. photos of the plate.

Although I strongly recommend against getting a larger wing for lifting a buddy in the water, the Oxycheq #45 signature wing is a great wing that's only slightly larger than their single 30# wing. In fact it has greater lift than the new Halcyon Evolve doubles wing.

You will need a couple of cam bands and I saw some on dive rite ss cam bands for bout $45 or so.

With the addition of a soft crotch strap it, this setup will run you in the low $400++ if you did your homework and shop around for a decent price for a Oxycheq wing.

The other alternative is the DSS Singles setup but you'll need to replace the 30# to a 40# wing. This setup does not come with SS cam bands nor an STA but these can be gotten later for about $100 should you require them.

SangP

As for the need of a pocket to store your mask and dive torch, the touch you could place it on your setup like this:
http://www.halcyon.net/images/stealth/stealth_eclipse_stlplate.jpg
And for your backup mask you could just get a mask pouch or X-Shorts or even the Oxycheq X-Pocket. Scroll down to the middle of the page.

 

[radinator]

One nice thing about the DSS system is you don't need an STA.

By the way, my recommendation is DSS.

Ray

 

[*Floater*]

My near term dive plans include deep (130-160fsw or so) and basic wreck training. "Technical" and long-period deco diving is a ways off, as are doubles. I want to be able to sling a 19 to 40cf bottle comfortably however, and need at least one pocket for my regular diving. Said pocket should be large enough to accomodate an extra mask and small backup light. In full cold water wetsuit gear with a floaty Al80, I might need 22 pounds of lead to stay down comfortably. In an emergency situation, I want enough lift in the wing to be able to get me and an out of air/unconscious buddy off the bottom (when all else fails, of course).

I'm not rescue trained, so I apologize if this is a dumb question, but why not inflate (orally if necessary) the OOA/unconscious buddy's BC to get him or her out? I mean what are the chances that your buddy's BC would malfunction/break AND that s/he would lose consciousness?

I am about 6'0 and 200 pounds, medium to athletic build. At maximum configuration I want to be able to clip off a reel, primary standard light or canister, slung bottle, and some other basic stuff. Steel and aluminum back cylinders both get used. Almost all diving will be in a wetsuit or crushed neoprene dry with no pockets on the suit.

I would highly recommend you add glue-on thigh pockets or try x-shorts if you go with a bp/w. I use x-pockets from 5thd-x.com and have been happy with those.

I would prefer to err on the side of moderate price rather than either cheap or expensive.

They are all within a few hundred $ of each other, which in this sport isn't that much in the end for a piece of equipment you'll be using for years to come (if you buy correctly the first time) so imo it's best to just get what you think is best the first time.

So, anyone got good ideas for the harness, BP/W, and accessories?

I prefer a simple hogarthian harness and lots of SS boltsnaps for all the gear, plus the thigh pockets as mentioned above. I agree with a lot of the comments above. I would note though, that if you are weighted correctly and dive a so-called "balanced rig" then you really don't need much gas in your wing during the dive, and the bigger and wider the wing, the more effort (tilt) it'll take to shift gas inside of it, so just try to figure out, as best you can, how much lift you'll need, and don't buy a wing that's any bigger than necessary.

 

[*Floater*]

Halcyon Eclipse

The thing that makes me nerveous about the H wings is how they seemed squeezed in at the middle in this pics on H's site.

Wouldn't that trap gas and make it harder to vent the wing?

Does it happen under water?

Does anyone have pics of the H eclipse and (new) pioneer wings? I'd like to see what they look like both empty and full. And what are the max length and max width measurements for them when empty?

 

[PerroneFord]

Floater, it' a non-issue.

 

[SangP]

No it doesn't make it hard to vent gas cus underwater you never inflate it till it creases. Besides the crease is nothing.

As for the flat dimensions, it's 26/1/2" long and 18" at the widest. I only own an eclipse so I don't know the dimensions for the new pioneer but they should be very similar.

SangP