first time using bp/wing - need tips

[WJL]

mania,

I think Mark is right. Once you have the harness and weight right, with your experience you will get everything sorted out pretty quickly.

 

[wunat]

With my limited experience with my BP+Wing setup, I would leave the recommendation to others out there.

I guess you do believe somehow that BP+Wing setup has its advantages. Do hang in there try to dive more with adjustments as recommended by previous posters. You should then find out whether BP+Wing is superior for you. I have read of people not liking it.

I didn't have that much problem when first trying out my setup in a pool. Only some minor adjustments on the harness and the amount of weight needed.

Hope you enjoy it.

 

[mania]

The major problem is that while in the pool I can't work with weights as I don't have any.....I already wrote that with the plate and the tank and no additional weights I'm overweighted.
I adjust the harness and will give it another try today. I'll let you know whether it was any better.
Mark - the only diivng I can do now is the pool - it's 5 F right now here and it's too cold for me not in the water (anyway now it's ice diving) but after the dive on the shore.
Mania

 

[dbulmer]

Mania,
Just one thought - I know it's horrible but have you considered donning the BP/W with your drysuit + undersuit in the pool?
I know how uncomfortable this is from personal experience but it may be worth tolerating to see how you get on. It'll be better for getting things right for when your surface air temps rise. Secondly, get practicing unhooking your gauge from your left hip D ring. I've found this to be quite hard particularly in cold water.

 

[mania]

dbulmer - yes there is such plan...but in the coming weeks - I want to be more comfortable with the wing before I'll add another almost new piece of gear which is the dry suit. And I have something like 2 months to get used to all this. April is Advanced Nitrox course and I have to be cool with dry suit and the wing by this time....

Mania

 

[dbulmer]

I see but if you're doing Advanced Nitrox I'd personally be getting both on and using them asap ie why wait? I know both at once is more difficult but the benefit is that you'll get to practice both ie I assume you'll be using the Wing for drysuit control. The soooner you practice with the equipment you'll be using the more comfortable you'll be in the long term and you don't have long to go before that course. The trickiest thing I've found with the drysuit is getting the weighting right - plus you'll have the advantage of having more time to get the harness the right size and have practice with it. I think the wing is the easy bit the hard bit is getting good buoyancy with the drysuit.

Hope all goes well.

 

[mania]

OK, yesterday was a bit better. First of all I have tightened the harness - it turned out that it’s still one inch too long. But at least the wing and the tank were more stable. Next thing - I have changed the tank from steel 15 liters to alu 80cf. It gave me a chance to use weights as part of trimming - and it worked.
But anyway I "died". My mentor (referring to Uncle Pug thread) suddenly inflated the wing and I ended up on the surface. OK, I was looking for the dump valve but...in the place where it was in my jacket – on the right side, while in pioneer it’s on the left side
One more thing - yesterday I also tried jet fins for the first time. Must admit it's much easier to frog kick with them but I had muscles contraction - they are heavy!!!!
So... again practice makes perfect - which means Tuesday would be another day of practicing.
Dbulmer – you are absolutely right but..
First of all I still don’t have my own dry suit – it’s coming and coming and coming….And I’m waiting and waiting – the major problem is the size – I’m probably a bit too slim for NorthernDiver. Second of all I’m just the type of person that increase the level of difficulty step by step. I simply can't do everything at the same time. But this is the next thing to practice.
Mania

 

[dbulmer]

Mania,
I hear you ! There's nothing wrong with step by step - it just sounded that with Advanced Nitrox coming up you might want to accelerate the practice a bit because of the time factor.

BTW you might find the link below interesting:-

http://diveweb.oneandoneis2.com/winguide.htm

 

[divealaska]

OK
Saturday my friends gave me a new Pioneer 36lb and steel bp. So yesterday I tried it in the pool. Honestly - it was a sort of nightmare. I thought I did all the straps properly - nope - they were way too long, and everything was swinging to the sides.
Second thing – that was my mistake but I put tank much too high. Third - was difficult to find out how sensitive the inflator is - and because I have a steel plate plus 15l steel tank (empty - 15 kilos) so I was over weighted. In one moment I added a bit too much air and ended up in the surface (the pool is 4 meters deep). Or the opposite - I landed at the bottom.
Another thing - when I was trying to deflate the wing nothing was happening - the air didn't come out.
For the first 40 minutes I really had buoyancy problems - not yet completely solved . Another thing - when I tried to stay motionless my head was going down.
Till yesterday I was diving with the traditional BCD and didn't have problems neither with buoyancy nor with the trim.
So I'm looking for any tips.
And please don't laugh at me - I was already laughing yesterday because I must have looked like a total disaster.
And the final question – how long will it take to learn this thing???
Mania

First congratulations on your aquisition of one of the best diving systems available today. To properly use a bp/wing it needs to be properly set up. Being overweighted is a function of combining proper exposure protection, and tank material (bouyancy characteristics). Trim is a set up issue as well as a body posture issue. Try extending your legs straighter back to bring up your head. Keep your head up, and arch your back. Lowering your tank relative to the wing will move your center of gravity towards your feet as well. The inflator is designed to inflate a bit slower than most, and to deflate, you might consider using the rear dump, especially if your head is down. (air is in the bottom of the wing so it cant come out)You should also get some instruction on use from someone. It would be too lengthy to post here, but access the website www.gue.com to find more info. They have a class called " the fundementals of better diving" which has a specific focus on set up and proper use of a backplate/ wing. You can also go to www.divealaska.net and send an e-mail from the "contact us" page and I would be happy to provide more information. Good luck!

 

[mania]

Thanks a lot for all you tips and help. Dbulmer - tha Adv. Nitrox is planned for April - so still 2 months to practice and I'm doing that twice a week at the pool.
divealaska - of course I know about GUE and I know their page. My decission to switch form jacket to wing was a well thought one. Now I need to learn all the tricks....

Mania