Found a great deal on a massive double-bladder wing BCD rig - should I get it??

[nikosk]

Hi there,

I am a beginner with only a handful of dives under my belt and about to do the advanced OW padi in a few weeks time. I am also very keen and certain I will continue doing this for a while, so I am considering buying a BCD - I'm thinking that if I'm going to spend any money, the earlier I do the more use I will get out of it and the more comfortable I will grow in my own kit. After reading around, I have decided I want to go for a backplate and wing set up. In addition to the appeal of less stuff around my body and a more snug fit, I like the fact that this set up is more compact than a jacket for travelling and, as it is modular, easier to split up for packing in suitcases.

So I have been looking around online dive-shops, classifieds and online auctions on and off and I just found a complete set-up for a very good price on "that auction site". The problem is that the wing sold is a double-bladder, 85lbs/bladder lift wing! This sounds massive and clearly intended for technical divers with lots of weight to pull up and a need for extra redundancy for safety. I cannot see myself ever needing this, but the price is so low (a couple days left in the auction, but it's currently 12 quid for an unused set) that I struggle to altogether dismiss it.

So, the question goes out to all those that are experienced enough and have dived with a backplate set-up - do you think that the oversized wing will be a massive hindrance/annoyance and that a few dives later I'll get fed up and just have to go out and get a smaller one?

Also, double-bladder means double hose, and I do not envisage ever connecting the second one. Do you think that the extra hose will be annoying and in the way?

So, ultimately, do you guys think I should just get it or walk away?

Many thanks,
Nikos

 

[DevonDiver]

You'll never use it. If you do, you'll hate it.

The buoyancy capacity is far too much for single tank diving, the trim/stability would be atrocious. For anything other than the heaviest double tanks, with multiple stages, it'd still be excessive. (as an example, with 2x AL80 doubles and 2x AL80 stages, I use a 40lb wing).

If you can buy it for $12, do so... then re-sell it.

 

[nikosk]

Thanks DevonDiver!

 

[Dive the World]

12 pounds... hell buy it - and sell it off later or keep it for a couple of years and see if you do techie dives.

12 pound is cheap - is it a complete set or just the bladders, mmm.... even if it is just bladders still pretty cheap.

I think Devon convered it all.

 

[Colliam7]

I just found a complete set-up for a very good price on "that auction site". The problem is that the wing sold is a double-bladder, 85lbs/bladder lift wing! This sounds massive and clearly intended for technical divers with lots of weight to pull up and a need for extra redundancy for safety. I cannot see myself ever needing this, but the price is so low (a couple days left in the auction, but it's currently 12 quid for an unused set) that I struggle to altogether dismiss it.

OK, red flag here. I bought my first wing for essentially the same reason - brand new wing, pretty picture on the auction website, low price, brand new (read tat as 'inexperienced and a bit naive' about equipment). It was also a doubles wing with 70+ lbs of lift and I thought it could still be made to work with a single tank. Not. I used it for single tank diving and quickly found it was too big, even when the bungees were pulled tight, so I bought a second, 'real' single tank wing. But, I held onto the monster thinking I would use it when I moved to doubles. I then found I didn't like the trim of the wing, even with double tanks. It sat in my dive box until I sold it, fortunately for almost (but not quite) what I paid for it. I would have been much better off not buying it to begin with.

do you think that the oversized wing will be a massive hindrance/annoyance and that a few dives later I'll get fed up and just have to go out and get a smaller one?

In order of your questions, No, it won't be a 'massive' annoyance (but it will be an annoyance), Yes, you will probably get fed up after a few dives, and Yes, you will have to go out and get a smaller one.

Also, double-bladder means double hose, and I do not envisage ever connecting the second one. Do you think that the extra hose will be annoying and in the way?

No, it won't be annoying / in the way. The back-up bladder hose on a dual bladder wing generally stows fiarly well and you hardly know it is there.

do you guys think I should just get it or walk away?

Walk away, irrespective of the price. Start out the right way - buy what is appropriate for the diving you want to do now - with gear purchases and you won't regret it. Buying used from online auctions is fine. Just be patient, do your homework on what you want / need, and be disciplined in buying - don't overpay, but don't buy something just because it is cheap.

 

[danvolker]

Hi there,

I am a beginner with only a handful of dives under my belt and about to do the advanced OW padi in a few weeks time. I am also very keen and certain I will continue doing this for a while, so I am considering buying a BCD - I'm thinking that if I'm going to spend any money, the earlier I do the more use I will get out of it and the more comfortable I will grow in my own kit. After reading around, I have decided I want to go for a backplate and wing set up. In addition to the appeal of less stuff around my body and a more snug fit, I like the fact that this set up is more compact than a jacket for traveling and, as it is modular, easier to split up for packing in suitcases.

So I have been looking around online dive-shops, classifieds and online auctions on and off and I just found a complete set-up for a very good price on "that auction site". The problem is that the wing sold is a double-bladder, 85lbs/bladder lift wing! This sounds massive and clearly intended for technical divers with lots of weight to pull up and a need for extra redundancy for safety. I cannot see myself ever needing this, but the price is so low (a couple days left in the auction, but it's currently 12 quid for an unused set) that I struggle to altogether dismiss it.

So, the question goes out to all those that are experienced enough and have dived with a backplate set-up - do you think that the oversized wing will be a massive hindrance/annoyance and that a few dives later I'll get fed up and just have to go out and get a smaller one?

Also, double-bladder means double hose, and I do not envisage ever connecting the second one. Do you think that the extra hose will be annoying and in the way?

So, ultimately, do you guys think I should just get it or walk away?

Many thanks,
Nikos

While we would need your water temp/exposure suit choice to be totally accurate in what you need, let me start with this: Using double 80's and a 3 mil suit, it should be INCREDIBLY EASY to swim them up from the surface without even dropping a weightbelt...the suit adds little buoyancy to your equation, and the tanks themselves are a non-issue.

My choice for this was a 40 pound Halcyon wing. I also happen to have a 55 pound wing ( purpose was for shuttling large numbers of stage bottles underwater for team dives in cave.....) On using the 55 in ocean, it FEELS more ungainly, it is slower to respond to perfect trim on dumping air( more area for air to be in the wrong place) and mostly there is much more drag that you really feel. The 40 feels more like driving a Corvette, the 55 like driving a schoolbus.
The 40 has MASSIVELY more lift than I could ever use.

Also....a diver with a 60 or 80 pound wing, that has a runaway inflator leak, who gets an accidental full inflation underwater at 60 or 100 or more feet down, will do a great impression of a Polaris Missile launch as they blast to the surface, hoping they don't explode their lungs. A very high lift doubles wing is a foolishly unsafe express elevator. This is not what you need....What you need is to be able to "compensate" for buoyancy changes to your wetsuit. Unless you are diving very cold water( realy thick wetsuit), and very deep, the 40 pound wing is the ticket. If you are diving very cold and very deep, the very thickwet suit is a very bad gear choice, and the dry suit needs to be used instead....and suddenly, the 40 pound wing is the king again

*** Note... Even the 40 pound wing does not work well with single tank diving. Either use your doubles with it even for 60 foot dives...not ideal, as charter boats are not set up to make this a good choice....or...have a 30 pound single tank wing....You can switch the 2 literally in seconds, even on a boat if it is a 3 tank or more full day. The 30 is narrower than the 40, and as a single tank wing, this is a key in how the wing acts as a "stabilizing" agent for the tank and diver it is on....think catamaran with doubles, but it wont work any more on a single--it gets too sloppy with the mis-match.

AND....Forget the dual bladder nonsense. The need is to be able to swim the whole kit to the surface in the event of a wing failure/puncture. This is known as a "balanced rig"....The dual bladder approach is ridiculous....if the only tech card you can get means you need to have 2 bladders on for the class, then maybe put a second wing on for the class( that you borrow, then get rid of the nonsense the moment you get your tech card. The 2nd bladder/wing is more drag, clutter, and is pure convoluted logic.

 

[decompression]

Couldn't agree more, in time you'll find there is limited use for a bladder that big and it's many, many, many dives away from where you are at now. You will also find an even more limited need for double bladder. Nice that you've got this forum to help save your money....wish I had that 12 years ago when I made all my regretful purchases.

 

[USFpsychDiver]

Buy it. Keeo the plate and harness and sell the wing to someone who can use it. Use the proceeds to buy a single tank adaptor and single tank wing. With any luck you'll sell the big wing for enough to cover the lot and end up with a free BC. Do not dive the wing; you will find it very difficult to control your buoyancy with it.

 

[Colliam7]

Also....a diver with a 60 or 80 pound wing, that has a runaway inflator leak, who gets an accidental full inflation underwater at 60 or 100 or more feet down, will do a great impression of a Polaris Missile launch as they blast to the surface, hoping they don't explode their lungs. A very high lift doubles wing is a foolishly unsafe express elevator. . . . *** Note... Even the 40 pound wing does not work well with single tank diving. Either use your doubles with it even for 60 foot dives...not ideal, as charter boats are not set up to make this a good choice....or...have a 30 pound single tank wing....

Great points (and, even though Dan and I may not be of one mind on dual bladders, I respect where he comes from on the issue). I hope that you get the picture - the wing is simply not what you want, right now, and probably not what you might want in the distant future if you decide to try doubles diving. Where I might disagree with other posters is on the advisability of buying a bunch of gear, then selling some of it off to pay for what you want. That is a great strategy, but better suited for a more experienced diver with considerbale equipment savvy. At this point, concentrate your resources on getting a good single cylinder rig. And, then go dive with it.

 

[TSandM]

If the plate and harness are what you want, and only the wing is the problem, buy the setup and sell the wing. 12 quid for a good backplate and harness is a good price. However, make sure you know what type of backplate you want, and that the size is right, and be aware that different plates have different characteristics -- for now, you're diving a single tank, and a plate without camband slots will obligate you to use a single tank adapter. Even if the plate does have slots, the placement of them may not be compatible with all wings out there. So, although that price is very low, you COULD end up with something you either can't use, or end up not wanting to use.