Golem Wings are bullet proof

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

lof

Contributor
Messages
142
Reaction score
0
Location
Tampa, Fl
Ok, I'm impressed.

The real question, however, is would the wing still hold air after all that, or was it full of pinch holes? :wink:

My buddy has a Golem wing I just helped him set up a week or so ago, and I have to say I was very impressed with the quality. It's not as streamlined as a Mach V, however. (Of course, not much is, and that doesn't mean it's not a good singles wing.)
 
I don't quite get it? I understand that it's a tough shell. Inflating the wing after the rounds would quantify the demonstration. Also, it's difficult to see where the bullets are hitting because they are moving so fast. Perhaps Curt could have used some slow-mo there. From what I can see it looks like the guy is hitting the clay/soil near the top of the wing.

X
 
Mr.X:
I don't quite get it? I understand that it's a tough shell. Inflating the wing after the rounds would quantify the demonstration. Also, it's difficult to see where the bullets are hitting because they are moving so fast. Perhaps Curt could have used some slow-mo there. From what I can see it looks like the guy is hitting the clay/soil near the top of the wing.

X
He's hitting it. There's no doubt of that. And the fabric does not show any visible damage, which is pretty darn impressive. (Not that I have shot up any other wings for comparison!)

I'd still like to know if the wing has any pinch flats, however, since the outer cover isn't the most important part of the wing... it's the bladder inside it that has to hold the air.
 
CompuDude:
He's hitting it. There's no doubt of that. And the fabric does not show any visible damage, which is pretty darn impressive. (Not that I have shot up any other wings for comparison!)

I'd still like to know if the wing has any pinch flats, however, since the outer cover isn't the most important part of the wing... it's the bladder inside it that has to hold the air.



Let's have someone who knows something about pistols and ballistic nylon talk about this. I am no expert here and certainly don't like guns. I know flak jackets used nylon and were largely ineffective at stopping bullets shot from rifles etc.

I agree. It's the bladder inside that counts. Let's throw a javelin at the thing and see what happens!:11:

It is a fun video though!

X
 
Mr.X:
Let's have someone who knows something about pistols and ballistic nylon talk about this. I am no expert here and certainly don't like guns. I know flak jackets used nylon and were largely ineffective at stopping bullets shot from rifles etc.

I agree. It's the bladder inside that counts. Let's throw a javelin at the thing and see what happens!:11:

It is a fun video though!

X
I won't claim to be an expert, but I know something about ballistic nylon and guns.

The nylon in flak jackets is used to keep the jacket together, not stop the bullets.

But yes, it's the bladder that counts. And yes, it's a very cool video! :)

What is happening, btw, is the bladder is resting against solid rock. Ballistic nylon is fairly tough, and while it can be punctured, it's pretty good at standing up to being squeezed. The bullets are squeezing the fabric against the solid rock, at which point the solid rock is causing a ricochet (as should be expected). None of this is surprising, although yes, it is interesting to see that there is no mark at all left on the fabric (again, I have not shot up a lot wings to see how their fabric compares by comparison).

From what I understand, however, the most common form of "injury" to a wing is a "pinch flat", to borrow Tobin's term for it. For instance, someone's tank edge lands squarely on your wing against a metal or concrete ground, and the wing is pinched hard enough to make a small hole, which is not necessarily visible from the outside.

That is what may well be happening here as a result of the bullet hits. Or may not. That's what I'd like to know, though. The outer covering will protect from slashes and tears (which is essential around sharp rocks and among sharp metal edges in wrecks), but if the inner bladder is holed, you're losing air no matter how pretty the outside covering is. The outside can be slashed to shreds and you can still dive no problem (as long as there is enough to hold onto the bladder!), but one hole the bladder material and you're losing lift.
 
I actually purchased the rig in the video from Jakub and used it to dive this last weekend. I love my Golem rig. Got a great deal on it. It really is well made.
 
OK, after looking at the clip twice, i noticed that all the bullets were shot around the wing... look closely and you'll fined the gravel moving and the wing doesn't move a bit. plus no fabric on earth is bulletproof, i mean the police vests even get dented and they aren't all fabric!!
Its an ADD, the wing might be tough but the video is an exaggeration... but its cute
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom