MakoSince70 once bubbled...
Hey SeaJay, I am interested in a response from you on the following, if a back wing why Halcyon?
Your reply will interest me because if I understand from previous strings, you are a relatively new diver and have been intensely researching the decesion of going to a jacket bc or wing. Looks like you have decided on a wing. If so why Halcyon
I know it sounds like I am brand loyal, but I'm not. I couldn't care less who makes it... What I care about is how well it works. And simply put, the Halcyon wing works great.
The wing I just purchased is a Pioneer 27... A "singles" wing. It's a pretty awesome piece of kit.
Firstly, the wing is small and flat, and is donut shaped, not horseshoe shaped. That means that when using your bottom dump, you can dump all of the air without having to do acrobatics. Donut shaped wings are superior in design in this aspect.
Also, all Halcyon Pioneer wings have a built in single tank adapter. Frankly, I've always used a single tank adaper anyway, but it's a nice way of getting the rig to be even simpler and more streamlined than before. Yes, you can still use a standard STA, if you need the extra weight or if you want the tank to be even more secure. No other wing has this "integrated single tank adapter" feature, to the best of my knowlege.
Halcyon's hoses, buttons, valves, and materials are the best I've seen. High quality and rugged, you can simply expect longer life from this wing than others... And for it to stay nicer during the time that you have it. This alone would make it my first pick.
Lastly, the simplicity in design and the overall streamlining that Halcyon's wings is superior to other designs than I've seen. Dive Rite makes a Travel Wing which is also very good, but Halcyon does it without using a spandex material which wears out over time and makes it harder to manually inflate your wing. Also, Travel Wings by Dive Rite won't go on a backplate. Halcyon's wings are specifically designed to go on a backplate.
I have built my own rig... My choices in backplate were the FredT, the Gary Hoadley, or the Halcyon. I liked the electroplated finish that the Halcyon had, but I preferred the superior corrosion resistance from FredT and Gary Hoadley. I eventually chose the Hoadley plate because of the "slanted" slots on the shoulder, designed for better webbing wearability. I'm very impressed with Gary Hoadley's work. For reference, the Koplin plates, which I also very much liked, were not an option since they do not have the slots necessary for using the Pioneer built-in single tank adapter.
My 2" webbing came with my plate, but could be gotten anywhere. I did order a Halcyon buckle and a Halcyon 2" "ultrasoft" crotch strap.
The rig is simply awesome. Highly recommended...
But I like a pull dump on the shoulder and at the bottom of the wing. I saw a previous string on this issue. So those of you who have dove wings with and without these features, did you miss these options on the Halcyon?
That's a really great question... And if you look it up, you'll see that I had that issue too.
Dive Rite wings have pull dumps... And I was very much wanting a pull dump just like you.
Pull dumps work well when they're on a back inflate or jacket style BC. The reason is because they can solidly mount the pull dump on the shoulder strap/top of the bladder and not have a problem with it. It will basically work in that position.
A pull dump on a regular wing won't really work, because the wing isn't a part of your shoulder strap. Thus, when you pull it, it is only successful at pulling the wing over (folding it over) rather than actually dumping air. It's bad enough to not even bother using a pull dump on a wing system. Of course, this sounds like a perfect reason for going with a jacket or back inflate BC, but the problem with that is, of course, you don't get the awesome advantages of a backplate and wing system (streamlining, modular build, bulletproof quality, customizability, stability, etc...)
So the way I see it, it's either a functional pull dump on a "normal" BC, or going without it on a bp/wing.
I will tell you this, though, to make you feel better... With a backplate and wing, because of the awesome trim characteristics that you can "tune" into the rig, you likely won't be using the top mounted dump much anyway. Most bp/wing users use the bottom dump, because they are more horizontal in the water than other divers. So really, with a bp/wing, the whole issue of having a pull dump kinda becomes moot anyway.
...Which reminds me of one more reason I like Halcyon wings... Because their bottom dump is on the left side. Why's that a big deal? Because you can inflate with your power inflator, or deflate either top or bottom, all with your left hand... That way, your right hand can be busy doing something else or holding that new antique Coke bottle you found at the bottom or the river... Or holding onto the upline because the current is at 3+ knots... Or whatever. With any other brand name wing, deflating and inflating are done with two different hands, and you may need to use two hands to get your buoyancy right.
Oh yeah... One more thing... Halcyon wings do not use spandex or elastic or bungees to hold things in place. Halcyon wings are simply manufactured to be in place all by themselves... Without requiring bungees. Why's that an advantage? Well, bungees and elastic wears out...
Yes, I'm very happy with my purchase.
Any opinions on the Zeagle Ranger? [/B]
There's lots of people in here that really like them, although they don't have a following quite like the bp/wings do. I've seen the unit in the stores, and tried it on... I thought it looked to be made of very high quality materials.
What I didn't like about it was the weight ditch system. While I haven't dove a Ranger before, I have dove Zeagle back inflates before... And I simply *hate* that weight quick release system. I found it to be unassuring, insecure, low in quality, and a pain in the neck to use. Not only would it drop weights on it's own when you weren't looking, but it
wouldn't drop the weights when it was supposed to.
However, not everyone shares my dislike for the system.
