Why would one prefer one over the other?
Halcyon Explorer vs. Evolve
- Thread starter wunat
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DocWong
Contributor
I've dived both and prefer and love the Evolve. It seem to be much easier to dump and is more streamlined. I dove with the 50 lb Explorer and now the 40 lb Evolve. It's enough for doubles and 2 deco bottles with my drysuit.
OP
I know about the benefit of a donut wing. But just curious is there anyone who actually prefer the Explorer over Evolve?
*Floater*
Contributor
wunat:
I've used both the Explorer 40 and Evolve 40 with Al80's and prefer the Evolve. Nothing wrong with the Explorer and it was a good wing, but I enjoy the donutty goodness of the Evolve design more (narrower, easier to rear dump imo).
The potential drawback of the Evolve is that it's a very long wing, about 29 inches, so some people have found it too long for short tanks. Also, different wings trim a little differently and some prefer how the Explorer trims over the Evolve and vice versa too of course. I personally did not experience trim problems with either.
PerroneFord
Contributor
wunat:
The Evolve is NOT a friend to AL80s. It is nice with steel doubles. Al tanks do NOT need ANY lift at the bottom. The monkey wrench here is the weightbelt. So if you are using steels, or ALs with a weightbelt, the lift at the bottom of the wing is really trying to cope with that. I wear no weight with my AL80s, so ANY lift at the bottom is very problematic. I have to wear a tailweight on my BP.
That is probably the ONLY instance I would choose the Explorer over the Evolve.
I have a 50# Oxycheck standard doubles wing, which is shaped like the evolve. The first time I used it the rear end got floaty at about 1000psi. I added a 4# tail weight and that has seemed to fix the problem with the floatiness. I might drop it down to 2# or 3# and see how much of a difference those weight differences make. But I agree with Perone, with AL80's you need a little lift as possible in the rear of the tanks as the rear of the tanks are whats going to get floaty when they have less gas in them.
*Floater*
Contributor
FWIW the above has not been my experience diving AL80's with the Evolve. Also the wing is widest at the middle, so that's where the gas goes. The only time I have gas in the rear is when I tilt my butt up for shifting gas of rear dumping. The tanks do become more butt light as the dive progresses of course but it's nothing that extending my feet slight further out (with heavy XL jets) doesn't take care off. I believe the Evolve 40 was designed around AL80's.
PerroneFord
Contributor
I dove the Evolve 40 in DIRF class. With my feet straight, and my jetfins on, I was butt light in my twin 80s. Even the instructor handed me a small weight to stick under my wing. He brought steels for me the next day, but I just went back to my DR Classic instead.
By the way, I was in a 5mm shorty so this was not a case of floaty feet.
By the way, I was in a 5mm shorty so this was not a case of floaty feet.
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