how do you select a wing?

[sylvester]

I have been reading and studying backplates and I am now trying to figure out how to select a wing.

I understand the tec divers need lotsa lift in thier wing,(not sure why) but as a recerational diver what should I focus on?

I am 5-11 220lbs when wearing a 6.5 wetsuit with hood gloves and boots I use 28 lbs of wgt in fresh water with an al80 tank. If that information is needed to assist in selecting a wing.

I am leaning toward the AUL heavy back plate to reduce some wgt from my belt.

 

[WYDT]

First thing to do would be to make sure you've got your weighting right. 28lbs in fresh water sounds pretty high. I'm basically the same size you are and need only 8lbs in fresh water with a 7/5 wetsuit and hood etc.. (with AL80 doubles)

I'd go to a pool or shallow area where you can get it down safely.

Now comes in the concept of balancing your rig. When your rig is properly balanced you will be able to swim up from depth with NO air in your wing and a full tank and still be able to stay at 15ft with little air in your tank and none in your wing. This concept applies to tech divers too and no they shouldn't need "lotsa lift in thier wing" either.

Theoretically one should need no more air in the wing than the weight of gas in the tank(s) and compression of the wetsuit. A lot of "tech" divers use drysuits not only to keep warm but to avoid the weight needed for sinking a wetsuit then loosing that buoyancy once under.

Why am I talking about all this when you asked about wing size? Because it's all related. Most people use a MUCH bigger wing than they really need because they overweight themselves to begin with. I have a 36lb Halcyon Pioneer wing for single tank diving but it's really much more than I need. I could have easily gone with the 27lb. They are pretty much the same except for an expansion panel in the side.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[Diver0001]

sylvester once bubbled...
I have been reading and studying backplates and I am now trying to figure out how to select a wing.

I understand the tec divers need lotsa lift in thier wing,(not sure why) but as a recerational diver what should I focus on?

I am 5-11 220lbs when wearing a 6.5 wetsuit with hood gloves and boots I use 28 lbs of wgt in fresh water with an al80 tank. If that information is needed to assist in selecting a wing.

I am leaning toward the AUL heavy back plate to reduce some wgt from my belt.

I won't repeat what WYDY said but I'll add a couple of things to the the list. When at the surface your wing needs to be big enough to float your kit and weightbelt. This is a matter of practicality more than anything. And you should have enough lift in your BCD to make sure you have plenty of buoyancy to keep from bobbing under the waves if seas are rough, and to be able to help your buddy with, for example his weightbelt on the surface and that kind of thing. Once again, practicalities.

And I'll second what WDTY said about your weight. 28 lbs with that kit sounds like a mini-bus strapped to your ass. Make time to do a thorough buoyancy check. Start with 10lbs on your belt and keep adding weight until it's right. I'd be surprised if you can't remove at least 10lbs from your weightbelt.

R..

 

[CheeseWhiz]

I, for one, would like to see some good, credible scientific study done into the range of weight needed for different body types (and whatever variables seem appropriate).

I've got a reasonable amount of experience (I'm a DM) and feel like I'm very comfortable diving. But when I wear my 7/5 wetsuit and a 5-mil jacket with Al80 tank, I use 30# of lead. I can sink with less weight with no problem, but when the tank gets down to about 1500 psi, I turn into Cork Boy and the dive's over, especially in shallow water. A safety stop @ 15' is out of the question.

My suspicion is that some people are "floaters" and some are "sinkers," and there's nothing they can do about it. Probably has to do with bone structure, internal body fat, etc.

Some day, when I have enough time, I'm taking the wetsuit and jacket and see just how much weight it takes to sink them by themselves. I guess that would be a place to start.

 

[The Pirate]

A lot has to do with just how comfortable a diver is in the water. As a diver becomes more proficient and comfortable in the water he/she will be able to shed more and more weight off the belt. Additionally, the weight needed by one diver over another with basically the same rig has a lot to do with the quality of the neoprene in the wetsuit. A newer wetsuit with very good quality neoprene will be more bouyant than an older wetsuit thats been compressed many times.

 

[The Pirate]

sylvester once bubbled...
I have been reading and studying backplates and I am now trying to figure out how to select a wing.

I understand the tec divers need lotsa lift in thier wing,(not sure why) but as a recerational diver what should I focus on?

I am 5-11 220lbs when wearing a 6.5 wetsuit with hood gloves and boots I use 28 lbs of wgt in fresh water with an al80 tank. If that information is needed to assist in selecting a wing.

I am leaning toward the AUL heavy back plate to reduce some wgt from my belt.

You may want to consider more than one wing. No one wing is going to work for all situations. I know many people try to find the one wing that will suffice with a lot of different rigs, but the best is a separate wing for each rig. A single tank wing like the little Halcyon 27# or 36 # will work with most single tank situations. I personally have several wings; one for each type of diving I do.

 

[DocRCH]

You do need to determine how much lift your rig will need without you in it. If you have to take off you rig to get back into a boat and then haul your rig up into the boat, you would not want it to sink.

Robert:doctor: