I want a BP/Wing
- Thread starter Wrecks30
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OP
Wrecks30
Contributor
No, They ship to APO adresses, so its like shipping to the states.
---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 02:53 AM ----------
My Buddy (Instructor) has the DIVE SYSTEM wing, and he can swap his doubles for a single between dives. Now, I really dont want to get into it too much with him, because he wants me to buy the DIVE SYSTEM from the shop, but for 950 bucks, i think I'll pass.
BVickery
Contributor
It's pretty easy to swap wings when you have a plate so it's not just the Dive System BP/W.
You can't go wrong with either DR or DSS. I personally went with DSS after a Tech Instructor and mentor sized me up with a normal BP and said it was just to short given my body as well as some disabilities I had. If you buy from DSS Tobin will be a bit gruff, but he will do his best so you only have to order once.
OP
Wrecks30
Contributor
OK, so after some thought, I think that I may just go with a singles wing, since I will mostly dive singles anyway. But I have a few questions for you guys (keep in mind, i am new to the wing setup)
The package I am looking at offers these options
1. Should I go with a SS backplate for a single tank?
2. 25lb or 35 lb lift? Is more better?
3. Weights, 16lbs or 32 lbs?
4. STA or no STA?
If it were you, what would you go with? FWIW I am 170 lbs, dive mostly 5mil wetsuit, hood, gloves, personal AL80 tanks, sometimes 15L steel (common rentals in Italy)
The package I am looking at offers these options
1. Should I go with a SS backplate for a single tank?
2. 25lb or 35 lb lift? Is more better?
3. Weights, 16lbs or 32 lbs?
4. STA or no STA?
If it were you, what would you go with? FWIW I am 170 lbs, dive mostly 5mil wetsuit, hood, gloves, personal AL80 tanks, sometimes 15L steel (common rentals in Italy)
I think a hog SS backplate paired with a 32lb hog wing and 1 piece harness is a hard to beat setup. The SS backplate helps with weight when ur diving 80's. The sta helps with stability and extra weight if you are diving singles. But it is not absolutely essential with the hog wing, you can hook up a tank without it. And it is very hard to beat their price and costumer service..
Contact Jim Lapenta here on scubaboard. He is a hog dealer. He has great prices and offers international shipping. He has also wrote a nice article on the BP/W and I will bet he will email that to you too...
Here is his website
http://www.udmaquatics.com/
halocline
Contributor
1. Go with a steel plate if you need the ballast, IOW if you will not be overweighted using just the plate. In a 5mm suit and an AL80 tank this is a very safe bet. Steel tanks with a thinner wetsuit might be better with an AL plate, but to know this you need to know what your weight requirements are.
2. More lift is not better. You need to figure out what your lift needs are; this is dependent on the buoyancy of your wetsuit and to a certain extent the amount of gas you're carrying. Many divers use a BC with far more lift than is necessary. That's not a horrible thing, but in general smaller wings will feel easier to manage while diving; they'll hug the tank better and be easier to vent.
3. I don't know what you mean by this, but in general I'm not a big fan of the clunky quick release weight pockets. I would use a weight belt or harness if you need a substantial amount of lead. In warmer water with a steel plate, often you can put a couple of cam band pockets on the waist belt and stick a weight in each and be done with it. You can also put a weight on each of the cam bands. In colder water, thicker suit, where you are carrying a larger amount of weight, it's best to divide it up between your body (that's the belt or harness) and the rig (steel plate) so that both are reasonably neutral while diving. This is called a "balanced" rig and it's a huge benefit if you ever need to remove your rig at depth.
4. No STA is necessary with many single plate/wing combos, and is probably preferable to most divers, but there are exceptions.
Reading your posts, I think you're a good candidate to buy a deep sea supply rig, because the owner, Tobin, can provide you with excellent advice and make sure you get the ideal set up for your needs. Dive rite and oxycheq also make good gear, sometimes there are great deals at a place called caveadventurers.com. But DSS stuff is really high quality and in your case the advice will be worth any small additional cost you might have buying one of their complete rigs.
Mike126
Contributor
I'm a rookie when it comes to BPW. I bought my first setup a couple of months ago. While I have only been able to do a few pool dives, I love mine. I did go with DSS. As noted by BVickery, Tobin can be a little gruff, but he is really spot on with his assessment. I was reluctant at first to go with a Torus 26# wing as he recommended. He had me do a a real calculation of my cold water 7MM wetsuit bouyancy by actually weighting it in a tank to see exactly how bouyant it is. He then walked me through all of the calculations to determine the necessary wing size given I was going to use a SS plate. At the end of the day I really had a good understanding of how to calculate wing size. After diving my set up (SS Long Plate and 26# wing with a basic harness) it felt like I had no BP on at all. His package deals are very competitive with DR.
One word of caution you will hear on the board and from Tobin is the issue with too large of a wing with "taco" and trap air. The advice I always got was to go with a smaller wing as long as it will float your rig.
Good luck with your selection.
Mike
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OP
Wrecks30
Contributor
Cant you use bungee's to eliminate the Taco effect?
No, No, No! Bungees may reduce the effect but they also reduce the lift, trap air, and add to the complexity of the set up. Especially some jury rigged homemade type deal. There are wings that come with bungees. Often known as bungee wings of death. There is also another downside to them. If you would develop some type of leak in the wing the bungees could also vent air that you might need. A holed wing can still get you up and out of the water by altering your position to move the bubble. You don't want some cord preventing that. I sent you a PM asking for your email. I have sent out maybe 10 copies of the article I wrote on BPW's just this week. It will answer a lot of your questions. It's way too big to post on here of PM. It has photos and it's free.
---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ----------
Wing size is important but too big is not necessary and can in fact be a hazard. Too small can be risky as well. I highly respect Tobin and his advice. But one thing I also do as an instructor is remind divers, especially new ones making the transition, is that a small wing may work well for you but you also need to consider your buddy. I don't advise wings less than 30 lbs of lift unless you are only going to use, aluminum, kydex, or soft plates. When I teach a class I include some rescue skills in every one. One of those is supporting a diver at the surface whose BC has failed. Yes, they can dump weights or you can dump their weights. But having a little extra lift without having too big of wing never hurts. A stainless plate weighs six pounds, a full tank maybe -8 or so, the reg is 5 or 6. Right there is 20 lbs. The wing should float that. It will float it with an al plate. But where is that little extra lift to help another diver? IF using a steel plate I advise a 30- 35 lb wing. Start getting bigger and you get the Taco effect coming into play. Depending on the design of the wing that can be a little or a lot. I use a 32 right now for most single tank diving. My al travel rig has a 23 on it. But that is warm water only with maybe a t shirt and shorts or a 3 mil that only requires me to carry an extra 4 lbs in salt. I can drop the 4 and have that safety margin I like.
---------- Post added December 24th, 2013 at 10:51 AM ----------
Wing size is important but too big is not necessary and can in fact be a hazard. Too small can be risky as well. I highly respect Tobin and his advice. But one thing I also do as an instructor is remind divers, especially new ones making the transition, is that a small wing may work well for you but you also need to consider your buddy. I don't advise wings less than 30 lbs of lift unless you are only going to use, aluminum, kydex, or soft plates. When I teach a class I include some rescue skills in every one. One of those is supporting a diver at the surface whose BC has failed. Yes, they can dump weights or you can dump their weights. But having a little extra lift without having too big of wing never hurts. A stainless plate weighs six pounds, a full tank maybe -8 or so, the reg is 5 or 6. Right there is 20 lbs. The wing should float that. It will float it with an al plate. But where is that little extra lift to help another diver? IF using a steel plate I advise a 30- 35 lb wing. Start getting bigger and you get the Taco effect coming into play. Depending on the design of the wing that can be a little or a lot. I use a 32 right now for most single tank diving. My al travel rig has a 23 on it. But that is warm water only with maybe a t shirt and shorts or a 3 mil that only requires me to carry an extra 4 lbs in salt. I can drop the 4 and have that safety margin I like.
A 30-ish pound (30, 32, 34) wing and either an aluminum or stainless plate will work fine with the 5mm suit and aluminum 80s. However, the stainless plate might be a bit more than needed with the steel tanks but do-able. The aluminum plate might also be better with your doubles unless you go dry.
I vote simple harness, standard aluminum plate, 30 pound displacement wing.
If you were just diving the aluminum tanks and no more than a 5 or 5/3 suit, an 18 pound wing is good. But a point has been made about supporting a buddy, if that buddy has a steel tank and a steel plate, well? See, my buddy is my wife, her equipment is as light and small as mine and neither of us are big people, the 18 is good. But, I still say you cannot go wrong with the 30/aluminum given that you might have different buddies with different equipments.
People make a big deal over these plates, they are all about the same thing, a bent piece of aluminum or stainless. If they have holes 11 inches apart, you ought to be able to mix and match equipment for years to come.
N
I vote simple harness, standard aluminum plate, 30 pound displacement wing.
If you were just diving the aluminum tanks and no more than a 5 or 5/3 suit, an 18 pound wing is good. But a point has been made about supporting a buddy, if that buddy has a steel tank and a steel plate, well? See, my buddy is my wife, her equipment is as light and small as mine and neither of us are big people, the 18 is good. But, I still say you cannot go wrong with the 30/aluminum given that you might have different buddies with different equipments.
People make a big deal over these plates, they are all about the same thing, a bent piece of aluminum or stainless. If they have holes 11 inches apart, you ought to be able to mix and match equipment for years to come.
N
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