My first dive with Halcyon Pioneer 27 lbs BP/WING

[Ari]

It is encourging to see that even for a relatively inexperienced diver, this setup can work as his first BC.

The bottom line is that you should use what is good for you.

Cheers.

Ari

 

[Cave Diver]

Dxtreme once bubbled...
- harness can be harsh to bare skin, Tropical divers wear at least a rash guard or get shoulder padding from OMS. ALso i do not want to imagine the abrasion on the thigh with the croutch strap.

- If you plan to dive with different setup ( 3/2 mm, 5 mm , 6mm suits or whatever... ) adjusting the harness for each fit is FRUSTRATING.

- If you need to dump air, you have to find the button or the pull string below the BC. because there is no pull dump

Wear a thin shorty, a t-shirt or a dive skin and it will help greatly with the harshness problem.

Once you get used to the setup, you will probably be able to loosen it up to a point where it is comfortable for each thickness wetsuit without it being too loose to adversely affect your diving.

A small piece of bicycle innertube threaded onto the harness secured close to the left chest d-ring will keep the inflator hose readily accessible. All you have to do is find it, lift it, and possibly rotate into a slightly more head up attitutude to dump. If you are used to using the pull dump on the shoulder this takes some getting used to, but well worth the effort and it quickly becomes second nature.

 

[HammerNoMore]

jplacson once bubbled...
Ok, question for Halcyon 27 owners... is there a shoulder dump option?

No.

If not... does the bottom dump work in a heads-up position? ...

No

I'm just imagining scenarios... say you replaced the inflator with a combo octo... emergency ascent, deflate BC... can I do a remote dump? Or do I do the usual remove octo from mouth, deflate, return octo to mouth....etc...? Thanks!

I think you might give JJ and GI a heart attack if you stick an octo inflator on their wing.

 

[Gator Diver]

I agree. I tried out bp/wings for the first
time this weekend. Unfortunately I did
not have anyone to help me with adjustment
but I think once properly adjusted it
can only be better. It definitely gives
you more freedom of movment and I would
suggest everyone try it before purchasing
a back inflate bcd. I will probably dive
again with (properly adjusted) before
I buy but right now I am leaning towards
bp/wings.

 

[HammerNoMore]

Inkypoo once bubbled...
Just want to get a feel of things...I've seen a demo session of a backplate-setup being put on and it seemed to me a whole lot slower and more hassling than just slipping on the conventional jacket rigs.

It is true that getting a BP/Wing setup is time consuming. Count on about an hour your first time and then some tweaks for your next several dives. However, once it is setup I can get in and out of a BP/Wing much faster than I could with a conventional BC.

All that streamlined gear does look cool in ads though....only thing that's stopping me right now is the apparent hassle in donning the stuff. Kinda makes diving seem like too much work...hope I'm wrong about it though. I have been tempted to switch a couple of times I must admit...my "less than perfect fitting" jacket-rig is getting on me nerves...it rides up underwater and shifts a little with certain movements. Groan....

Aside from looking cool the streamlined gear has other benefits. These include less resistance, i.e. more hydrodynamic, which translates directly to increased bottome time. Another big advantage is that there are far fewer snag opportunitie.

If you are considring a BP/Wing try one out. Ask around at local shops that sell tech gear and see if you can demo one in the pool or somthing. They may very well not be for everyone, but at least around here most people who try them get hooked.

James

 

[jplacson]

James Goddard:
"I think you might give JJ and GI a heart attack if you stick an octo inflator on their wing."

hehehe... I'm just exploring all options... the Air 2 isn't my only choice though...

but I'm pretty much set on the Halcyon MC.

I was checking out Dive Rite's as well... seems bigger at 30lbs... and finding a dealer in the Phil is pretty tough.

On the topic of inflators... have any of you tried the AirTrim system on a Mares HUB? I've only seen a demo in a dive shop... it's a pretty cool concept! Pressing the dump button on your hip activates 2 dump valves... 1 shoulder and 1 back... so it deflates in any position. Pretty cool! It also has 1 tradional shoulder dump, and the normal inflator hose.

 

[divegeek]

I configured my first BP/Wing this weekend also. I found a couple of good websites that describe it in detail. I find that when the plate is at the right height (on my back) the arm straps are a bit tight.

I'm a little concerned that donning it fully loaded will be a pain. I know that plastic buckles on the straps are a big DIR no-no (like on the OMS deluxe harness), but It would really help getting in to it.

 

[HammerNoMore]

jplacson once bubbled...
James Goddard:
On the topic of inflators... have any of you tried the AirTrim system on a Mares HUB? I've only seen a demo in a dive shop... it's a pretty cool concept! Pressing the dump button on your hip activates 2 dump valves... 1 shoulder and 1 back... so it deflates in any position. Pretty cool! It also has 1 tradional shoulder dump, and the normal inflator hose.

Ok, I'm going to assume for a moment that bringing up the HUB in a BP/Wing thread is not a troll.

Do some searches on the HUB. The general consensis is that the thing is a death trap. Hiden inside the unit is an array of hoses and connectors that signficantly multiple your failure points. In addition the octo is hidden and the inflator is in a complely non-standard location.

 

[HammerNoMore]

divegeek once bubbled...
I configured my first BP/Wing this weekend also. I found a couple of good websites that describe it in detail. I find that when the plate is at the right height (on my back) the arm straps are a bit tight.

I'm a little concerned that donning it fully loaded will be a pain. I know that plastic buckles on the straps are a big DIR no-no (like on the OMS deluxe harness), but It would really help getting in to it.

I doubt you will really have any trouble once you give it a try, so I'd definatly recommend some test dives before you start cutting the webbing.

If you do decide to put a buckle on it, use a good metal belt buckle and you would only need to put it on one side.

James

 

[divegeek]

James Goddard once bubbled...


I doubt you will really have any trouble once you give it a try, so I'd definatly recommend some test dives before you start cutting the webbing.

I DID cut the webbing, but I left about 15". Not that I'm going to do it right away, but do you have a link for a metal shoulder buckle?