New BP/W suggestions please. 18lb wing in tropical waters - any concerns?

[lowwall]

You 18 pound zealots should pull your heads in when you know nothing past your own
inexperience, and don't give rubbish advice to a guy that has no idea what a wing does

I'm not a zealot. 18 pound wings are the wrong choice in lots of situations (including anywhere you'll be wearing 5mm or more of neoprene), but they are made for and work fine for the OP's expected dives.

I don't have anywhere near your total experience, but I do have a couple of hundred dives in conditions similar to what the OP has using 17 and 18lb wings. How about you?

As to what a wing does? It allows you to achieve neutral buoyancy under water as you deplete your gas and as your suit compresses with depth.

What it isn't is a substitute for a lift bag or dumping excess weight on the surface in an emergency.

 

[johndiver999]

I found the 18 more than enough for warm water.

And I bet the OP will too... for 99.9% of his dives.

For me, it is about having some extra lift available for that unusual emergency that will be caused by "the other guy". Diving with a super small wing is not a suicide mission, it just doesn't fall in the sweet spot between risk/reward- for me.

I used to know people who dove warm water in the Bahamas with NO BC and no wetsuit and an 80 tank. They were good divers and liked the freedom and the simplicity of it. I always thought it severely limited their options to assist if the SHTF.

 

[lexvil]

And I bet the OP will too... for 99.9% of his dives.

For me, it is about having some extra lift available for that unusual emergency that will be caused by "the other guy". Diving with a super small wing is not a suicide mission, it just doesn't fall in the sweet spot between risk/reward- for me.

I used to know people who dove warm water in the Bahamas with NO BC and no wetsuit and an 80 tank. They were good divers and liked the freedom and the simplicity of it. I always thought it severely limited their options to assist if the SHTF.

For me how it traveled matter too since have switched to a 12 lb outlaw, diving cold water 99% of the time warm water is a treat, I hate to spoil it with to much stuff. You can ditch a lot of stuff to assist with buoyancy if necessary but I get your point.

 

[lowwall]

And I bet the OP will too... for 99.9% of his dives.

For me, it is about having some extra lift available for that unusual emergency that will be caused by "the other guy". Diving with a super small wing is not a suicide mission, it just doesn't fall in the sweet spot between risk/reward- for me.

I used to know people who dove warm water in the Bahamas with NO BC and no wetsuit and an 80 tank. They were good divers and liked the freedom and the simplicity of it. I always thought it severely limited their options to assist if the SHTF.

I'd love to try that.

If you are in decent shape and know how to swim (kick), your options open right back up. Back when I was a lifeguard, I regularly hauled people out of the water with no flotation at all.

 

[dsvs]

The comments on weighting are accurate - 4kg was definitely overweighted for me, I dropped to 3kg for a later dive which worked well but I couldn't do a weight check thanks to strong currents at the end of the dive. I suspect I'll end up with 2kg or less on the backplate and wing.

I ended up ordering 2 DGX backplate and wing sets, for me and my wife. I emailed them about shipping and they use UPS or DHL for orders above $750 which should be with me in around 2 weeks with a little luck.

Thanks to everyone for your input. Even with taxes the 2 DGX sets will probably work out about US$250 cheaper than the Apeks, and give me a little extra lift and security. The Mares XR setup was even more expensive and on backorder, and the Hog dealer only had the older non-bungeed wings available which are apparently less well made.

 

[Centrals]

It would be interesting to find out the actual dry weight of Apeks 18lb and DGX 30lb wing.
Perhaps the manufacturers could also quote the dry weight other than the lifting capacity.

 

[noserider]

For me how it traveled matter too since have switched to a 12 lb outlaw, diving cold water 99% of the time warm water is a treat, I hate to spoil it with to much stuff. You can ditch a lot of stuff to assist with buoyancy if necessary but I get your point.

I use the 25lb outlaw for travel and it is fine even in a 7mm wetsuit for me but it is lovely in rash top or 3mm suit

 

[dsvs]

It would be interesting to find out the actual dry weight of Apeks 18lb and DGX 30lb wing.
Perhaps the manufacturers could also quote the dry weight other than the lifting capacity.

I’ll weigh the DGX setup when it arrives and post here. DGX shipped out within 7 hours of receiving the order and used DHL who estimate delivery in a week. First class service.

 

[dsvs]

So the package from DGX was with me in a week from placing the order - excellent service from them, as well as DHL. Dry weight of the assembled backplate and wing is 3.2kg, this is without trimming any excess webbing and with a BC hose, cam band trim pockets and a trilobite on the harness.

Took me a while to put it all together and adjust things, but I was able to take it out on a few dives yesterday. It will take some further adjustment and practice but overall I'm pleased. I dropped to 2kg of weight on the top cam bands and even with this I was a little overweighted at the safety stop.

I did run into a couple of minor issues. The stopper at the end of the left kidney dump pull string came off the first time I tried to use it - which was a bit disconcerting as I was worried that the entire assembly had come off in the water at first! I also found that the corrugated BC hose gets in the way of access to the left shoulder D ring, which I had a light clipped to. From the routing of the BC hose I can't think of a way to avoid this, any suggestions?

 

[happy-diver]

Magnificent!

Tie a bungee loop for the corrugated hose through where the dring goes or something then get used to it

and make a fat string