KD8NPB
Contributor
I like my Hog 38 lb. I use it with LP72s. Dolphin Scuba had them for about $120 shipped not too long ago...appears the sale is over now.
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IMHO, anything above 60lbs is a very specialized item of kit - of interest only to a very small minority of divers who may have occasional cause to need that much buoyancy. I'm thinking here - record breakers, expedition level cavers etc (..and even then...) I'm surprised such items are listed on websites, let alone stocked by dive stores.
For a dive shop to recommend such a high capacity bladder to a novice/potential tech diver stinks. It's beyond cynical.
It doesn't help that recreational BCDs are marketed to 'boast' of high capacity bladders - plenty enough single-tank wallowy jackets that list a ~50lb bladder as a positive selling point for single-tank divers. With that sort of misinformation, it's no surprise that the novice can be led into thinking that 'bigger is better'.
Choose a bladder like you'd choose trousers. Too small is gonna hurt.... too big and people will laugh at you... and you'll forever be distracted by them...
4 x Al80 is 6 lb of gas each and a 5mm wetsuit is 10 to 15 lb buoyant. (My 5mm XXL is 14 lb.) The wetsuit will lose much of its buoyancy as gas bubbles compress with depth (about 80% at 5 atm) so be safe and assume all wetsuit buoyancy is lost. So the total buoyancy changes your will will need to handle is in the 34 to 39 lb range. A 40 lb wing might work but could be marginal if you are on the high end of the range and the wing rating is a little off (or limited). But 85 lb is over the hill unless it is double bladdered.
4 x Al80 is 6 lb of gas each and a 5mm wetsuit is 10 to 15 lb buoyant. (My 5mm XXL is 14 lb.) The wetsuit will lose much of its buoyancy as gas bubbles compress with depth (about 80% at 5 atm) so be safe and assume all wetsuit buoyancy is lost. So the total buoyancy changes your will will need to handle is in the 34 to 39 lb range. A 40 lb wing might work but could be marginal if you are on the high end of the range and the wing rating is a little off (or limited). But 85 lb is over the hill unless it is double bladdered.