REVIEW „TecLine Donut Ultra Light Travel Set - Wing Type : Donut 17 (17kg)”

[Duglum]

I bought the 17L Set a while ago... love it. I also got the long Tecline Trim weight Pockets and webbed them into the Harness, right at the Backplate.
I don't use the weight Pockets.
With this Setup i'm at about 1-2kg for fresh Water with a Steel 12L, and i guess about 3-6kg for Salt Water with a 12L Aluminium in a 5mm Neoprene, which is waaaaay less compared to the Scubapro Seahawk i used before.

The only "Problem" is that the Wing has just a liiiittle less capacity then needed if i use it with my heavy 6mm Steel Backplate and a weighted STA for Drysuit diving. Combined with a 12L Steel Bottle, two regs, a Light etc. it becomes slightly negative even when fully filled.

Other than that, great Stuff. The Backplate is well built, the Harness is nice and Stiff, the Buckle is top notch.

 

[matrium]

Strange, for some reason i think my package didn't include 2 different kinds of weight pockets. Did you guys had to order them seperately? I choose the Weight pockets : YES option, and all i got are those that you can connect to your backplate at the hip area. It seems like you guys gut another kind of pocket too?

I don't need them for weight, but i am looking for a way to store my SMB and a plastic white slate (for white balance) + maybe some other stuff. Since you have a similar setup: What pockets do you use? Do you carry a SMB and if so: how?

 

[Duglum]

The "official" Tecline Set/Product contains the Hip weight Pockets and two small trim pockets for the Cam Bands. I also bought the Tecline Trim pockets long, those are not part of the kit. Sorry if that wasn't clear enough.
Yes, i carry a SMB. In a Pocket i glued onto my Wetsuit or in the ones that came fitted on my Drysuit. The Weight Pockets aren't really suitable for that.

You basically have like 3-4 Options.
- Buy a Pocket and glue it on. By far the best imho.
- Buy a Storage Pack for your Backplate
- Neatly package the SMB and the Spool and carry it on your Backplate or the Butt D-Ring with a Double Ender
- Get one of those Neoprene Pocket Shorts

 

[matrium]

I don't want to glue a pocket to my suit i guess, because it could annoy me during snorkeling and free dive (something i want to try out).

Storage Pack for the Backplate is something that sounds practical. Tecline offer this:
Tecline Backplate Padding

But i am not sure that i really get it. Where do i position it? On the bottom of the backplate facing down? I guess between backplate and bottle? Right?
Isn't it hard to pull the SMB out in that position?

Since i fly to egypt in 2 days and don't have time to order anything i will go with the 3rd option for this trip i guess.

*EDIT* btw. if have this SMB WDS X MARKER:: ALL-IN-ONE SYSTEM, 65,00 €
Comes with a nice little bag, so option 3 is definetely ok i guess

 

[Duglum]

Mhm yeah, attaching the little Pocket would work i guess. A proper Spool and some Bungee cord to keep it all together would be better in my opinion, but do it as you want.

 

[mattia_v]

I have my SMB with spook attached in the small bag it came in, and clip it directly to the backplate, one of the spare side holes. Then secure with a length of bungee cord. Neat, tidy, easily reached. picture of my GF, but setup is the same (it's not perfectly stowed in this shot but it is stable so you get the drift).

Floating in the garden