Single tank wing for cold water

[dima_ras]

Hello! I want to switch from Jacket BCD to a single tank wing. Most of my diving is in Atlantic ocean in New Jersey (cold water, 90-130f deep), with wet suite, single 133cf (17L) tank and 30cf pony attached to it. My cave instructor recommended Dive Rite Voyager, however DR site recommends it with up to 95cf/15L tank. What single tank wing would you recommend?

Thank you!

 

[elgoog]

I used Tobin's (cool_hardware52 on SB) method to calculate needed wing lift. He's the owner of Deep Sea Supply and there's multiple posts in that sub-forum on how to calculate what you need. Highly recommend his BP/W rigs as well as the accessories he has. I use his 30lb wing with the steel plate+weight plates for thick wetsuits, drysuits and 100cf tanks.
Definitely get in touch with him to figure out what size wing you should get. This post has him working out the wing size for a particular configuration and you can use the same method for your gear.

Not sure how attached/invested you are to the single tank setup you described but for the depths mentioned it sounds like a doubles setup would be more suitable (?)

 

[tbone1004]

who's your cave instructor out of curiosity?

Call Tobin,
buy a backplate/wing rig, in SS in the size that you need, with likely a Torus 35 or LCD30/40 wing depending on how much lead you wear with our weight belt. It'll be cheaper in the long run that way. If you're going into cave diving in backmount, then you'll have to buy another rig to not be quite so overweighted, but odds are you'll be in sidemount for cave diving soon enough so I'd hold off on that.

That all being said, that depth in that temp, in a wetsuit is stupid you better at least have a lift bag or something for redundant buoyancy. If you're going into cave diving, just get a drysuit and save yourself a lot of hassle and increase the safety for your current diving.

 

[rhwestfall]

you need to do some weight checks - but these are the statistics I use -

Fresh Water:

-6# - SS Plate (DSS Long)
-10# weight plates
Highland SS cam band buckles
HP120
AL30 slung
DUI CFX 200 Crushed Neoprene DS
400g quilted Bare Thermals

HOG 32# wing....

This is only a random data point.....

 

[decompression]

Ya, those depths would certainly suggest double tanks and a drysuit. I hope your instructor can explain why, if not, we can. Lots of decent dry suits around for cheap.


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[dima_ras]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for recommendations! I certainly see myself diving in dry suite with side-mount (or doubles) in a couple of years (with 50 more dives under my belt and technical training since most of NJ wrecks are below REC depth limits). I do not want my equipment to be well ahead of my experience, besides I see single tank rig still useful in resorts even after I move to SM or doubles for ocean and cave diving. My cavern instructor (Johnny Richards from Cave Diving Website; best instructor I had) advised against hybrid wings, so I am looking for a single tank rig which I can start using right away.
I went over Tobin's posts (including http://2sb.us/503482), and will send a PM to him. Thanks a lot for the reference!
I though of Aluminum rather than SS back-plate (for easy travel). Is anything wrong with that other than an extra 6lb in weight pockets? What accessories would you recommend? I will certainly need weight and gear pockets...

---------- Post added April 21st, 2015 at 02:54 PM ----------

Ya, those depths would certainly suggest double tanks and a drysuit. I hope your instructor can explain why, if not, we can. <b>Lots of decent dry suits around for cheap.</b>


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I will get in touch with you once I am ready to go dry. So far the only affordable option I came across was ScubaPro Everdry, however I passed on it due to mixed reviews.

 

[elgoog]

For cold water (regardless of wetsuit or drysuit), SS backplate is the way to go. A big advantage, if you go with a DSS steel BP, is that you can get the weight plates for it which will take at least 8lb of your weight belt, depending on plate size - this made a huge difference in trim and overall handling in the water for my wife and I.
When you say "for easy travel", do you mean in terms of packing it or using it in warm water with thinner/no wetsuit? The dry weights of steel and aluminum plates are only 2-3lb apart, so packing isn't a major issue. As far as in-water weighting, using a steel plate with an aluminum tank might work depending on what you're wearing. With just a diveskin/swim trunks/shorty/etc, you will be over weighted by a few pounds whereas with a 2mm full suit, you'll probably be just fine without a weight belt. You end up with no ditchable weights but the "overweighting" is low enough that most people can easily swim it up in case that's needed.

 

[dima_ras]

Thank you. I did not realize that the difference between AL and SS BP is just 2-3lb. I will go with SS. I like tbone1004's recommendation to carry a lift bag for redundant buoyancy (which can be useful in case the wing is punctured at depth.) I have got an alternative recommendation of getting a dual bladder. Is it worth it?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Thank you. I did not realize that the difference between AL and SS BP is just 2-3lb. I will go with SS. I like tbone1004's recommendation to carry a lift bag for redundant buoyancy (which can be useful in case the wing is punctured at depth.) I have got an alternative recommendation of getting a dual bladder. Is it worth it?

Dual bladder single tank wing? Not sure such an animal actually exists. For good reason. With a single tank and a thick suit you will need ballast, and at least some of it can be rigged to be ditched. I'm not a fan of ditching weight, but it is one means for dealing with a wing failure at depth in a wetsuit.

Dual bladder wings are in theory anyway a means to deal with the inherent ballast of a set of big steel doubles, which can often leave the diver with no other ballast to ditch, hard to ditch your tanks.

What are the recommended solutions? 1) Double up a pair of buoyant al 80's for deep dives in the ocean in a wetsuit. Doing so will almost always result in the diver needing ballast in addition to his plate, harness, regs, can light etc. This additional ballast can be rigged to ditch. 2) Drysuit. Me? Option #2 every time.

Tobin

 

[sphyrnidus]

About alu vs SS The comments here are open for debate. I own a alu bp which is 0.8 kg for travelling and a SS one that is 6 kg, which I use in the local cold waters. That is not just a 2 pound difference. It makes a huge difference in lugging it a long as well as not paying extra for excess luggage on every flight.