Small Wing Recommendations

[Rich Keller]

Are you talking about Dutch Springs?? Because I dove there is first in probably '76. Thre was no diving allowed, we used to sneek in and dive and I think i avoided being aressted for trespassing (barely) a few times.

I took my OW after having been a diver for 4 years and they held the check out dives there from a shop on Long Island. I find if you go in through the front gate and pay the fee they do not chase you out.

 

[divad]

I am looking into either a Oxycheq 18lb, DSS 17lb or HOG 23lb wing for a travel BP/W. I am looking for recommendations on these or other wings of a similar size.

I impulse-bought a Hollis S-25 on sale @ DGE and love it. It's tiny and I prefer it over my DUX 30 and Oxycheq 30. In terms of venting, it's much more responsive than the DUX (due to size I think) and way more responsive than the Oxycheq due to (I think) a supple inner bladder that fits inside the outer bladder without folds and creases. It rolls up nicely. It's not as robust as the Oxycheq, which can stand up on its own uninflated, but is much more supple/responsive and compact

 

[Rich Keller]

I have had a few people suggest the Oxycheq 30lb wing might be a good way to go also. It is 2" wider, 1" longer, 0.3lb heavier and provides 40% more lift. Has anyone used one of these?

 

[Akimbo]

I use the 30 Lb Extreme, which is tough but bulkier in luggage. It seems small enough that I am not motivated to get the 18 Lb. I am a warm water newbie, but have flown with the wing to cool water several times. I can get it in a carryon bag no problem.

No matter what wing you get, I recommend using an easily removed resilient adhesive like silicon to glue the gooseneck to bladder gasket in place so it isn’t lost. Removing the hose assembly will reduce stress on the hose and bladder plus make packing easier.

 

[eelnoraa]

I do not think I will need to roll this up but I was wondering what it is made of that the others are not. Is the stiffer shell material a benefit that the others do not have? Is this type of wing better suited to use without a STA? I am not too concerned with a little extra weight as I am saving a lot of weight by attaching it to a commercial diving harness instead of a standard metal backplate.

I am late, but let me answer you questions. Oxycheq has very thick and stiff outter shell. On the inside of the shell, oxycheq put a layer of urathane coating too, make it even stiffer. Then there is the inner bladder. It is some thick uranthane material too. The bladder is quite a bit bigger than the shell. Extra material just fold inside the shell. All of these make the wing quite stiff. Not someting you can easier stow. It is definitely a very tough wing. Just it is not the best travel wing out there. I would say a Halcyon 30lb, Hollis 25 or DSS 17 wing will travel better, much better.

As some one mention above, Hollis S25 vent more responsive than Oxycheq. I don't have a S25, but I do agree Oxycheq venting is slower than other wing. I think mainly because the folded inner bladder. Overall, I would say Oxcheq makes robust wing by brute force, but by smart design.

As for STA-less setup, Oxcheq's implementaion is like many other, basically use some pillow as tank stabllizer. Cam band thread through plate and wing. So if you want to take the wing off, you have undo the cam band. The best STA-less implementation, IMO, is DSS. Others are not even close. So I would say if you do a lot of traveling and want to leave STA behind, consider DSS wing. Hollis S25 is good wing for the price, something I would go with if I were you.

 

[ams511]

Just remember the Halcyon requires a STA while the others don't. If you don't mind the STA, then DRIS has a wing for $200 which is the second cheapest I have seen. The cheapest is the ED wing from Piranha for $180.

 

[buddhasummer]

Double post
---------- Post added February 1st, 2013 at 08:06 PM ----------

Although have not seen a Halcyon wing up close, to me they certainly look similar to the Hollis, or Hollis look similar to the H, just out of curiosity would it be possible to the use the removable "roll control tabs" that come with the Hollis on the H wing?

 

[diveprof]

I have had a few people suggest the Oxycheq 30lb wing might be a good way to go also. It is 2" wider, 1" longer, 0.3lb heavier and provides 40% more lift. Has anyone used one of these?

Yes. I've used one and it will be the replacement for my next single tank wing for cold water. It is not a bad choice for travel as it is still relatively small and can handle single steel tanks with a heavy wetsuit in freshwater. Folks are commenting about the slow venting of the Oxycheqs on this thread. Not been a problem for me. Then again, I use very little weighting even with a 3mm and the 18lb Oxy so there is a minimal amount of air in the wing. I do not use a hard shell case for my dive bag so I actually leave a bit of air in my wing to cushion other stuff when packing. The roll-up thing has no value to me.

 

[Nemrod]

I have both the 18 and the 30 Oxy Mach V wings. For warm water I much prefer the 18. The 18 does, as you can imagine, quickly run out of lift capacity for those divers who bring the kitchen sink with them. Frankly, I wish he made a 12 pound. The 30 is fine for temperate diving with 3/5 wetsuits etc. and is noticeably larger and heavier.

The slow venting, what slow venting?

N

 

[eelnoraa]

No, you cannot use Eclipse wing without STA because there is NO cam slot on the wing. The "roll control tab" doesn't come to play yet

Double post
---------- Post added February 1st, 2013 at 08:06 PM ----------

Although have not seen a Halcyon wing up close, to me they certainly look similar to the Hollis, or Hollis look similar to the H, just out of curiosity would it be possible to the use the removable "roll control tabs" that come with the Hollis on the H wing?

---------- Post added February 1st, 2013 at 05:49 PM ----------

The slow venting, what slow venting?

N

Not necessasry slow in the absolute sense or in-suficient sense, but slowER than say Halcyon Elipse noticeably if you dive them back to back.