Starting out with bp&w

[tbone1004]

You mean without the keys, right?

keyboards are actually one of the few instruments I'm not really competent with. Most wind instruments I can play at a professional level and still play in pit orchestras

 

[divad]

keyboards are actually one of the few instruments I'm not really competent with. Most wind instruments I can play at a professional level and still play in pit orchestras

Ah... THAT'S why they call them Pit Orchestras....Okay, I meant to say "I wonder why they call them Pit Orchestras?"

 

[EireDiver606]

yes, and it isn't my favorite....

Which is your favourite then and why do you prefer it over the halcyon?

My guess is it’s something to do with the backplate because you have a long back apparently?

Please don’t say it’s Tobins wing for all things holy.

 

[tbone1004]

Which is your favourite then and why do you prefer it over the halcyon?

My guess is it’s something to do with the backplate because you have a long back apparently?

Please don’t say it’s Tobins wing for all things holy.

he makes my favorite doubles/ccr wing, but not my favorite singles wing for a couple reasons we agree to disagree about. They sit at #2 for me though.

One of the reasons the Halcyon isn't my favorite for singles is because it does require a STA. I like STA's, have them, but for a dedicated singles rig especially for travel it's not as ideal as one that gives you the option of direct mounting. As a textile engineer, I'm not convinced the choice of a laminated fabric was the best for the inner bladder.
I'm a fan of the Oxycheq/VDH wings and am currently using one with my Freedom plate. I think they're more versatile than both the DSS and Halcyon wings, and the construction quality is quite good

 

[eelnoraa]

I agree Oxycheq makes some good and very tough wings. But don't you think they are not travel friendly? I switch from Oxycheq to Halcyon for a compromise between pack-ability and toughness

 

[tbone1004]

I agree Oxycheq makes some good and very tough wings. But don't you think they are not travel friendly? I switch from Oxycheq to Halcyon for a compromise between pack-ability and toughness

depends on how tight you have to roll them. Problem with the Halcyon for travel is that while the wing may be physically smaller and a bit lighter, it's more than offset by the STA you have to take with you

 

[Lorenzoid]

Which is your favourite then and why do you prefer it over the halcyon?

My guess is it’s something to do with the backplate because you have a long back apparently?

Please don’t say it’s Tobins wing for all things holy.

I hate to say it but DSS is a great travel wing. STA-less. Folds compactly, weighs little. All gear has its positives and negatives, and the negatives of DSS at the present time (assuming a used wing could be found for sale) have been discussed ad nauseam, so I will leave it at that.

 

[scrane]

Although I pieced together a system built around a HOG 23# wing for under $250. , if I were to do it again I'd just get the DGX package. DGX is known for providing quality products at a fair price.

 

[Mouth Breather]

@tbone1004 @Bowers

When you teach open water in bp/w, do you set it up in any special fashion? For example, do you make sure there are ditchable weights, dangling octo, etc, to make it more like typical open water rental equipment? I put a friend who was taking OW in a bp/w because I wish I had started out that way. Her instructor nearly had a stroke trying to adapt his teachings to it. In fact we planned to put her back in a rental jacket to make it easier on him.

 

[tbone1004]

@Mouth Breather nope. If they need weights, they wear a weight belt. I will not, under any circumstance, ever, allow dangling octo's or consoles. I can, but I refuse to because I don't think secondary donate/take is safe, and dangling gear is literally inexcusable. If they have their own bc with weight pockets, that's fine, but with a bp/w you usually don't need much and most find the rubber freediving belts just as, if not more comfortable.
They rent gear at OWT which is jacket bc's, standard regulator configurations, and they figure out how to get the octo on a suicide strap/necklace, they bring their own bolt snaps to put on the primary and console, etc. If they don't, they don't dive. They do that so they can learn what normal rental gear is like compared to the nice stuff they learned in and get that compare/contrast while with us.

If the instructor can't adapt, he's not a good instructor, sorry, but it's not that difficult.