The proper wings?

[Dtaine]

I've been reading through other threads on this forum to get a handle on what lift capacity wing I need for most of my diving. I think I have it figured out, but could use to have it confirmed.

I split my time in tropical and cold water throughout the year and I'm looking to customize my setup for both types of diving.

In the tropics my setup is:
1) 2mm Henderson Microprene suit w/ boots and sometimes gloves
2) Atomic M1 reg: 2.6 lbs
3) one Al80 tank
4) an assortment of gear (knife, slate, small light, etc): 1.5 lbs
5) on night dives I add a larger primary light: 2 lbs
6) 10 lb weight belt
My calculations put me at 15 pounds negative if I estimate 3 pounds of buoyancy from the suit. Since I'd want the wing to float my gear without me in it, it seems I'd need about 18 lbs of lift, going with either the LCD 20 or Torus 26.

In the cold water diving my setup is:
1) a 7mm neoprene suit w/ boots, gloves, and hood
2) Atomic M1 reg: 2.6 lbs
3) one Al80 tank
4) the same gear assortment: 1.5 lbs
5) and of course, on night dives, the extra light: 2 lbs
6) 18 lb weight belt
Estimating 18 lbs of buoyancy for the suit, I calculated I'd be 10 lbs negative during a night dive. If I want my rig to float without me and the suit in it though it seems I'd need 28 lbs of lift. The LCD 30 or the Torus 35 look like they'll do the job.

I'm 6'2'' so I guess I'd be looking at a large back-plate.

This is the first time I've ever tried calculating the lift I need and I'm honestly not sure if I've done the math correctly.

My LDS wasn't of any help as they kept telling me all I needed to do was buy a halcyon eclipse and I'd be set. I've realized I'd rather customize my setup to the diving I'm doing, and that with DSS I don't need to shell out hundreds more to do so.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I've been reading through other threads on this forum to get a handle on what lift capacity wing I need for most of my diving. I think I have it figured out, but could use to have it confirmed.

I split my time in tropical and cold water throughout the year and I'm looking to customize my setup for both types of diving.

In the tropics my setup is:
1) 2mm Henderson Microprene suit w/ boots and sometimes gloves
2) Atomic M1 reg: 2.6 lbs
3) one Al80 tank
4) an assortment of gear (knife, slate, small light, etc): 1.5 lbs
5) on night dives I add a larger primary light: 2 lbs
6) 10 lb weight belt
My calculations put me at 15 pounds negative if I estimate 3 pounds of buoyancy from the suit. Since I'd want the wing to float my gear without me in it, it seems I'd need about 18 lbs of lift, going with either the LCD 20 or Torus 26.

In the cold water diving my setup is:
1) a 7mm neoprene suit w/ boots, gloves, and hood
2) Atomic M1 reg: 2.6 lbs
3) one Al80 tank
4) the same gear assortment: 1.5 lbs
5) and of course, on night dives, the extra light: 2 lbs
6) 18 lb weight belt
Estimating 18 lbs of buoyancy for the suit, I calculated I'd be 10 lbs negative during a night dive. If I want my rig to float without me and the suit in it though it seems I'd need 28 lbs of lift. The LCD 30 or the Torus 35 look like they'll do the job.

I'm 6'2'' so I guess I'd be looking at a large back-plate.

This is the first time I've ever tried calculating the lift I need and I'm honestly not sure if I've done the math correctly.

My LDS wasn't of any help as they kept telling me all I needed to do was buy a halcyon eclipse and I'd be set. I've realized I'd rather customize my setup to the diving I'm doing, and that with DSS I don't need to shell out hundreds more to do so.

A wing needs to be sized for the most buoyant exposure suit. I'll start by looking at what you need for your cold water application, and then see if this is a reasonable choice for your warm water diving also.

Currently it appears you are diving with about 22 lbs of total ballast, 18 lead, ~2 for your reg and 2 for other misc gear.

An empty al 80 is +4 and your current BC is likely somewhat between 2 to 4 lbs buoyant.

22 - 4 (empty 80) - 2(current BC) = 16 lbs of ballast required to sink your 7 mm suit.

We can assume that your 7mm suit is around 16-18 lbs buoyant. To Compensate for a fully compressed suit you need a wing that is > 18 lbs.

A large SS plate and harness is -7 lbs, a reg ~-2, and a full al 80 is about -2 lbs. That makes your rig about -11 with a full tank, and about -5 with an empty tank.

If your suit is + 16 ~ 18 and your rig provides 5 lbs with an empty tank you will need another 10-14 lbs in a belt.

If you use al 80's and not larger more negative steel tanks you only need a wing > ~11 lbs to float your rig. Remember that when you ditch your rig your wing need not support any ballast you have in a belt.

A LCD 20 meets both criteria, 20 lbs is enough to float your -11 lbs rig and is also enough to compensate for the complete compression of your 7mm suit.


For warm water you could use a smaller wing, for example a Torus 17, but you can also easily use the LCD 20.

When would the LCD 20 be too small?

If you change to a more buoyant exposure suit (drysuit for example) you need more lift (and more lead)

If you use higher capacity negative steel tanks. Substituting a steel HP 100 for your al 80 will result in a rig that is about 19 to 20 lbs negative with a full tank, too much for a LCD 20 wing.

I would suggest that you start with a Large SS plate, LCD 20 wing and Hogathian harness. This will serve you well with your current exposure suit and tanks, and the LCD 20 is a small steamlined wing well suited for warmwater diving.

If you move to a more buoyant suit and or larger steel tanks in the future for cold water diving you can add a larger wing then.

Tobin

 

[Dtaine]

awesome - that's what I needed to know. I'll be ordering sometime around the end of the year.