Weight requirement BP/W vs BCD

[Colliam7]

Typically a well designed wing includes no inherent buoyancy and can be fully or very close to fully vented. If you take any DSS wing and empty the bladder then throw it in the pool you will find it on the bottom. No neoprene pads, no padded cumber buns, no padded harness components, etc.

Interesting. Makes me want to take several (brands of) wings, fully deflate them, and toss them in the pool. I had never thought about the wing's buoyancy to any extent.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Interesting. Makes me want to take several (brands of) wings, fully deflate them, and toss them in the pool. I had never thought about the wing's buoyancy to any extent.

Wings are typically made of nylon, and urethane in various combinations. Both have a specific gravity in the 1.1 ~1.15 range. Add some metal grommets etc. and they all *should* be net negative.

For conventional designs, i.e. nylon outer shell and urethane film or urethane / nylon laminate inner bladder venting of the space between the shell and the bladder can impact "ease of descent"

Designs with zippers in the top arc vent trapped air through the zipper. DSS Torus wings (Full circle zipperless) have mesh vents in the center top of the wing to allow any gas trapped to vent on initial descent. Wings with center panel zippers can hold a fairly big bubble in the top arc when the diver is vertical at the surface.

If you conduct your test have a plan for managing the gas between the shell and bladder.

Tobin

 

[Insta-Gator]

I consistently neglect to include my fins with stainless spring straps in my weighting calculation. I know they are negative, after watching one fall overboard two weeks ago. Luckily it was only about 25' to the sandy bottom, where the fin was retrieved. The point is, following Tobin's knowledgable observations, helps us scrutinize more closely all the components of our kit.