What wing size for a 6'7" 330lb guy diving a single?

[Jasonmh]

What kind of wing does a 6’7” 330 lb rock solid pro-athlete use? ... What ever wing he wants

But seriously, it is not going to be easy for him to be near neutral at the end of the dive with little to no air in the wing with that build + steel BP + hp130. Many of us dive a steel BP with an al80, it shouldn't be a problem for him.

 

[kanonfodr]

I think a good course of action would be to have him dive whatever rig the instructor has for rent, get that dialed in good, then we can go doing math to let him arrive at the "perfect" bp/w setup.

Tell your friend to save his money, use what the shop gives him and dial it in right. In which case the ditchable weight would not only be a boon to training but also allowing him to quickly swap lead to try different weights.

Also, Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Halcyon.

Peace,
Greg

 

[lamont]

Second, if this guy is really athletic and in super good shape, then the amount of weight that he can comfortably swim up is probably quite different than the typical person. He would have to experiment to figure out how much weight he can swim up (preferably in shallow water, with an instructor).

The concern that I'd have is with a new diver on the surface with some kind of buoyancy issue and inability to inflate the wing or failure of the wing. Ditching weight in that case is a simple way to fix the problem. Oral inflation will work in the case that the wing still has integrity, but if the wing doesn't have integrity (e.g. unscrewed and lost the dump valve on the dive), then ditching weights is going to be useful to get positive. You can cut yourself out, but a newer diver may box in their options by also going low on gas.

I'd feel fine diving without ditchable with steels and 3mm, but I protect a gas reserve, I'd be more likely to notice a wing failure during the dive, and I have a better idea of all my options and exits at any given time than a newer diver does.

 

[rjack321]

but if the wing doesn't have integrity (e.g. unscrewed and lost the dump valve on the dive), then ditching weights is going to be useful to get positive.

even worse, hose popping off the elbow!

there's nothing wrong with using an AL plate and a small amount of ditchable lead.

 

[lamont]

even worse, hose popping off the elbow!

or the lp inflator coming off the hose...

 

[PfcAJ]

Will this diver be using 8inch steel tanks or the 7inch Al's? The 40 Eclipse really wraps around those thinner tanks a bit. Too much imo.

Al w/ 30lb wing would be my suggestion based on all the above info. A bit of ditchable weight and maybe a trim pocket or two would probably be just right.