which wing

[jgl51]

Until now I have only dived with traditional BC and am looking to purchase a wing.

I dive:

- Cold and warm waters, i.e. 3mm to 7mm wetsuit and Trilaminate drysuit
- Single tank (12L and 15L) .. until now
- Am puzzled by the choice available and most often compoennt by component rather than a system solution


1) Is there such thing as a multipurpose wing (single / double tanks; enough lift for drysuit)?
2) I also would be interested as a first purchase by a travel wing i.e. < 2Kg.
3) Possibility to have a few kg of integrated weight would be a plus as I wear 12 to 14Kg with drysuit and it is a bit much on a belt (back pain)

Until now have looked at:

1) Halcyon
2) Poseidon

Looking forward to hear your comments and recommendations

 

[Solly]

I dive warm water: 3mm-5mm
I dive singles 12 and 15L and I do doubles 12L
I use the poseidon w100 with integrated weight pockets (takes up to 8 kgs), if I need more I use the tank straps or a weight belt.

 

[jgl51]

Solly,Thanks for the posting.

Why the 100 rather than the 50?
Just dived with a Swedish diver wearing a Poseidon wing. Not sure of the model though. It looks great but very bulky. Do you now the weight of yours? Tough to keep those 20 Kg max luggage weight.....

 

[Solly]

the weight difference between w100 and w50 is not that much, the w100 gives double the lift which is very good with a 5mm suit and single 12L AL tank .. I need something around 18kg of weight to sink

The weight comes from the harness, I am not sure about the overall weight but I am sure the my full diving gear will never be below 20kg...

I will check its weight and let you know.

 

[TSandM]

The answer to your question, as to whether there is a single setup that will work for single and double tanks, is "not well". This is for two reasons: When you use a wing that has excessive lift capacity for your requirements, the small amount of gas you need will end up in the tops of the side arcs, and the wing will "taco" around the tanks. This gas will be difficult to access in order to vent it, and will most likely require the assumption of some kind of unusual attitude (eg. vertical) to empty it. Also, the middle panel for double tanks needs to be quite a bit wider than that for singles; this also increases the tendency to taco.

One of the lovely things about a backplate system is its modularity. You can have a wing that optimizes performance for each configuration you use. It's a shame to ruin that by insisting that one wing do it all.

If you want to go modular, though, Deep Sea Supply makes a tropical travel wing that is 17 lbs of lift, which is a lovely little thing.

 

[Superlyte27]

I used the Dive Rite classic wing for years in single or double's format. I didn't notice any weird buoyancy characteristics. I generally take a black magic market to anything I wear with a big blue H on it, but I have friends who dive Halcyon wings in both single and doubles and like them alot.

My suggestion would be DR or (gasp, dare I say it) Halcyon

 

[jgl51]

Thanks to the answers posted above. Anything speaks against one brand or an other (beyond.. price)?

I would accept changing the wing only for double if required.

 

[TSandM]

A lot depends on what you like. I like a singles wing with the inflator takeoff in the middle of the top arc, because I think they vent better. I also like a short corrugated hose. I don't like bungies or other auto-collapsing systems.

I would not recommend a Frog wing, because the ones we had in the Red Sea didn't vent very well. It seemed like the bladder didn't lie smoothly in the outer fabric, and trapped gas.

 

[jgl51]

TS&M: Beside the deep sea supply travel wing, any other recommendation or... warning (what is the contrary of a recommendation??)

 

[Mike Boswell]

I like the Oxycheq wings a lot. They work well, they vent well, they are available in many different sizes (and colors), and the inflator takeoff elbow is offset so that it does not interfere with the tank valve or regulator first stage on a single-tank setup.

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