who makes bp/w's

[JeffG]

Stirring the pot are we, Jeffery?? :05: :10:

No. Just noticing "Stuff"

 

[ZenDiva]

When I was at the Florida Dive show back in December I had the opportunity to check out a number of different types of BC's and Wing/Harness set ups.......I found that the Golem Gear Wing was IMO the best constructed, Heavy weight material....strongly constructed....and I was very impressed with it.....when it came time for me to hit the water for my OW training....I went w/ a SS BP/Wing set up from Golem.....check it out here It's also a great price.....btw..........

I'm thrilled that I was able to do my OW training with the equipment I wanted to use...and not have to retrain to use something else down the road.........We've had a number of ZD members purchase this combo and everyone is raving about it...........

*smile*

 

[fringefan]

I am in the same boat and I chose the reg BC and I am now regretting that choice but scubaL.com has great quality products and the best prices I have found.

 

[kidspot]

http://www.kidspot.org/personal/scuba/bpwing.html

Here's a list of various BP/Wing manufacturers I've found thus far.

 

[MSilvia]

I just did a product comparison on single tank wings to help out a new diver, and found that while the Golem wings have the densest shell (2000 denier), it's made of Cordura, which is less damage resistant than the ballistic nylon used in the Halcyon and Oxy Cheq wings. The golem wing also has relatively narrow cam slots and only one set of mounting grommets, so at $360 from golemgear.com, I think the Oxy Cheq wing is the way to go at $285 from scubatoys.com... Just over $250 if you ask for the scubaboard discount.

I compared the following wings:

• Oxy Cheq 30 lb lift Signature Series wing
• Halcyon 30 lb lift Eclipse wing
• Halcyon 36 lb lift Pioneer wing
• OMS 32 lb lift wing
• DSS (Deep Sea Supply) LCD 30 lb lift wing
• Golem Gear 35 lb lift Wing

Let me know via PM if you can suggest others you think are worth adding, or if you would like a copy of the comparison.

 

[lof]

I just did a product comparison on single tank wings to help out a new diver, and found that while the Golem wings have the densest shell (2000 denier), it's made of Cordura, which is less damage resistant than the ballistic nylon used in the Halcyon and Oxy Cheq wings.

I am not sure that the Balistic nylon is tougher than Cordura
http://www.aerostich.com/files/readings/2001Catalog/straightstory.html
Most of the time the term ballistic nylon is just a buzzword (most luggage makers claim to use "ballistic nylon"), unless it is Allied Signal Fibers Tru-Ballistic 1050 denier fabric. That one is really tough.

I do not want to get into "my wing is tougher than your wing" match. But Golem wings are pretty robust. They have heavy duty outer shell, and the bladder is made of PU sealed, RF welded 650 Cordura as well, making it virtually impossible to puncture or tear. Combination of these two and high quality SS inflators and dump valves makes it a pretty tough wing. The wings have held up in expedition grade diving all around the world.

 

[MSilvia]

I am not sure that the Balistic nylon is tougher than Cordura.

I saw some data on a ballistic nylon comparison sheet that showed that true ballistic nylon is slightly more durable than cordura of the same denier. That said, Golem's shell is denser than any of the others I looked at, so I'd say it's at least competitively durable. OMS had thinner Cordura coated with Urethane, Halcyon had high-denier ballistic, Oxy Cheq had slightly lower denier ballistic than Halcyon, but it's urethane coated, etc... the bottom line is that all of the front runners are rock solid, and I don't think durability alone makes the Golem stand out from the crowd enough to warrant paying an extra $110 for it over the cost of the probably equally durable Oxy Cheq wing (which uses the 1050 ballistic you mentioned) that has multiple grommets for trim adjustment, and wider cam band slots.

I'm not trying to disparage Golem wings in any way... I'm sure they're excellent, and certainly among the toughest out there. I'm just saying that a less expensive but comparable wing with features that makes it more versatile might be a smarter purchase.

 

[MSilvia]

FYI, the marketing data I saw on ballistic vs. cordura was here: http://www.justcases.com/balben.html

"In tests conducted to measure tear resistance, nylon started tearing at 5 lbs., Cordura tore at 74lbs., but Ballistic held strong at 250 lbs

In a test in which a 2 lb. sharp pointed object was dropped from a distance of 20" onto fabric, standard Nylon ripped 6.9 CM: leather ripped 2.3 CM and Cordura showed a scratch. Ballistic showed no damage"

 

[Sea-Diver]

My preference is for Ballistic material over the bladder. It is more puncture resistant than the other materials. Have you ever heard of anyone puncturing their bladder before? I have. So why not have the strongest material available protect the fragile bladder.

I have a 13 year old Zeagle Ranger that has thousands of dives on it and it made with the ballistic 1050. This includes some spear fishing adventures—watch out for those spear tips!

This rig tough to kill. I finally retired because I just built a rig to replace it. It is based around the popular Ranger buoyancy system (44lb lift, ballistic wing) connected to a lightweight aluminum back plate, it also features the signature ripcord weight system. I call it the Ranger BP/W and I just made available at www.compactscuba.com


Chris

 

[MSilvia]

I forgot Zeagle (sorry Scott)... I'll check it out and add it to my comparison.