Why are bladderless wings recommended for warm water, outer shell for cold?

[*Floater*]

I sometimes see bladderless wings recommended for warm water diving and the more rugged wings with an inner bladder and a protective outer shell recommended for colder water. But why?

In terms of weight and packing the difference between my Oxy Razor 30# (bladderless) and DSS LCD 30# (inner bladder-outer shell) was minimal. In same ways the baldderless wings may end up taking even more since if you are like me you will be super careful and picky about how to pack them, whereas I feel I can be a little rougher wings with the protective outer shell.

So I don't see the weight or size as a big issue (maybe it is for some). For me the point of a bladderless wing is to have a more streamlined and simpler wing at the cost of some durability. And I don't see why cold water/weather itself or cold water diving would take more of a toll on a wing than warm water/weather or warm water diving. Am I missing something here?

 

[docmartin]

i was not aware of such a recommendation and it does not make any sense. water temp cannot be the deciding factor. all i can imagine is that in general diving in cold water is less about fish and more about wrecks? wrecks tend to chew up wings, fish don't.

 

[*Floater*]

i was not aware of such a recommendation and it does not make any sense. water temp cannot be the deciding factor. all i can imagine is that in general diving in cold water is less about fish and more about wrecks? wrecks tend to chew up wings, fish don't.

I guess it's more a kind of recommendation you hear on the internet, or often people say they want/use a bladderless wing for travel. At least I got the feeling people wanted and recommended bladderless wings for warm water, but maybe that's just me or maybe it was just based on the perceived advantages in weight and packing. I just sold my 30# Razor a few weeks ago and the guy who picked it up said he wanted it for travel for his wife...

As for the manufacturers, the only bladderless wing DSS offers is a small bladderless wing called the Tropical Travel Wing. Oxycheq states on their site that their single tank Razors (bladderless wings) pack well for travel. I think Halcyon has stopped making bladderless wings, or at least the Pioneer is not up on their site anymore, but I went back to look at old archived pages and the 27# Pioneer was recommended for travel and warmer waters while larger Pioneer wings were recommended for cold water. So their recommendation was just based on expected lift requirements (more for cold water). I suppose there's is no explicit mention on the manufacturer's part about whether bladderless wings are better or worse suited for cold water diving than wings with an outer shell. Maybe I was just imagining a non-existent trend or an implicit recommendation.

 

[crpntr133]

Give Scott Zeagle a PM and see what he says. Personally I have never heard of bladderless being for tropical.

 

[Nemrod]

The Mach V rolls up pretty compact and it certainly is a bladder design. I think I would rather have a few extra ounces and the increased durability of the bladder design. N

 

[halocline]

I suspect the recommendation might have something to do with smaller bladders for warm water, larger for cold, and most bladderless wings are small, while large wings are more likely to have a separate bladder. I don't think there's any particular logic to it, just association.

 

[DennisS]

Maybe it's because bladderless wings are touted as travel wings. Not many people travel to cold water to dive.