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Thanks Bob
I'm really pleased with the way the new wing turned out and can't thank Randy enough for all his help making it happen.
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Dive Rites soft goods supplier is in New York for reference. All of their soft stuff, wings/transpacs/counterlungs/pockets/etc etc are all made there. They have OEM'd for several other companies in the past. Early HOG wings were made there before they went to Taiwan, I believe the Piranha wings are made there as well.
@sarahlee the cost of the wings is partially done by where they are made with lower cost materials, both bladder and outer cover as well as the elbows/dumps etc. Some of it is in the small features and amount of sewing. Dive Rite uses crosshairs which uses a more expensive webbing material vs. the nylon shell and there is more labor involved with doing that. Deep Sea Supply has a custom injection molded wing stabilizer and uses very high quality inner bladders. Halcyon uses a laminated fabric for theirs.
Since you are in LA I would contact @cool_hardware52 since he produces his products in Pasadena and that way you are supporting local business as well as buying a top quality product. While his wing prices independently are quite expensive, a complete rig is quite a bit more reasonable than most suppliers
Except for the Piranha, they strike me as all being roughly in the $300 ballpark. That doesn't seem like a "big difference" to me--at least not any bigger a difference than other items of dive gear. Is a $360 regulator "much better constructed" than a $275 regulator? Like other dive gear, wings might be constructed a little differently, in each manufacturer's attempt to differentiate his product from competitors', but whether the difference in construction makes one "better" than the other is dubious.
I have Deep Sea Supply and am satisfied.
KevinNM
Contributor
Halcyon is extremely committed to customer satisfaction. They make a very good quality wing, but it's the support when it breaks that you are really paying for. But my DGX wing works. I'm not sure I'd really want to take it 5000 feet into a cave, but for what I do it's fine.
Bubblesong
Contributor
What difference does it make? The only possible change he'd make depending on what answer he gave would be the type of backplate he is going to get - and he isn't asking about that.
Thank you Divad. Your remark here made me find a wing on my budget. Now I got to find the rest... (plate, STA, harness, something for weight...) on a budget... Plan is to have my son try a BP&W, for his BCD would fit both (one at a time) my wife or my daughter... (both new divers to be)...
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I use wings that have the ability to use with out a STA, lower profile. Oxycheck and DSS are like that. im sure others have something similar but many do not.. No sta and it is one less part to loose.. some brands are higher because of the name. Ie Halcyon was high because of the DIR endorsement associated with it. I( have never looked at the parraiha, but from looking at the sight a minute ago they look like they are low profile and no physical STA is needed. probably a good deal. I like the hose ever my left shoulder as opposed to center between my head and tank valve. Each to their own.
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