Wing and Backplate question

[roakey]

Please do a search on "bungie" -- it's been beaten to death at least a hundred times on the board.

Roak

 

[PfcAJ]

Take a look at Golem Gear wings. I got to handle on last night, and it is solid. The bladder cover is tough as nails, the inflator feels very robust, and the pull dump seems to be a really nice design, better than my Halcyon pull dump. Keep in mind, I havn't played with it in the water, but the outward appearance and feel is suprior to just about everything I've messed with in the past.

 

[Quaff King]

Greg,
Welcome to the board. You may want to do some more research on the backplate and wing issue. For instance I would consider the 45lb wing a tweaner. Kind of like a 245lb defensive end. Not big enought to pack good size double tanks buy to much lift for a single. If you are starting out I would recommend a wing with a smaller lift like a 36 which should have plenty of capacity but not bog you down with drag like a 45. If you advace to diving doubles you should look at something with more lift than a 45.
Backplates are backplates and the best ones out there in my opinon are the Fred T and the Hammerhead. Don't buy into all the latest jive about special features. What you are looking for is the quality of the steel used in the plate and the finish of the metal. Anything else is just goopah!
Dive Rite makes some nice wings as does Oxycheq. I would stay away from the bungied wings buts thats just my opinion. You will find lots of good info and nice folks on this board. Enjoy!

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Isn't Fred T (temporarily?) closed down?

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Did somebody mentions BP/W? hmmmm......Welcome to SB Greg! Plenty of good advice here

Rap

 

[OE2X]

Greg,
Welcome to the board. I live near Portland so we could get together if you want to look at my Oxycheq wing. I have it on a Koplin 10# plate with a 6 # STA. I love it for cold water diving.

PM me and I'll let you know how to get in touch.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Isn't Fred T (temporarily?) closed down?

Yep. Finding a FredT plate right now might be pretty darn difficult! So... if anyone has a fatty that they want to sell, please let me know.

 

[lof]

You might want to check out these BP/Wing combos:
http://www.golemgear.com/showisfeaturedcategory.aspx

 

[Mandy3206]

I'm not here to argue for or against bungied wings, but the fact that nothing has ever gone wrong with yours doesn't mean that there are not additional potential problems caused by bungies. And the fact that divers who use them say it's all a myth isn't suprising, since people always defend what they own.

Really, neither example proves that there are no drawbacks to bungies. It's very hard to prove there are no drawbacks to something.

Using the same logic, one could say:
a. I have driven a car for 10 years and have never worn a seatbelt.
b. I have never been in an accident.
c. Therefore, failure to wear a seatbelt is no less safe than wearing a seatbelt.

It just doesn't logically follow that since you haven't had a problem yet that the system is no more potentially problematic. Maybe it isn't, but your argument doesn't lend credence to that assumption.

To me, it makes more sense to get a wing appropriately sized to the task than to try and have a too-large wing for all tasks and compensate with bungies. Absence of bungies is a simpler system, and in my mind, that's a primary goal of a BP/W system in the first place. Just my opinion.

Lastly, I think you will find that it is a distinct majority of divers who feel bungies are not advantagous or, worse, detrimental. At least that's what my research led me to believe. YMMV.

I'm not here to argue in favor of the bungies either, I'm just sharing my very limited experience about the topic.

I never said that the bungies have no drawbacks, I just said that the arguments expresed by the anti bungie gang have no fundament and I've tested these theories by myself and found that it's all myth.

As for the people defending what they own, I agree with that, but I also have a DR Transpack II with Travel Wing and I can compare both wings in terms of quality of the product, my travel wing is 8 yrs old, and I've never had a problem with it, my main complaint is that the outer shell isn't as tough as the OMS and show sustancial wear as opposed to the OMS that after a tad over 100 dives, only shows wear at the embroided logos on the outer shell, the OMS urethane bladder seems to be thicker to the touch than the DR, not sure since I've never checked it with the caliper.

I agree that the wing should be proportional to the task, but I see not a big diference between a 45# bladder and a 36# bladder in terms of drag or taco effect and the bungies have the advantage that can reduce the bladder to the desired size if you want to dive a smaller wing. Me, I prefer the bungies in the biggest setting all the time, it's just me, my buddy prefers the bungies a bit more tight.

Some may argue that the 45# wing is too small for doubles, I've read more than one time here on SB about divers using 36# bladders for doubles, I'm not talking about a newbie, but guys that have 2 or 3 wings to choose from. In that argument, you'll have to ask those divers.

I really don't care if you or anyone uses bungies or not, to me that's personal choice and I'm not saying that bungies are a must for everyone, what I said is that the bungies work for me and I prefer them over a non banded wing of the same size. I see no use for bungies on a 32# or smaller bladder.

The distinct majority of divers use non banded bladders 'cause there are only a few manufacturers that produce them, but I see that the trend is catching on and other manufacturers are producing them since there's a market for them and why let only OMS supply those divers?. On the flipside, OMS is producing a nonbanded line of wings with the same top notch materials to acomodate the nonbanded divers and have a share of the nonbanded market too.

Other companys as DR are producing banded wings, and I doubt that DR is going to put their reputation on the line by producing a hazardous design. Halcyon may never produce a banded wing since the DIR philosophy prohibits the banded design.

 

[PerroneFord]

And the pull dump seems to be a really nice design, better than my Halcyon pull dump.

What do you feel is inferior about the Halcyon pull dump? I assume you mean the over pressure valve. Or do you mean something else?