Wing shape & Bouyancy

[Chavodel8en]

I have the 34 lbs Mares wing from DGX. The DGX wing was out for several months otherwise I would have gotten it, bc I am cheap. The Mares was the next cheapest option. They seem like similar wings, from looking at the website (both fairly narrow, tall wings).

No real complaints on the Mares wing after several years, dozens of single tank recreational dives. No STA, as I prefer ~10 lbs of ditchable weight. Tank seems to be solidly in place with the anti roll bars of the wing. There is a slight narrowing of the wing at the top. The pics on the DGX website are accurate.

One note - I use it w/ a DGX stainless steel plate. The tank band slots are slightly off between plate & wing, but it works. If they were off a bit more it would be problematic.

Edit - I was just looking at the Mares wing, and I note that the tank band slots are not very long. Some wings have fairly long slots, so matching to a plate is assured. Take a look at the DGX website and compare slots. But as I said, it works for me w a DGX plate.

 

[Tracy]

Does anyone know of a soft backplate similar to the Mares that would fit the DGX30 wing?
I'm trying to avoid the DGX Softpack harness system for a more DIR style.

Dive Rite transpac is kind of the king of soft backplates. I prefer standard steel, but if you are going soft, that would be my recommendation.

 

[EdC]

Deleted

 

[dgpg1103]

Dive Rite transpac is kind of the king of soft backplates. I prefer standard steel, but if you are going soft, that would be my recommendation.

I absolutely love my transpac and also can't recommend them enough if you do any walking to your dive site. But I believe to use the DGX wing on a transpac they would need to use a STA. The cut outs on the DGX wing do not line up with where the bands pass through the transpac. Dive rite does not recommend a STA with the transpac for maximum tank stability, but I have never tried one and can't say how true that is. I almost went for a DGX wing with a STA, but decided to go with a DR voyager wing and I couldn't be happier. My tank is absolutely rock solid and feels as secure as a proper back plate, but that may not be the case if I had an STA.

 

[PartFish]

I haven't had the opportunity to dive my DGX single wing yet, but it is extremely well constructed. Its an excellent value.

 

[NovaCane]

Edit - I was just looking at the Mares wing, and I note that the tank band slots are not very long. Some wings have fairly long slots, so matching to a plate is assured. Take a look at the DGX website and compare slots. But as I said, it works for me w a DGX plate.

Forgive my ignorance as I'm a BPW newbie, if the DGX plate works with a Mares wing does that mean a Mares plate will work with a DGX wing?

Thanks to those who recommended the transpac, that will likely be my choice if I can't find a soft harness that allows me to thread my own webbing.

 

[PartFish]

Forgive my ignorance as I'm a BPW newbie, if the DGX plate works with a Mares wing does that mean a Mares plate will work with a DGX wing?

Thanks to those who recommended the transpac, that will likely be my choice if I can't find a soft harness that allows me to thread my own webbing.

Yes, the spacing between the wing attachment bolt holes is standardized to 11 inches on center. Cam band slots and harness slots all take the standard 2in webbing. You can mix and match just about any harness, wing and plate combination you want, with one caveat....... The spacing an orientation of the holes for mounting accessories on the back plate and the exact size and shape of the plate itself, are not the same for all brands of plates, even if they look really similar. So, you can run into a situation where you want to run a DSMB pouch or a backplate pad or some other accessory that mounts to the holes in the plate of one particular brand and discover that accessory fits the spacing of THEIR backplate accessory holes, but maybe not another brand. It typically isn't a big deal, but it is something to be aware of if you had your heart set on a particular accessory that is mounted to the plate itself. Anything that mounts to the harness or cam bands is going to have a method of attachment that works with the stand 2in webbing, so all that stuff is fare game for mixin and matchin.