Wing size

[centraal]

Hi folks,
I'm making decisions on my first BP/W setup and a little unsure about how much lift is "too much," or if it's even an issue with the range I'm working in. For background, I dive mostly in warm water (coldest 4 were about 70-72F, most in the 80s), with a 3 mm wetsuit at most, single tank, down to advanced open water rec limits but often less than that. I've used both steel and aluminum tanks, but realistically most of the vacation shops are likely to use aluminum.
First dive shop I called said a wing up to 30 lb. wouldn't cause any "taco" effect. Are there any particular negatives with having that size wing in a tropical environment? Had one well-regarded person on this site suggest a 17 lb. wing w/an aluminum backplate for what I normally do.

 

[CuzzA]

http://www.scubatechphilippines.com/wing-lift-calculator.xls

That should help.

 

[herman]

What you have to understand....frankly most divers don't have a clue, is it's a buoyancy COMPENSATOR, not a "put on a bunch of lead and let the BC fix it compensator".. It's purpose it to compensate for buoyancy CHANGES that occur during the dive. Those are gas use form the tank and exposure suit changes due to depth. For an 80cf tank that's about 4 lbs and maybe another 4 for a 3mmm suit, so 10 lbs would be plenty with some to spare. For the diving you are doing, 17 is plenty....and long as you are properly weighted.

 

[centraal]

Thanks, good replies and it sounds like a 17lb. wing would work. The remaining question I have is this: If I get a better deal on a good BP/W with a 30 lb. wing instead of the lighter wing, would the 30lb. wing inhibit me in any way, given the same warm water conditions?

 

[tbone1004]

It depends on the shape of the wing. If it is long and skinny, it will have less of a taco effect than if it is short and stubby. The long skinny wing won't be useful for some of the shorter tanks *al63's etc*.

What Herman said is really what matters. If you are diving a 3mm suit at 4-6lbs positive depending on how new it is and how big you are, and then add that to the weight of gas in the tank, 6lbs for an al80/10lbs for a 130, then that 17lb wing will work. Now, what might sway you to the 30lb wing is if you are having to sit at the surface for an extended period of time, the 30lb wing will help to keep your head well out of the water *head weighs 15lbs ish*. I use a 30lb wing for my single tank diving, but I do dive large single steels and a 5mm wetsuit, so I need somewhere around 20lbs just for that, and once you add regulators and what not, having the little extra buffer over a 25lb wing is worth it. I only dive long tanks, so I prefer the LCD30 from Deep Sea Supply that I use because it is long and skinny over say a Halcyon Eclipse 30 that is shorter and stubbier. I also like the Dive Rite Travel wings that I use with my Transpac, but because they require a dedicated STA, I tend to use fairly infrequently.

Which wings are you looking at as the design really matters almost as much as the total lift

 

[centraal]

Which wings are you looking at as the design really matters almost as much as the total lift[/QUOTE]

It's pretty much down to the DSS Torus and the Halcyon Eclipse 30. I like a lot about DSS and the overall thinking on their products. But I can get a Halcyon rig at a discount, and while all the cushioning they offer might not be strictly necessary, it sure looks nice to have on a hike to a dive site.

I've only done a handful of dives in a BP/W, but one thing I noticed with the horseshoe wing I was borrowing was that it seemed difficult to dump air with the valve when horizontal. I'll allow that it could have been a function of my inexperience/condition of the wing, but some of the other posts I've seen seem to say that a donut eliminates that problem. But what you're saying about the taco effect also makes sense -- perhaps a skinny donut is the way to go. Hmm, first time I've ever used "skinny" and "donut" together in a sentence.

 

[kelemvor]

http://www.scubatechphilippines.com/wing-lift-calculator.xls

That should help.

What is "Head Weight"?

 

[tbone1004]

here's some food for thoughts.

Padding-basically all backplates have universal slots to accept any harness. If you are hiking to a dive site, you can put neoprene sleeves on the shoulder pads of any rig, or you can put something like the Dive Rite Transplate on if you're having to hike with no exposure protection. This is only really needed if your hikes are longer than say 100yds without exposure protection. You're in singles so there's really not that much weight going on, but you can always pad it.
SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Sidemount, Rebreather, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - Basic Harness Shoulder Pads
SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Sidemount, Rebreather, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - XT Backplate Pad
SCUBA Diving Equipment for Technical, Sidemount, Rebreather, Wreck and Cave Diving: Dive Rite, Inc - Product Catalog - TransPlate Harness

STA-love them or hate them, I have a love hate relationship with them. Halcyon requires an STA which increases the weight of the rig and stands the tank a bit farther off of your back. The main advantages of an STA is if you are switching back and forth on a boat between two tanks and have an STA on each of them, you just have the wing nuts to spin off so you don't have to unhook the tank from the rack, if you are using the same plate for singles and doubles regularly, you don't have to adjust cam bands, or if you regularly switch between different tank diameters and have a STA for each of them. This removes you from having to lock the cam bands in, set the height, remove the cam bands for doubles, and adjust to the different diameter tanks.

The other nice thing with STA's against every rig on the market that doesn't use them except the DSS rigs, is you don't have to unthread the cam bands to remove the wing from the plate for travel/storage. DSS uses a pretty innovative system that allows the wing to pop out.

So now we are in Halcyon vs DSS. Both are about as good as it gets in terms of quality so that's fine, both are up there on customer service, so that's a wash. If they are the same price it comes down to which you prefer, but if the Halcyon is any more expensive, then I would stick with DSS. I much prefer the rubber grommets on the stainless plates which is a super nice feature, and I love their Kydex plates compared to aluminum. Consider some other wings from them as well, they have the Torus 26 which is a badass wing, and is quite narrow.

 

[CuzzA]

The weight of your head. If you attempt to weigh your head please share a picture of you doing this. Lol I think being that our heads are still attached to our bodies makes an exact calculation a little difficult. 10 lbs. seems like a reasonable guesstimate.

 

[Pinecube]

What is "Head Weight"?

The weight of your head while it's out of the water and the rest of you is in the water.

one thing I noticed with the horseshoe wing I was borrowing was that it seemed difficult to dump air with the valve when horizontal.

Just remember that the air in your BCD will always want to go to the highest point. If you're using the dump valves, try to make sure you're not leaning (for lack of a better term) while reaching for them, and pull them 'up'.