wings to choose

[Homunculus]

hey,
after some hard time choosing a backplate among several excellent choices i ordered a new hammerhead ss with a heavy sta. now i'm looking for a new wings. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking for a single tank wings. i'm diving in boston waters in 7 mm wetsuit (14 mm core) + 11 lb bp w/ sta. I was told that 30-35 lb lift should be quite sufficient.
There are quite a few available from various companies. I'm interested in the wings that have inner bladder (outer layer is protective and the bladder is inside).
I've narrowed down to the following choices (in no particular order):
Oxycheq Mach V #35
OMS #32 single tank
Oxycheq Signature Series #30

These all go for approx. the same price ~ $300

I know that there are more names to add (dss lcd30, diverite, halcyon eclipse), so i'm not limiting myself to just the above three.

I don't want to spend more than $300 for wings.
Please, give me your opinions if you have experience with any of them. what are the pros and cons. most of the times we hear accolades here but if someone had negative experience with any of these, please share it.
thank you in avdance

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have the lcd 30 on my rig and it is a great wing. I've dove it with 72's, HP80's, and lp95's. I like that I do not need an STA with it. if you went with one you might have to modify it to use your STA.

 

[Mr. Sunday]

Out of the list you provided I would go with the Mach V Oxycheq. I like the size, shape, construction, price, etc.. as well as Oxycheq in general. I think you will find Scuba Toys has a good price on it. You may have to ask for the Mach V as they dont have it on the website but do stock it. I would also check out the Torus wing by Deep See Supply (although a bit more money perhaps). I think it is a single bladder but it is extra thick. I am trying to decide between the two myself and am leaning towards the DSS. All your choices are good though IMO. I also went with the Hammerhead SS plate with the double STA. I think you will really be happy with your choice.

 

[SangP]

Mikhail Frenkel,

Personally I would go for whichever wings of your choice is the cheapest because they are all great wings and although the Mach V is the most streamline it doesn't come with slots to be used without an sta. I would go for either the 30 sig or the 32 oms, whichever is cheaper.

SangP

 

[*Floater*]

Just a few comments about the previous comments:

1. The DSS single toruses have both an inner and outer bladder, but there's no zipper/velcro, so you cannot easily remove the inner bladder.

2. The DSS wings work without an additional STA with DSS backplates. I don't know if they would work without the STA with the Hammerhead backplate. Maybe someone else can answer this?

3. For OP: Most people here probably have not used all three wings and therefore cannot give a good comparison of them. Perhaps if you could find pics and measurements of them, you'd get more opinions.

4. I have not seen the OMS wing, but based on comments and pictures I've seen of the Oxycheq Sig Series 30 and Mach V I'd probably go with the latter if I used an STA and didn't need the cam strap slots because it's narrower (as far as I know), and generally the narrower a wing is the easier shifting gas inside it is, and the better it vents (all else equal). By the way, I thought the Mach V had 32# capacity rather than 35#, but if anyone has measure it then please let me know. Also, I read some comment that it may not have drainage holes at the bottom - not sure if this is still the case? Again, I have not used any of these three wings, so please take my comments only for what they are worth.

 

[SangP]

Floater,

Why would you recommend the Mach V instead of the other wings? Having a narrower wing doesn't really make gas shifting much easier.

I own or my girl has a 30 sig wing and I have used it and the oms 32. The only wing I haven't used is the Mach V wing but I would still say get either the oms or the 30 sig wing.

Unless you will always dive with a sta and really want the more streamline wing, the oms or the sig wing are really great wings and get whichever is cheaper.

SangP

 

[*Floater*]

Floater,

Why would you recommend the Mach V instead of the other wings? Having a narrower wing doesn't really make gas shifting much easier.

Narrower the better imo because I do believe it makes gas shifting easier relative to a similarly shaped (for most shapes) but wider wing, or wider but shorter wing (if you want to keep lift capacity fixed).

 

[Homunculus]

Just a few comments about the previous comments:

... By the way, I thought the Mach V had 32# capacity rather than 35#, but if anyone has measure it then please let me know.

actually, i made a mistake, it's #30 not 35 (http://www.oxycheq.com/Wings.html or http://www.covci.com). sorry


Thank you all for all your comments!!!
i think i won't get Mach 5 (although the narrow design is very nice) because i want to have an option to dive sta-less (for travelling purposes).

 

[divnamite]

If you have hammerhead, doesn't it come with STA? I tho you HAVE to use STA when you mix-and-match wings.

 

[Homunculus]

If you have hammerhead, doesn't it come with STA? I tho you HAVE to use STA when you mix-and-match wings.

my hammerhead bp comes with sta (well, one can buy just the bp but $99 is a nice price for bp + sta).

i don't think that you necessarily need sta to use wings from a company different from the bp brand. It depends on the wings design. Mach V, for example, does not have slots for the cam bands, so you have to place it betweet sta and bp and hook up the tank to the sta. so, if you want to use Mach V without sta, there is no way to hook up a tank. Lack of these slots in wings makes the design to be very narrow.

what are the advantages of diving sta-less? i think, in warm waters you wear less so you need less weight. STA that comes with hammerhead is ~ 5 lb. so 5 lb less in the luggage when travelling.