Wings

[GreenDiverDown]

I am a little leary of the 1 piece design by any manufacturer, although I'm sure most of them are pretty tough.

I wouldn't be too quick to write off those single layer wings. They have some advantages.

 

[CWMurf]

If you decide to go with one,please let us know your impressions of the wing as I have not seen any users of the Maximus post here yet (or on their forum for that matter)

Aloha, Tim

Well, due to current financial turns I decided I can't afford the new wing I WANT right now. I did go agead and get a maximus in the mean time. (I have two sturdy wings already in case I really don't like it) The wing arrived fairly quickly considering it's travel all the way from Vietnam. Though I have not dived it yet here are my impressions by the visual inspection.

First, the bladder. Their website lists it as "coated spandex". It looks and feels to me like a lightweight nylon. It looks as though it could be patchable. It is separate however which means I could switch it out with another bladder if I so desired, a good thing.

The shell. Their website lists it as "840 denier with strong lamination". It is not the heavy coarse nylon I am used to seeing on a wing. It has a smoother finish more like my frame style backpack. Since it won't be going caving or wrecking it seems sturdy enough. One seam has a vinyl bead. The type of seam I have seen on lugage and duffle bags. The place I have seen fail on many duffle bags. Looks like a weak point to me and prone to failure.

The side of the wing against my back is made of neoprene. Looks to be about 3 mil. I suspect it will wear quickly against the plate. Another suspected early failure point. The seams between the neoprene and the nylon appear to be very sturdy.

The center panel is very sturdy. Triple layerd with sturdy nylon edging. The wing I got does not have the mounting hole in the center like the one pictured on their website. It has three sets spaced at 11" inches for trim adjustment.

I do not know enough about inflators and dump valves to evaluate them but I suspect they should be easily enough repairable/replaceable if so desired. It does have excess dump valves which are unnecessary failure points. It has a pull dump in addition to the excess bottom dump.

I was impressed by the extras that came with it, I did not expect to see.

Included were:

A backplate pad (which I may use someday if I ever decide to dive naked). :embarass:
A crotch strap (wich WON'T be used with the backplate pad). :gulp18:
A decent pair of cam straps.

Hope this little evaluation helps anyone interested in the unit or contemplating buying one. After I get this thing in the water I will let you know how it flies.

Murph

 

[kidspot]

Thanks for the report Murph -

Did you get the model with the pockets on the waistband?

Have fun diving it!

Aloha, Tim

 

[CWMurf]

No pockets or waistband. Just the wing to put on my backplate and one-piece harness.

 

[Hoosier]

Great, thanks for your report.....

Please upload any pictures if you can.....