Yet another thread about Wing Size, sorry.

[Fishy8411]

First off, my apologies, I see posts concerning Wing size, at least three times a week since I started reading Scuba board (3 months). So making this post, I feel kind of like a troll the experienced members on this board must be sick of it. I’ve read the threads, learned some and gotten confused too. I have just returned to diving after twenty years, dove in February in the Caribbean and loved it. I have replaced a lot of my lost gear and I am considering going with a BP (probably from FredT) and Wings, I really like the KISS approach. From what I can gather a person of my size could use a wing from 26 lb. to 45 lb lift. I’ve listed below my personal data and the Wings that I think are appropriate for single tank diving. If you could look at what I’ve posted and give me any feed back I would be thankful.

Personal Data:
Weight: 190 pounds
Height: 5’ 10”
Plan on diving in Lake Huron (two trips a month), maximum depth 130 feet
Plan on diving off Florida coast, maximum depth 130 (next year’s vacation)
Currently use 18 lb. weight belt in fresh water.
Tank size: anything from Steel 72, AL 80, to HP120
Non-entry diving: No caves no wrecks
Using a Dry Suit (shopping for one now), probably tri-lam

Wings that I think have appropriate lift for my body.
AUL Small Wing 38 lb
Halcyon Pioneer 36 lb
Halcyon Eclipse 30 lb
Halcyon Eclipse 40 lb
Oxycheq Single 30 lb
Oxycheq Signature 30 lb
OMS Single 32 lb
OMS Single 35 lb
Dive Rite Travel
Dive Rite Venture

Thanks
Tom

Who is not a troll, though I do live under the bridge (Mackinac). Michigan joke for those familiar with UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan).

 

[jonnythan]

I think you'd be happy with the Pioneer 36, Oxycheq 45, or Eclipse 40. I dive a Pioneer 36 in conditions similar to yours with a drysuit and I love it.

 

[cyklon_300]

to you, 6'/175 lbs using a trilam DS, steel 130, and 10 lbs of wt in freshwater...tried a Halcyon 27, Oxy 30, and Halcyon 36...all worked well. Using the Oxy 30 full-time now.

HTH

 

[rjchandler]

It really depends which side of the bridge you live under. You could get one wing for each side and that way have all conditions covered. They all look good to me - I would shade toward 40# of lift if you'll be using a HP120.

 

[klausbh]

The smaller the better.

-Klaus

 

[lamont]

i dove an LP104 last weekend for the first time (i'm used to AL80s) and appreciated the piece of mind that the 40# eclipse wing gave me when I was heading into some pretty rough surf and thought i was overweighted. as it turned out i was pretty overweighted and had to fight bouyancy all the time, but it was still pretty fun -- it would have been substantially less fun if i would have found out when i hit the surf that my wing wasn't big enough.

i'd suggest the 40# wing if you're diving HP120s and just learning. smaller wings may be more streamlined, but they'll be less tolerant of mistakes in weighting.

YMMV.

 

[Fishy8411]

I think you'd be happy with the Pioneer 36, Oxycheq 45, or Eclipse 40. I dive a Pioneer 36 in conditions similar to yours with a drysuit and I love it.

Jonnythan,

You mention a Oxycheq 45, I know that it is supposed to be the same outside dimension as the Oxycheq 30. But isn't the 45 pound wing too big for a single steel 72 or AL 80, or does the Oxycheq design handle that problem? Because if the Oxycheq 45 is a good single tank wing with no control problems, I might go for it. I LIKE overkill, so long as it doesn't hurt me in other areas.

tom

 

[jonnythan]

I've never actually seen the Oxy 45, but all accounts that I've read point to the Oxy 45 diving almost exactly the same as the Oxy 30. The interior gusset design apparrently seems to solve the issue. Someone who has dived it would be more qualified to answer, though.

 

[OneBrightGator]

i dove an LP104 last weekend for the first time (i'm used to AL80s) and appreciated the piece of mind that the 40# eclipse wing gave me when I was heading into some pretty rough surf and thought i was overweighted. as it turned out i was pretty overweighted and had to fight bouyancy all the time, but it was still pretty fun -- it would have been substantially less fun if i would have found out when i hit the surf that my wing wasn't big enough.

In this situation it's not that your wing isn't big enough, it's that you're not properly weighted.

As for Fishy, from full to empty your largest tank (120) will have a 9 lb. swing, which you'll need to compensate with weight, so at the beginning of a dive you'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 lbs. negative, any of the wings you posted will work, I personally love my DR Venture.

Ben

 

[ABQdiver]

I dive the OxyCheq 45# and really like it. Had a 36# Pioneer prior to that and handed it over (I can't say down) to my daughter. The OxyCheq looks to be the same or slight less profile to the Pioneer, with the expandable gussets on the interior side of the wing. By the tank. This is opposite the Pioneer and it seems to take up less profile diving that the Pioneer, although both are very streamline in the water.

As the other poster have said, less is better when diving and with a single tank in temperate waters the 30# wing should work fine for you. I don't notice any different feel, or drag in the water using the larger lift wing.

Drysuit
single tank
SS BP with STA