(And how many times have you ever had to ditch your weights?)
Never.
SkyAce2004:
How is an oversized lift bladder junk? How are D rings junk? What does the ranger have on it that you would classify as "extra useless junk"
Oversized lift bladders tend to increase drag, making it more difficult to move through the water. Something more streamlined allows you to slip through the water with ease. 65lbs for a single tank wing? Ridiculous... Not that it matters since most divers are completely vertical or dive at a 45º angle anyway, but I digress.
I have a friend with a DeepSeaSupply LCD30 wing.
Fully inflated, when viewed from the front, you can't see it behind him.
D-rings aren't junk -- they're great. I have 5 on my harness in specific locations for specific jobs. Anything more than that, imho, is excess. I feel the ones on the Ranger aren't in optimal locations.
Extra useless stuff -- cummerbund, chest snap, d-rings where you don't need them (extra D-rings too; I'm counting 12 if you count the plastic ones), quick releases, etc.
SkyAce2004:
I cant say this enough but it just rubs me the wrong way when you elitist's keep going on about minimal whatever. Maybe I want the features the Ranger has. To each their own, but dang you guys are pushy.
Not pushy -- just don't want people to buy stuff they don't need, and will probably never use. Not elitist at all.
SkyAce2004:
I dont know where you live, but I live in South Florida. It seems this board has A LOT of northern/cold water divers. Maybe thats why im seeing what I am.
I'm in NC (check out my profile
). While we have chilly water now, in the summer it is warm enough to dive without a wetsuit if you wanted to...
Go
here and read. Great gear setup...