Question 40 or 50 lb wing for doubles? And what about (future) stage tanks?
- Thread starter Cheizz
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JP_SCUBA
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It's way too big for single tank diving, in spite of the bungees trying to help. More drag, more luggage bulk/weight when traveling. I'd be very surprised if it still didn't trap air.
FWIW, I'm not a fan of bungees anyway: if I damage my wing, I'd like to be able to keep air in it by orienting the hole at the bottom.
FWIW, I'm not a fan of bungees anyway: if I damage my wing, I'd like to be able to keep air in it by orienting the hole at the bottom.
JP_SCUBA
Registered
Yeah, that's not an option at this point as it's been about 60+ days. We got real busy at work and worked a lot of hours so it kinda slipped through the cracks. Maybe I'll put it up for sale on here. If you know of anyone that may be interested please lrt me know. It's Brand Spanking New. Came in the Scubapro packaging. I haven't even tried to mount it on my backplate. Anyway, thanks for the input ... be safe.... JP
I'm going to skip all the technical stuff and just share 2 stories.
One: I had an Intro to Tech student in my local lake a few weeks ago. She was wearing a thick wetsuit and double steel HP100s. She had a 40# wing and an aluminum backplate. She is somewhere around 5' 4" to 5' 6" and in good shape (not rail thin, but slender-ish). With the wing fully inflated (to OPV popping off), she could barely keep her head above water. Slow boats going by well offshore were creating very small waves that were going over her head.
And, two:
When I started my original tech training, I did tons of reading here on ScubaBoard. I was convinced by the hive mind that a 45# wing would be "best" for me. I asked my tech instructor and he said "yeah, it's probably enough - for this class. But, you know you're going to go on to trimix and probably advanced trimix. Save yourself from having to buy another wing later and just get a 60# wing."
I did not follow his advice. I found a good deal on a Dive Rite 45# wing and bought that. Over the next year or two, I had a few occasions where I could not get my head as high out of the water as I would have liked. Most of the time, the max lift was enough for me to be comfortable. But, occasionally, I really wished I had more. I bought a Dive Rite Classic XT (60#) wing and have been very happy since. I still use the 45# wing sometimes - like when I let a student use my 60 - and it's fine, but the 60 is just nicer.
The only downside to a 60 over a 40 or 45 is the potential that it is less streamlined and creates more drag. And it is possibly a little more expensive. But, the extra potential drag (because THAT really depends on the specific wings - a 60 could be more streamlined than a 40, depending on how they're made) is, for practical purposes, negligible. But, the extra lift when you need it is FAR from negligible. It is awesome to have.
A 60# wing for doubles may be more than you NEED (right now). But, the downside is negligible and the upside CAN be considerable, depending on your specific other gear and also dive conditions.
One: I had an Intro to Tech student in my local lake a few weeks ago. She was wearing a thick wetsuit and double steel HP100s. She had a 40# wing and an aluminum backplate. She is somewhere around 5' 4" to 5' 6" and in good shape (not rail thin, but slender-ish). With the wing fully inflated (to OPV popping off), she could barely keep her head above water. Slow boats going by well offshore were creating very small waves that were going over her head.
And, two:
When I started my original tech training, I did tons of reading here on ScubaBoard. I was convinced by the hive mind that a 45# wing would be "best" for me. I asked my tech instructor and he said "yeah, it's probably enough - for this class. But, you know you're going to go on to trimix and probably advanced trimix. Save yourself from having to buy another wing later and just get a 60# wing."
I did not follow his advice. I found a good deal on a Dive Rite 45# wing and bought that. Over the next year or two, I had a few occasions where I could not get my head as high out of the water as I would have liked. Most of the time, the max lift was enough for me to be comfortable. But, occasionally, I really wished I had more. I bought a Dive Rite Classic XT (60#) wing and have been very happy since. I still use the 45# wing sometimes - like when I let a student use my 60 - and it's fine, but the 60 is just nicer.
The only downside to a 60 over a 40 or 45 is the potential that it is less streamlined and creates more drag. And it is possibly a little more expensive. But, the extra potential drag (because THAT really depends on the specific wings - a 60 could be more streamlined than a 40, depending on how they're made) is, for practical purposes, negligible. But, the extra lift when you need it is FAR from negligible. It is awesome to have.
A 60# wing for doubles may be more than you NEED (right now). But, the downside is negligible and the upside CAN be considerable, depending on your specific other gear and also dive conditions.
To add to what @inquis and @RyanT said...
A wing for doubles has a much wider "window" in the middle, compared to a wing for single tank.
That means the sides of the wing will wrap around the single tank and float much higher in the water (when you're in horizontal trim) than they are intended to.
The result is that it will be more difficult to vent gas out of the wing when you want to. For example, instead of going 45 degrees head up or head down to vent gas, you'd probably have to go pretty much vertical (up or down) to get the gas in the wing to move over to the dump valve.
CAN you use it on a single tank setup? Yes. Is it going to suck compared to using a wing designed for single tank? Also yes.
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