I get the advise about keeping the harness simple, thanks for that, but as for the wing, Halcyon Oxycheq and DSS, seem to be very high end, ( at least the pricing is). Is it worth the extra $ for those brand names?
Halcyon is a little bit more expensive. Oxycheq and DSS are quite reasonable. There's not much between them IMHO. The prices are quite realistic if you want a well designed, well performing buoyancy system.
Bear in mind that, because the system is modular, your long term costs will be much cheaper. Once you have a good backplate, it will last forever and can be used with any wing you subsequently buy. If your webbing harness wears out, you can replace it for ~$20 (
3-4m of 2" webbing, is not expensive). As for the wing, you can later swap in a single tank wing (<$300) to use with the same BP and Harness, giving you two wings (single/double). You can upgrade, swap, change your wing at any time - a new wing will cost less than buying a new mid-range jacket BCD.
Now, I dive dry with a Sherwood back inflate bcd. It has a shoulder dump that I use 99% of the time, am I going to have to give that up in a wing?
Yep, but you won't need it.
There will be some changes you need to make to your diving 'style' when you move onto doubles/wings. That's a good thing, because it entails an improvement in buoyancy, trim and control.
You'll be much more horizontal in the water, when wearing a wing. Most wing divers tend to use the rear hip dump for that reason. The extra shoulder dump becomes quite superfluous.
How many Lbs lift would I require for the LP 85's or is that a question for that particular manufacture?
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...ems/158370-ultimate-wing-lift-calculator.html