Dual Bladder Rigging Questions?

[rjack321]

Are typical dual bladder wings completely independent? Or is it one bladder that is just separated by an inner chamber? My question, is just wondering how likely is it for a bladder failure to only impact one half of a double bladder?

This topic of "how to rig" is very helpful as I decide whether to upgrade to a double wing, or just hold out for a drysuit.

Hold out for a drysuit. Instead of just carrying around a useless 2nd bladder you can thermoregulate waaaay better. Even in the tropics.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I love malfunctioning the single wings of divers in class who wear heavy steel tanks in open water and watch them struggle to contain the gas burping out of the neck seals of their drysuits once at the surface. Whether you wear a dual bladder wing with a wetsuit or a single wing with a drysuit you have to choose cylinders that you can manage. Neither a second bladder or a drysuit acting as a secondary source of lift is an excuse to choose cylinders that are too big for you to swim up or tread water. For the record, I dive Hogarthian, but I do enjoy messing with people. I've worn dual bladder wings for educational purposes.

 

[Caveeagle]

Being able to "swim up" may not be the best option when in silty, fragile, OH environments. ..but I guess you would not "mess around" with students if that were the case.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Being able to "swim up" may not be the best option when in silty, fragile, OH environments. ..but I guess you would not "mess around" with students if that were the case.

You mean while teaching cave diving? All the time.

There are certain areas in certain caves that are beaten to the point that they are "sacrificed" for the good of teaching life-saving skills such as lights out gas sharing exits. While in trim it is easier to use the drysuit to assist with a wing failure. Once vertical gas often burps out through the neck seal. In cave environments such as in N FL this happens in the open water environment of the spring run and is not that big of a deal because of the opportunity to simply stand or get out of the water if the drysuit is losing too much buoyant lift. In deep ocean not so much.

A dual lift wing solves that problem by allowing a diver to easily maintain buoyancy in a vertical position provided both bladders have not been damaged. The drawback to dual bladder wings is that the extra bladder can cause confusion especially if not configured correctly like if a diver wrongly connects a second LP hose. But, in reality it is similarly confusing to a diver experiencing a runaway ascent to determine whether he is having a wing or drysuit issue. A dual wing with only one bladder receiving an LP hose worn with a wetsuit reduces such confusion.

There is too much political mantra in tech and cave diving and not enough thinking. I like to open my students eyes to the fact that even our preferred systems are not perfect.

In other words, I want students to understand before you call someone a stroke know WTF you are talking about because they may be correctly using a tool and be better configured than you.

 

[doctormike]

There is too much political mantra in tech and cave diving and not enough thinking. I like to open my students eyes to the fact that even our preferred systems are not perfect.

In other words, I want students to understand before you call someone a stroke know WTF you are talking about because they may be correctly using a tool and be better configured than you.

Preach it, brother...!