Halcyon Infinity good choice BP ?

[eelnoraa]

I have similar personal experience with Dr Lector as well.

Out of the wing I have, I only managed to pinch the DSS wing. It is not DSS's false. But the same usage, H and Oxycheq haven't had issue.

In term of toughness, I must say Oxcheq's outter shell is way over the top. It very thick and very stiff. It is impossbile to pinch the bladder throught the shell. H and DSS use similar outter material, both are flexible and foldable, which I prefer.

In term of inner bladder, Huses coated nylon (think Halcyon SMB material), which appears to be very robust. Both Oxycheq and DSS use urathane bladder, but Oxycheq's is thicker. Oxycheq's bladder implementation is also not very good. It is basically hugely oversize. The bladder is folded in side on all edges. This in pratice make dumping a Oxy wing noticeably slower than the other two.

DRIS wing use similar but thinner material than H and DSS, intermal bladder is urathane. PM me if you want to know who makes it.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Yeah, I had forgotten (or repressed) the folded mess that was the inner bladder on my otherwise excellent 42lb Oxycheq vertex extreme 360 doubles wing.

I'm not sure whether DSS's new urethane bladders are as thick/thicker than Oxycheq's urethane bladders, though...I know DSS switched to a thicker urethane a while back.

But the distinction between DSS/Oxycheq's urethane, and the coated nylon with welded seams that Halcyon uses for its inner bags (on non traveler wings, anyway...the cheaper Traveler wing looks like a duplicate Pioneer 27 with blue trim, which is to say it's a single bag of airtight, coated nylon) is an important one. The Halcyon bladders are probably more robust than most wings' outer shells. Indeed, when I've needed patch material for an outer bag or my Irikonji shorts...it's been an old Halcyon bladder that I cut up, roughed up, and aquasealed/clamped in place.

 

[Roman_66]

DSS = Deep Sea Supply, of which, Tobin is the owner.

And this one probably explained

I refuse to pay the Blue H tax.

I don't have much experience with non-Halcyon wings, but I have Infinity set and pre-owned Halcyon double wing + small other Halcyon devices.
Quality is very good and Halcyon service just perfect. Every mail was answered on the same day, all repairng/replacing were done in very short time and mostly free of charge.
My PERSONAL opinion : If you ready to pay $XX and be sure that you have the hight quality item (not nessesary the best the ratio of price and quality) - take Halcyon BCD.
Regarding wing size for one tank, 30lb should be enough (with correct weighting) if you don't plan dive with few pony.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Even with a pony, 30lb is going to be plenty for what he's doing. Hell, even my 18lb Halcyon batwing can handle an AL80+SS plate+no wetsuit+AL40 pony.

 

[SCU5]

You might want to consider the Halcyon Eclipse, slightly less expensive than the Infinity and includes everything that you need without some of the bells and whistles.

One thing about Halcyon, they put a serious amount of R&D into their equipment, they build nearly all of it in-house in Florida (I've been to their facility where they cut, sew and manufacture in High Springs), and they have a fanatical attention to detail. Their Eclipse and Evolve wings were tested for 2-3 years by divers around the globe in all types of conditions, warm and cold water, caves and ocean, before they were put up for sale.

And, if you do happen to have a problem, Corey at Halcyon will sort you out in no time. I've known divers who have had issues with 10 year old wings sorted out with repairs or replacements free of charge.

I'll be the first to come out and say, in Scuba Diving equipment, you often don't get what you pay for. The latest tech super fins are fancy but I prefer my old Jet fins; a Titanium Atomic Aquatics reg will set you back $1000+ but their Z2 is just as capable and, in some ways, better, for around $400. Halcyon, on the other hand, backs their equipment up with thorough testing, R&D, in-house Made in USA manufacturing and awesome customer support. They are an example where a higher price actually is backed by higher quality.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Yeh I been to their facility in High Springs back when I was cave diving up their at Ginnie Springs. Small little town, intresting area though

How will I know if I get a Halcyon inflator that was known for sticking?

I'm torn between a 30lb wing, and a 40lb wing. I think I used to use a 40lb wing, because I dive with a 13cf pony always on my side

It's been a few years though, I can't remember

 

[SCU5]

The Stainless Steel inflators have been out of production for at least 6 years at this point. They are easily identified as they look like this: Halcyon Stainless Steel Power Inflator Recall | Halcyon

A 13cf pony shouldn't have too much effect on your buoyancy characteristics. If I were in your shoes, diving a steel HP100 with a 3mm wetsuit I'd get the 30lb wing and ALU plate. The pony bottle shouldn't have too much effect on your buoyancy but I would give some thought to whether your rig is balanced or not.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

How will I know if I get a Halcyon inflator that was known for sticking?

If it's a new wing, you have to ask for it. If it's a used wing, it'll look like the above link.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Ok thank you both

I think I narrowed it down between the DR BPW for $550 or the Halcyon either Eclise or Infinity

So looks like the cost will fall between $525 and $900

I agree, I used to use a Alum plate with steel tanks, since the tanks were -6 from what I remember

This time around, since I'll be diving 60' or less, I may go with a 6CF pont instead of a 13cf

---------- Post added August 15th, 2014 at 02:12 PM ----------

Rebreather diver, not to get off subject, but I started on a Dolphin, and Azumith Rebreather, ended up diving the Sport Kiss Rebreather for about a year before I slowed down with diving

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Fact: Halcyon does make their wings in house. If ever in High Springs area, stop in and check out the factory. I recommend the Eclipse System over the Infinity. First off, you don't need the padding nor the adjust-ability. Once set for you, you are good to go and is easy to get out of. Secondly, we use the Storage Pak for our 6' SMB's, when they made the embroidered Storage Pak (more padding) for the Infinity, they made the opening on the bottom smaller, so it's harder to get out the SMB. Realize, yes the Eclipse System is a little more, but you get more. System includes BP&H, Wing, Storage Pak, SS Cam Straps, STA and Weight Integration. If you add those things to the lesser expensive packages, you end up about the same. Yeah, you don't need the STA but it does stabilize the system to the tank and it keeps everything together when unit is not attached to a tank. For people in colder water environments, needing more weight, it allows you to put in a 6lbs weight that will then be easily displaced. Halcyon 360 wings are very stable and offer a lot of control. I've had many people switch from XYZ brands to them and they all say the same thing.

Good Luck with your decision!