Lift capacity/head above water on single wing vs jacket

[cool_hardware52]

Well, unfortunately, I'm not able to descend without 6kgs..but I agree that with a 15l steel I should have removed some. But, I'm not that experienced(70+dives, 1 with BP/W). I assumed the DM(with OWSI Certif.) should have known, and told me to remove some when he handed me the tank...
I found out in another dicussion on the forum, that DSS manufactures their 17lbs wing for 3mm shortys & AL80's. If I had known(after asking a great deal of Q on other forums, which said 18lbs was more than enough lift), I would have chosen a 30lbs.
I'm now waiting for my 40lbs wing for coldwater diving, and I'll bring both on the next tropical vacation(18lbs for shore- or calm sea boat dives).

With a 7mm full, I used 8kg to get down(but on some of the dives, I had some trouble descending, so I used 2kg extra on some dives). Yes, I may still be overweighted, but I prefer 1 kilo extra instead of having trouble...
And, concerning the change to BCD: Both the DM and the guy in the boat had no idea how to get our rigs off, so when both me & my wife(diving equal rigs)
finally got onboard, the rig was in several pieces...they tore the wing apart from the Travelplate & harness, so for further dives we would have needed new BP's...

Sorry to hear you are having difficulties, sounds like you need some qualified help setting your gear.

A few points worth remembering:

1. Personal buoyancy doesn't change with depth, and therefore does not need to be compensated for. (Fat does not compress) I have no idea if you are personally buoyant or not, but it does not impact required BC capacity. Personal buoyancy does impact total weighting, but not wing size.

2. Often divers who claim they need large amounts of ballast to descend are still kicking at the surface, try hooking your ankles together and relax.

3. No too many years ago most scuba divers used *NO* buoyancy compensators, particularly in warmer waters with normal sized tanks. It wasn't magic, and they weren't supermen, they just spent some time getting their weighting correct.

Tobin

 

[Divealpha]

On Diversnight, 3/11-2011, I tried a 40lbs wing, with AluBP & STA,and Whites Fusion Tech drysuit. it was a nightdive, and I tried with 12kg of weights. My buddy had to help me down, but I think that was because I did not get all air out of the suit before the dive(air in undergarments, 4E Arctic+ Whites MK1).
This dive was not the best one to try out new equipment, but the wing was a dream, and also kept my head above the water before the dive......
I'll try a proper weighting before the next dive...(.and, I'm 187cm/90kgs, and not very positive in the water).