Hello everyone. I am looking to purchase my first BC and have a budget of $300. I read thru a lot of the forums and I am really liking the Zeagle Express tech. I found on with a 44 lb wing. Question is that too big of a wing. I live and dive in Maine so a 7mm suit and I am currently renting my tanks. The other option is a 25 lb wing which I believe is too small. Would I really regret going with a 44 lb wing with all the drag? In my uneducated opinion more lift available would not necessarily be a bad thing? I will hopefully be diving in warm waters in the next couple of months but as for now I want something I can dive with in the cold waters of Maine and use on trips. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The largest singles wing we offer is a 40 (lbs lift) We sell very few, mostly to PSDs that get in the water intentionally over weighted.
Even in cold water if you locate some of your ballast on your person (weight belt or weight harness) It is unusual for your "rig" to be any where near 40 lbs negative with a full cylinder.
For example let's assume you have 7mm 2 piece farmer john style suit and HP 100's.
Suits vary widely in terms of buoyancy but vanishingly few wet suits on people of normal stature are more than 30 lbs buoyant. I'll assume your suit is +30 lbs.
If we look at a typical BP&W, a stainless plate and harness will be about -6 lbs, your reg will be about -2 and a full steel tank will usually be -10-12 lbs If you add weight plates or a weighted STA you will have another 6-8 lbs of ballast attached to your plate. 6 + 2 + 12 + 8 = 28 lbs, meaning your rig could be expected to be -26 ~-28 lbs with a full cylinder, and it would provide about ~18-22 lbs of ballast with an empty cylinder (depending on the tank used and how much ballast you attach to your rig and not your person)
If your rig is providing ~20 lbs of ballast you will typically need another 4-8 lbs of ballast in order to hold a shallow stop with a near empty cylinder. 4-8 lbs in weight belt is easily tolerated by most divers.
In this example your rig is at most -28, and your suit is +30. My recommendations for wing capacity remain the same, 1) Be able to float your rig with a full tank if you ditch it, and be able to compensate for the maximum possible change in buoyancy of your exposure suit. 30 (your suit) > 28 (your rig) That makes a wing in the 35 lbs range a reasonable choice.
If your suit is less buoyant (good chance that it is, you should test *YOUR* suit) then it is possible you could use a smaller wing.
Careful selection of your cold water wing pays benefits when you use it in warm water. Warm water often allows for very small wings, (17-20lbs ) as the suits are thin and rigs are light, think 3mm suits and AL80's
Would you rather have a 30 lbs wing in warm water or 44?
Remember these are only examples, you need to test your own gear and use the buoyancy numbers for the cylinders you actually use.
Good luck,
Tobin