Wing and Backplate question

Hello out there,
I am fairly new to the sport and love it. I am in the process of buying all the gear - primarily for cold water diving, and am currently looking at BP's and wings. Does anybody have any input specifically regarding OMS 45lb bungee style wings for reasons other than cost or mere preference? What about Oxycheq..? are there functional details either good or bad...? any input is much appreciated.

Thanks, Gregg

Welcome to the board. You might get a better response if you post your question with in this forum.

Click here ---->[red]Buoyancy Compensators (BCD's) & Weight Systems[/red]

i have a OMS wing and think that the quality is top notch
bp/w style is a good choice all around
this style can not be out grown as your diving goals change

Welcome to the board!

Joe

Hi, Welcome to the board.
I am moving your thread as Murph suggested...so you can get more responses

If you are diving singles, you'll find that some of the most commonly talked about wings are Deep Sea Supply, Oxycheq and Halcyon. There are also proponents of every other wing out there...Dive Rite, OMS,etc...

As far as plates, the consensus seems to be that most are as good as the others. The least expensive plate bought alone is the Hammerhead plate at hammerheadscuba.com. Most people mention the DSS (Deep Sea Supply) plate as being a particular standout for a number of features. It's an especially good deal if you buy a whole DSS rig with backplate and wing and harness. The DSS wings are also very highly regarded here.

Oxycheq is also a very highly regarded singles wing here. Halcyon likewise has its fans. I don't think you can go very wrong with any of these brands.

There are some people (I believe DIR divers among them) who feel that bungied wings are a very bad idea. There have been a lot of discussions of that topic here.

There is a lot to read about BP/W units here. Do some reading of old threads and you'll find a ton of information. Make sure you review your options and pick something you want. The search is half the fun!

Welcome to scubaboard

Cheers!

Gregg

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a:

The search is half the fun!

Click to expand...

... and 90% of the torture. Good luck.

I've been using an aluminium b/p from Hammerhead,SS STA,and an Oycheg 40# Signature wing for singles.I can't say about other brands and set up,but I'm extremely happy with mine.I use it for both cold and warm water diving.For reasonble pricing and quality,I finally decided on these two brand.....

The OMS 45 bungied bladder is a good bladder, I dive one and like it very much.

If you are going to dive singles only, then you may want a 32# wing from OMS, DR, DSS, Oxy, ect.

The 45# bladder can be used for doubles but if you plan on using stage bottles along with doubles, you may want a bigger bladder.

many divers have more than one bladder for diferent dive configs.

The Bungied bladder allows you to adjust the bladder size depending on your needs, some people would tell you about entanglement hazard, traping air in the wing, too much of a deflation force, dificulty in manualy inflating the wing at depth, ect. Truth is that non of these claims has been properly documented and my personal experience is that it's all crap from people that just don't like the bungies for whatever reason.

Bungies is a matter of personal choice, allmost every diver that has used then will tell you the same, that it's all myth.

My recomendation is that you spend a good deal of time reading the diferent opinions on the diferent wings from the top manufacturers and decide what's best for your diving style.
Here on SB you can find tons of arguments pro and against the bungies, it's a matter of what you will belive.
I remember a time when here in SB I was the only one defending the bungies, but lately some of the other bungie divers have come out of the closet and you can find more opinions in pro of the bungie wings.

If you plan on going DIR, forget a bungied bladder, since it's not DIR compliant.

Mandy3206:

Bungies is a matter of personal choice, allmost every diver that has used then will tell you the same, that it's all myth.

Click to expand...

I'm not here to argue for or against bungied wings, but the fact that nothing has ever gone wrong with yours doesn't mean that there are not additional potential problems caused by bungies. And the fact that divers who use them say it's all a myth isn't suprising, since people always defend what they own.

Really, neither example proves that there are no drawbacks to bungies. It's very hard to prove there are no drawbacks to something.

Using the same logic, one could say:
a. I have driven a car for 10 years and have never worn a seatbelt.
b. I have never been in an accident.
c. Therefore, failure to wear a seatbelt is no less safe than wearing a seatbelt.

It just doesn't logically follow that since you haven't had a problem yet that the system is no more potentially problematic. Maybe it isn't, but your argument doesn't lend credence to that assumption.

To me, it makes more sense to get a wing appropriately sized to the task than to try and have a too-large wing for all tasks and compensate with bungies. Absence of bungies is a simpler system, and in my mind, that's a primary goal of a BP/W system in the first place. Just my opinion.

Lastly, I think you will find that it is a distinct majority of divers who feel bungies are not advantagous or, worse, detrimental. At least that's what my research led me to believe. YMMV.