Travel vs Venture Wings

I am considering switching from a back inflate bc to a bp/wing setup. I am considering either the travel or venture wing. I will be diving steel or aluminum singles (80's or 100's) and have no real desire to progress to cave diving in the future. I will be wearing a 3mm wetsuit and diving NE Florida ocean and springs. Are both good choices? I'm most likely going to use this wing with a ss backplate and hog harness, if that makes a difference. Any feedback is appreciated.

Unless there has been a recent change in design, the travel wing does not have the holes to mount on a backplate. You can make your own holes, of course.

I have dove both the travel and venture wing, and my preference is for the travel wing. the venture is surprisingly bulky for its lift rating.

AJB:

I am considering switching from a back inflate bc to a bp/wing setup. I am considering either the travel or venture wing. I will be diving steel or aluminum singles (80's or 100's) and have no real desire to progress to cave diving in the future. I will be wearing a 3mm wetsuit and diving NE Florida ocean and springs. Are both good choices? I'm most likely going to use this wing with a ss backplate and hog harness, if that makes a difference. Any feedback is appreciated.

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I actually have both Travel Wings and Venture Wings. I originally purchased the TW with a Transpac harness and they worked great with aluminum 80s (except that I had to wear about 10lbs of weight to offset that gear and the 5mm suit I wear). I then purchased some steel 120's to use primarily as singles. I also wanted to carry as little lead weight as possible, so I purchased a Venture Wing, DR ss backplate w/ss single tank adapter. I took the back pad off the Transpac harness, swapped my AirII over to the Venture Wing and voila! I wear no weights when diving with a 120, and 4lbs when using an aluminum 80.

Here are some tips:

1) The Travel Wing only requires one tank strap - the Venture Wing usually requires two, due to the location of the strap slots in the single tank adapter (one high, one low). I dove with two straps for a while and didn't like trying to get those two straps on and off the tank whenever setting up. Maybe it's just me but I thought it was a PITA. So I removed the upper strap and just use the lower one. To keep the top of the tank and backplate/harness together, I use the strap at the top of the venture wing that goes around the tank valve. That set-up works great. Easy on, easy off.

2) I noticed when I first got the either of the Wings that they are sensitive to trim. Turns out if the buckle from the tank band isn't centered on the back of the tank, I would roll to the side the buckle was on. This is another reason why I did away with the 2nd strap- I didn't want to have to worry about getting both of them centered.

I love my gear now. The wing configuration keeps me in the proper orientation - trimming to NB is a snap. I recommend this gear to anyone looking for a good solid set-up.

Thank you for the info. I didn't realize that the travel wing was not designed to be mounted on a backplate. I'm looking for a good, reliable, bomb-proof system for diving singles, and I really want to minimize the amount of lead that I'm carrying. Thanks again.

AJB:

Thank you for the info. I didn't realize that the travel wing was not designed to be mounted on a backplate. I'm looking for a good, reliable, bomb-proof system for diving singles, and I really want to minimize the amount of lead that I'm carrying. Thanks again.

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It's not optimal, but the travel wing CAN be mounted on a backplate as long as you have a TransPac harness. The harness attaches to a backplate via two bolts a/wingnuts. If you want to just use the TransPac harness by itself, that's what it's designed for. But it is easily converted for backplate use. Remove the back pad and that will expose the grommets for putting the bolts through.

I think my back plate is the same used in the TransPlate harness, just without the harness. Since I already had a TransPac, I just needed a plate. So I had my DR dealer get me a plate AND a single tank adapter (this is the key). You will need to get slightly longer bolts to go through the backplate, the harness and the adapter. After that, you're all set. You can use the Travel wing or the Venture Wing with this set up. Like I said, I'm very happy with mine. When I travel, off comes the backplate and I convert back to the original TransPac harness with Travel Wing configuration, throw it in a bag with my other gear and get on the airplane! It's really easy.

Great info. I'm going to check both out at my LDS, and maybe check into DSS and Oxycheq as well. Thanks again.

AJB:

Great info. I'm going to check both out at my LDS, and maybe check into DSS and Oxycheq as well. Thanks again.

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No problem. You can get all DR gear at DiveRiteExpress.Com . Compare theiir prices against your LDS.

For a 3mm suit and for switching between single, steel and aluminum tanks, you want an aluminum plate NOT Stainless Steel. I dive a venture wing with an aluminum backplate and for steel tanks, I can wear a full 5mm suit and wear zero lead.

When I dive a thinner suit with this rig, not only do I not need any lead, but I am overweighted slightly. Not enough to be a problem, but it is not optimal.

If I were to replace the aluminum with a SS plate, I could dive aluminum tanks and 3 mm suit with zero lead, but would defintely be overweighted when switching to a steel tank. If you are going to be switching between aluminum and steel tanks, go for the AL plate.


I added a DIY single tank adapter to my travel wing set up.

I also found the double tank strap configuration unnecessary and drilled holes in the plate and ran a single tank strap through the middle of the plate where it belongs.

dumpsterDiver:

For a 3mm suit and for switching between single, steel and aluminum tanks, you want an aluminum plate NOT Stainless Steel. I dive a venture wing with an aluminum backplate and for steel tanks, I can wear a full 5mm suit and wear zero lead.

When I dive a thinner suit with this rig, not only do I not need any lead, but I am overweighted slightly. Not enough to be a problem, but it is not optimal.

If I were to replace the aluminum with a SS plate, I could dive aluminum tanks and 3 mm suit with zero lead, but would defintely be overweighted when switching to a steel tank. If you are going to be switching between aluminum and steel tanks, go for the AL plate.

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I get the same results as you do, but I use stainless steel. The aluminum vs steel backplate will depend on the diver's weight and body-buoyancy. He needs to figure out how much lead weight he would normally need to wear with his current gear. Then compare the weight of the backplates, tank strap buckles and tanks and he should get an idea what will work for him. Bottom line - we've given him two solutions that work for us - now he needs to try them out and see what works for him!

Much appreciated, guys. I have some more homework to do, but you have given me some great ideas.