Halcyon Eclipse 30 vs Oxycheq Sig Mach V 40lb mini review

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eelnoraa

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So I am off work for two weeks. What is better than diving on a weekday when no one else is diving!! And I am bored, so here writing up a comparison between the two single wings I have at the moment.

The Oxy 40lb is my wing for about 3 years. It is my first BC/wing since OW. I like it in general. It is very streamline, low profile, tough. I thought it is as good as it gets for single wing. The eclipse belongs to a friend. I have been using it for a a few weekends, made about 10 dives. I start to like it better and better.

Summary first:
f you don't want to read the whole thing, I think H is overall a better/more versatile wing between the two. Will I sell Oxy and buy H, absolutely NOT. If budget allowed, this is what I will buy if I am doing over again. But taken into cost into consideration, Oxy is very tough to beat especially if you don't need to travel with it. So I am happy with Oxy for my home diving, and I will probably pick up a travel friendly wing later.

Now come to detail comparison:

Outter shell:
Oxy is much stiffer, stiff enough that if you deflator the bladder, lean the wing again a wall, it will stand up firm. The H cant do this, it is limpy once deflated. I see it as advantage to the H, it is so much easier to pack for travel.

Oxy's outside material is matte black, rough to touch. After 3 year of normal use, it got some discoloration to the fabic. It seems coming from the abbration between the wing and tank over time. H uses some smoother and shinier fabric. Based of feel of hand, H may take abbration better.

The inner side of the shell, Oxy uses much thicker coating than H. I think this is what make it stiffer. Oxy is probably tougher here, more resistant to cut and poke by sharp object.

Inner bladder:
Here is where H wing big. H's bladder is coated nylon, think the material of SMB. It is very soft yet still feel very tough. It cuts in the same shape as the outter shell but slightly bigger. No folding inside the shell.

Oxy uses thick polyurethane here, think camelbak bladder. I can't judge its toughness compared to coated nylon. The real big issue is the cut so big compare to the shell. It is folder everywhere inside. My main concern is the folded edge/corner will see more abbration, and over time, it will wear. It hasn't happened, but it sure feel like it could. Also it has potential of trapping air. Although I haven't has this problem, but the H do vent noticeable better in water especially with the lower lift dump.

Shape:
Oxy is very narrow. H is wider. Oxy is just a little longer. Oxy makes up its lift capapcity by the thickness (see picture). Oxy, because the narrowness, it basically inflates between the tank and the backplate. So the band angle of the plate, tank diameter, weight pocket on camband will all affect how it inflates. Not that I have experience problem here. But it does explain the abbration to the fabic. Also, with the stiff shell, there is no taco effect at all, making this wing look extremely slick in water.

The H is pretty much opposite here. It inflates outside of the plate. When empty, it wraps around the tank. Since it isn't realy that wide at all, I wouldn't call it taco. In fact, I think a bit wrapping around tank make it more stable, less likely to roll from side to side. (you can call me crazy here)

Dry Weight:
Oxycheq: 3lb-6oz
H: 1lb-15oz

The H is still moist, so it can be a few oz lighter if completely dry. Regardless, the weight difference is noticeable if you just pick them up by hand. H is a better travel wing.

Misc:
H costs more, but they do throw in better quality things. Corrogated hose is real corrogate-able, better quality than DiveRite's version, and much better than the Oxycheq non-corrogate-able hose. H also seem to have higher quality plastic on dump valve and elbow. Oxycheq uses chrome plated brass for groment. H uses stainless steel.

In water performance:
Overall, they dive about the same except one very noticable differences. H dumps much faster than Oxycheq. With the same muscal memory that I am used to Oxycheq, I found myself over dumping with the H. I can't tell why by looking at the dump value. They are the same diameter. Valve openning gap is about the same too. My only explaination is Oxy's folded bladder slow down air dumping.

My summary - see above.

Here is a few pictures for side by side comparison:

The back (facing tank). Both fully inflated. See if you can see the discoloration (inner surface) on the Oxycheq. Also notice how much deeper the center channel is for the Oxycheq. I can see a 8" diameter tank affect the inflation. Oxycheq has zipper on this side of the wing. Oxycheq also has smaller air space on top and bottom, but bigger on the side.
eclipse30_oxy40_back.jpg
The front (facing diver's back). H is a little wider. zipper is on this side for H.
eclipse30_oxy40_front.jpg

Side. This picture don't do the justice. Oxycheq is quite a bit thicker than the H especally at the bottom.
eclipse30_oxy40_side.jpg
 
Nice review. Thanks for posting.
 
Thanks for taking the time to post that, very informative.
 
Those were the conclusions I came to before, and after, I bought an Halcyon knock-off (Dux). The oxyheq bladder is also crinkled up making it more likely to trap air. I'd like to try an Oxycheq razor (no heavy, crinkled up, folded, inner bladder) but they don't make them anymore. Thanks for the affirmation.
 
Of course this is a 40lb Oxycheq and a 30lb Halcyon so one would expect a larger ( in some respect) or at least a different profile Oxycheq wing. I believe on the 40lb that they add more length to the bottom of the wing to give it 40lb of lift. So it really isn't and "apples and apples" comparison (Oxycheq makes a 30lb Mach V). Not sure what the inner bladder looks like though on the 30 or 40 lb. I do know they use a 26.5mm inner bladder (thicker than a water bed) so I'm thinking b/w the heavier outer cover and thicker inner bladder that this will be a more durable wing. I've not had any issues with air trapping. I've been very happy with my 18 lb Oxycheq for warm water single tanks.
 
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Of course this is a 40lb Oxycheq and a 30lb Halcyon so one would expect a larger ( in some respect) or at least a different profile Oxecheq wing. So it really isn't and "apples and apples" comparison (Oxycheq makes a 30lb Mach V). Not sure what the inner bladder looks like though. I've been very happy with my 18 lb Oxycheq for warm water single tanks.


My version is 30 lb apples to 30 lb pound oranges.
 
Well I cannot argue with that. I only have the 18lb wing and LOVE the small profile and performance. Did you find air trapping to be a problem ( I see the words "more likely to trap air") and wonder if this is an actual experience or just a thoughtful concern that it might?
 
Well I cannot argue with that. I only have the 18lb wing and LOVE the small profile and performance. Did you find air trapping to be a problem ( I see the words "more likely to trap air") and wonder if this is an actual experience or just a thoughtful concern that it might?


I opened the outer bladder when it had some water and air in it, and yes, saw the air taking a little time to "percolate" through the water in the various creases and folds when I tried to vent it. It was sluggish.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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