Can you recommend me a wing.

[Southern Blue]

Can anyone please share views and valuable advice on the following.

I am a diver with advance certification but still very new. I have intentions to dive deep and possible wreck penetrate.

I currently have BC with a 15l tank (heavy but I love air)

I considering to buy a better BC but was told that any further monies should be toward a wing.

So what wing and complete accessories should I consider?

I want to use my 15l tank for a while then switch to twin tanks and then onto nitrox.

Your thoughts please.

PS: Be mindful of costs as my pockets aren't that deep.

 

[calwolf]

I recently bought this wing. HOG (Highly Optimized Gear) is a relatively new company, and makes good (but inexpensive) gear for technical-type divers (including recreational divers with similar streamlined setups). The link above is to their singles wing. They also sell doubles wings in both 38 lb and 58 lb lift capacities. Dive Right in Scuba has the best prices I've found so far on HOG gear, as they will give 10% off the prices listed (so any of the above wings are just $180 shipped to the USA) when you use their discount code. Fantastic stuff, great prices. I'm sure they ship internationally too, but you may be able to find a more local supplier.

There are plenty of other good wings out there (Oxycheq's "Mach V" is another favorite for diving single cylinders). Wings like these are used with a backplate (either aluminum or steel) and usually a simple and inexpensive harness. This system is much more streamlined and configurable than most BCD's. Many divers like this kind of setup, especially if they are considering technical diving.

I'm sure you'll get good advice from others as well.

Oh, and welcome to Scubaboard!

 

[cool_hardware52]

Can anyone please share views and valuable advice on the following.

I am a diver with advance certification but still very new. I have intentions to dive deep and possible wreck penetrate.

I currently have BC with a 15l tank (heavy but I love air)

I considering to buy a better BC but was told that any further monies should be toward a wing.

So what wing and complete accessories should I consider?

I want to use my 15l tank for a while then switch to twin tanks and then onto nitrox.

Your thoughts please.

PS: Be mindful of costs as my pockets aren't that deep.

You need to do a little homework.

The correct plate and wing is primarily a function of the buoyancy of your exposure suit.

What are you using for an exposure suit?

What are the buoyancy characteristics of your "15L" tank, i.e. buoyancy full and empty?

How tall are you, and what do you weigh?

Start with a good quality single tank set up. If and when you move to doubles you can probably use the same plate and harness, but will need a doubles specific wing.

Tobin

 

[Southern Blue]

Thanks guys for the quick response.

Hi Tobin

Looked at your link cool shop.

My exposure suit at the moment is a 2 piece 5 ml wet suit, will possibly look at a semi dry later but not on my agenda at this time.

My weight is 85 kg with a 165 cm height, what I would call cuddly.

Currently I add 12 kg lead to my dive.

Tank buoyancy characteristics of the 15l tank are empty -.45 full -4.48

 

[cool_hardware52]

Thanks guys for the quick response.

Hi Tobin

Looked at your link cool shop.

My exposure suit at the moment is a 2 piece 5 ml wet suit, will possibly look at a semi dry later but not on my agenda at this time.

My weight is 85 kg with a 165 cm height, what I would call cuddly.

Currently I add 12 kg lead to my dive.

Tank buoyancy characteristics of the 15l tank are empty -.45 full -4.48

You are currently using about 29-30 lbs of total ballast. 26 lead + 2 for your reg + 1 for your empty tank. That's quite a bit for a 5mm suit. I'd **guess** you are over weighted.

Of the 29 lbs of total ballast, probably about 4 lbs are required to sink your current BC. That leaves 29 -4 = 25 lbs. Most 5mm suits are no more than 14-16 lbs buoyant. That leads me to believe you are over weighted by maybe 10 lbs. :shocked2:

I'll work an example based on my assumptions, I do recommend you test your suit.

A medium SS plate and harness is about -6 lbs, a reg is -2 and your tank, full is about -10 lbs. Your "rig" would be - 18 lbs with a full tank, and about -10 with an empty tank.

If your suit is truly +16 you will need 4 ~ 6 lbs in a belt. A 20 lbs wing can float your rig with a full tank if you ditch it.

Your wetsuit can't loose more buoyancy than it starts with, so if it is in fact +16 lbs at the surface, the most it can losse due to compression is 16 lbs. That also makes a 20 lbs wing sufficient.

You may want to consider a slightly larger wing, if you contemplate thicker exposure suits in the future. A 26 or 30 lbs wing is a reasonable choice.

Recap:

Medium SS plate, you need ballast and the SS plate will provide about 6 lbs

20 lbs wing if you don't plan to use a heavier wetsuit, 26 or 30 if you do.

Hogarthian Harness.

Tobin

 

[Southern Blue]

Tobin

Can I safely assume the Product heading on your products are the lift weight.

EG: LCD 30 Single Tank Wing W/ 22 mil bladder = 30 pound lift

 

[cool_hardware52]

Tobin

Can I safely assume the Product heading on your products are the lift weight.

EG: LCD 30 Single Tank Wing W/ 22 mil bladder = 30 pound lift

Yes,

All DSS wings have the lift capacity in lbs as part of the model designation.

Tobin