Are Hollis or Dive Rite or Halcyon single tank wings anybetter than HOG's one.

[herculino]

Hi to every one!

I'm the happy owner of two HOG 32lb wings and am OMS 32lb wing.

I also have a double tank one, an OMS clone of unknown brand.

The differences between them are pretty small:
The OMS outer shell is a bit stiffer than the HOG one, it seems to me that is a matter of the inner coat of urethane than any other thing.

I think I like more the HOG on this, you can fold it smaller and easier for transportation.

The inner bladder are a bit different also, the material seems to be the same, the OMS is a bit bigger but the difference is not big. The main difference is related with the dump valves construction:
The HOG is glued? to the bladder (you cannot unmount it) and the OMS is made of different pieces in a way that you can unassembled them and end up with a piece of 400 deniers nylon with a perfectly rounded hole.

View attachment 193435View attachment 193436This are the OMS parts.

I don't know which system is better if you can tell so.

I have take a close look to a Dive Rite Voyager of a friend of mine and the outer shell is (as far as I can tell) identical to the HOG one, I can't tell about the bladder as I don't see it. The main difference for me is the shape of the wing and the internal part of the wing (this cross stile of the DR ones)

I have also see and touch a couple of Halcyon wings this summer and... the seems all the same. What I don't like is the fact that you need an STA with this wings and this is more weight and pieces to take with you. But the material used with them seems to be the same or as similar than you cannot tell the differences easily.

Why all this beating around the bush?

I want to buy another single tank wing and I was wondering if the big differences in price are justified or are just a matter of "brands".

I want a wing with built in STA like the Hollis S38 LX (300$), the HOG 38 lb (240$), Oxycheq Mach V Signature Series #30 (290$), or Golem Ring Wing 35 lbs (310$).

As I have a small pocket I want the best for my money. I would like to know if is better to invest a bit more in a Golem or the HOG is going to work as well or better.

I know about warranty differences, lifetime for the Hollis, Lifetime warranty against manufacture defects (transferable) and a industry first 10 year Pinch Flat warranty for the original owner of the HOG.....

As I'm living in Spain buying in USA on a future trip I don't care so much about this warranties.

Thanks to all for helping on this.

Best regards form Zaragoza.

 

[tbone1004]

The old Hogs wings were made in the same USA factory as the DiveRite wings, they have since moved production to Taiwan I believe, but the quality is just as good, only reason they moved.

I am not familiar with Golems wings as they are not particularly common to find outside of the rebreather crowd, and even then it's a rarity.

The Hollis wings do not warrant their price, they are all but identical to the current Hog wings in quality, and the reason for the markup is they have to cover the marketing budget associated with the brand as well as the rest of the Oceanic conglomerate.

Oxycheq wings are in my opinion the best of the best, with Deep Sea Supply a VERY close second *DSS is a bit more money, but otherwise they are about equal*.

This all being said, the best bang for the buck is still the Hog wings, and over the lifetime of the wing, if you aren't doing a lot of technical diving where you are scraping the wings on things, you won't notice the extra difference, and 10 years is about when the wings start showing their age anyway. If it doesn't break in the first 10 years, it's really your fault when stuff goes wrong after that. You can't expect the polymers to hold up much longer than that with regular sun and salt exposure.

 

[lemke]

What Tbone said... single tank wings... Oxycheq, DSS.

 

[fnfalman]

You don't need an STA for either the Dive Rite wing or the Halcyon wing. You may want to use an STA but it is optional. The tank might roll a bit from side to side but it's not going to come off the straps.

 

[herculino]

You don't need an STA for either the Dive Rite wing or the Halcyon wing. You may want to use an STA but it is optional. The tank might roll a bit from side to side but it's not going to come off the straps.

I know that is not a must with a Dive Rite, but as far as I know Halcyon is not selling single tank wing with slots for the cam bands, so you do need an STA. The only model I have find is the Pionner but is not in production anymore.

Thanks for your comment and please correct me if I'm wrong.

Best regards form Zaragoza.

 

[tbone1004]

the eclipse is like this, not sure of the others. The Halcyon backplates also have a really bad contour for holding onto wings without STA's, the edge is too rounded so they tend to slip off quite easily and you end up with a cockeyed tank, bad news bears.

 

[herculino]

The old Hogs wings were made in the same USA factory as the DiveRite wings, they have since moved production to Taiwan I believe, but the quality is just as good, only reason they moved.

I am not familiar with Golems wings as they are not particularly common to find outside of the rebreather crowd, and even then it's a rarity.

The Hollis wings do not warrant their price, they are all but identical to the current Hog wings in quality, and the reason for the markup is they have to cover the marketing budget associated with the brand as well as the rest of the Oceanic conglomerate.

Oxycheq wings are in my opinion the best of the best, with Deep Sea Supply a VERY close second *DSS is a bit more money, but otherwise they are about equal*.

This all being said, the best bang for the buck is still the Hog wings, and over the lifetime of the wing, if you aren't doing a lot of technical diving where you are scraping the wings on things, you won't notice the extra difference, and 10 years is about when the wings start showing their age anyway. If it doesn't break in the first 10 years, it's really your fault when stuff goes wrong after that. You can't expect the polymers to hold up much longer than that with regular sun and salt exposure.

Thanks for your piece of advice.

Would you mind to explain me what makes Oxycheq wings the best of the best?

This are the main characteristics:

• Design: 360
• Outer Shell: 1000 Denier Cordura with 5 ounces of Urethane HOG and other use 1680 denier Cordura nylon
• Inner Bladder: 26.5 Mil (thicker than water bed) Made of coated nylon? or uretane? I heard that uretane bladders are worst than coated nylon ones
• Lift: 30 Pound ~ 13.7 Kilograms
• Size: Approximately 13.5" wide x 23 " tall at full inflation ( 34cm x 58cm)
• Weight: 2 lb 7 oz / 1.1 kg
  
• Embroidery: Black "OXYCHEQ" embroidery on side

I also read that is a quite stiff wing...So you cannot fold it as small as others for a trip.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[tbone1004]

the inner bladder is the thickest of the lot, it does use urethane I believe, but that is the least prone to leak. Easier to puncture compared to comparable coated nylon, but isn't prone to pinhole leaking.

1680 denier cordura doesn't mean it's any better than 1000, the 1000 is actually more durable to puncture, though the 1680 is "thicker" and can handle more abrasion and the 1680 is cheaper. Denier refers to the diameter of the yarn, so larger denier is larger yarn.

Thick smaller denier yarn makes the outer bladder stiffer, same with the inner bladder being thicker, but you want to avoid folding and crunching them up if possible. Best bang for buck is actually the DiveRightinScuba Trianta wing right now, and is on par quality wise with DiveRite and HOG

 

[eelnoraa]

I have owned and use Oxycheq, DSS and Halcyon wing. I still own Oxycheq and Halcyon today. I personally don't think it is the best of the best. It is toughest of all and lowest cost beteween them, but the advantage ends there. My issue is 1)very stiff outter shell. Overly stiff IMO. 2)Inner blader is overside hugely. It is folded on all edges. This affects venting (slow) noticeably compare to DSS and Halcyon. 3)The narrow profile, if with tank attached, the bladder can't be inflated fully. A 30lb Halcyon wing with tank attached has more actual lift than a 40lb Oxycheq with the same tank attached.

Based on what I have, if I were to do it over again, I will pick DSS or Halcyon over Oxychea. DSS if I don't want STA. Halcyon if I want STA.

 

[fire_diver]

Anybody using Hollis wings?