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yes, I have done a few searches and there are a few posts on the subject but not quite what Im looking for.
I am looking for a wing and I can either buy a normal doughnut wing (halcyon or Oxycheq) or I can go with a much cheaper second hand horseshoe shaped wing with 45# of lift.
I have some questions. :06:
What are the differences in trim between a doughnut and a horseshoe shaped wing?
Is a dougnnut shaped wing much better?
I know different people will have different opinions but Id like to hear some experiences.
Fom what Ive read, 45# seems to be be way too much for the single tank, warm water diving I usually do.
Will this wing be very unsuitable?
what are the issues with having a 'too large' wing?
I save $100 with the big wing, hence the delimma.
I would appreciate some advice.
Thanks so much in advance!!
I just recently switched from a 55 lb horseshoe to a 29 lb doughnut. The older bladder was driving me nuts at dive sites where I had to practice extreme buoyancy control in shallow water... the dang thing kept getting in the way and unevenly trapped air. Oh lordie what a difference this doughnut makes!
My advice is the $100 savings in the horseshoe will eventually consume you with doubt and fury following many of your dives with it... especially in tropic settings where your rig stands out like a sore thumb. I KNOW.
You'll also feel morally superior to other people by having a brand-new rig with a blue H stamped on it. The Halcyon name is like a narcotic to many divers. MUST... HAVE... HALCYON!!
They ARE superb, don't get me wrong. Oxycheq should do equally fine. Even my crappy Scubapro is passable.
I have Dive rite Trek, horseshoe type. I never really liked it for single tank diving.
I also have a BP/OXycheq 45, that I use with a steel 130.
The rig that I really like is a transpac II with the travel wing and an 80, its just a really well balanced comfortable set up.
If I were you I'd go for the donut. I like the surface bouyancy of the 45 if seas are up.
I have been reading reading all your advice on the size of wings for doughtnat and horseshoe. But technically what's the difference? Pros and cons of each. Secondly, if lots of divers prefer doughnat rather than horsehoe, y doen't all BCD manufacturing make the doughnat wings?
In single tank diving, there just isn't all that much gas to trap, and the differences between the wings is subtle. I've used horseshow and donut single wings and though the horseshoe works, the donut is just better.
What's the "difference"? Well imagine yourself horizontal in the water. The air is evenly distruibuted in the wing. So you drop your head a bit, and raise your butt to vent air. Well the vent is on the left side, not the right, so you'll end up with a bit less in the left side than the right. In order to equalize this, you have to flatten out again.
Where this REALLY becomes an issue is with larger wings 45+, especially on doubles, the right side gas can get trapped over there because the air in the wing forces the wing to bend up around the tank. So even when you lay flat in the water, the gas won't equalize. The solution in a horseshoe wing is to go heads up, then roll yourself so that your left side is higher than the right. This moves the air to that side, then you go butt-up again and vent. You sort of get used to it. None of this is necessary with a donut wing because the air can move around the bottom of the wing when you go butt-up.
Is this a big deal?? Not for most people. I'll give you a scenario where it caused me a problem. I was exiting a cavern, and the flow was pushing pretty hard. I had not gotten negative enough, so the flow pushed me HARD out the opening. I was holding onto the rocks trying not to get sent on a rocket ride 20ft toward the surface, but I needed to get negative. So I am head-up holding on with my left hand since that's the side where the rocks are. What I needed was to get turned around, head DOWN into the flow, and try to vent. Didn't work, and I went for the ride at a brisk 73fpm for 20ft. Not cool. With a donut, I could have just vented normally and would not have had to roll.
Again, single tank this is MUCH less of an issue. But if you have the choice, get the donut wing. Why don't all manufacturers go this route? I believe more and more are. Oxycheq, OMS, Halcyon, DSS. That's really enough options. Dive Rite is slow to the party in my opinion.
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Originally Posted by Boogie711
