Do mini/micro lift capacity 'wings' provide adequate 'insurance' against downdrafts ?

[scubafanatic]

I've noticed a fair number of divers take a sort of pride in using the smallest possible wing, almost as if competing for some sort of prize for 'lowest lift' . I've never subscribed to this way of thinking, and I'm wondering if the most recent downdrafts/downwellings fatality in Cozumel has advocates of micro-wings questioning their strategy of not building reserve lift capacity into their wings?

I'm diving Oxy Extreme 40 lbs 'singles' wings which are quite streamlined, so I find the issue of 'drag' (or taco of death) to be irrelevent if one is diving an intelligently designed larger capacity wing.

[robint]

personally, I am not a proponent of using your BC/Wing to get out of a downdraft. Inflating it can move you up, but once you are free of the downdraft you will be moving fast towards the surface and slowing down fast enough may not be achieved before lung injury.
I still stay the best way to get out of a downdraft is just like a riptide.... go across it to get out. They tend to be narrow, and fighting directly against will tire you out too quickly. By going across at the same level, you will still drop some but will get out and be able to safely ascend most likely.

Just my 2 cents.
robin

[ggunn]

That, and if air bubbles are moving down it seems to me that no amount of air you can carry in a BC is going to be enough to counteract the downcurrent.

[Dsix36]

Now possibly you are hanging out with the wrong kind of divers. Most of the divers I dive with have just the opposite problem and are always competing for having the biggest - er, ...uhm,... - you wre talking about WINGS.

Seriously though, there is benefit to having a small wing. It will reduce drag and it also means that you are not ridiculiously over weighted. There is absolutely no need to have a wing that is absolutely the perfect lift for your divng weight though. There may always be a time when you can use some extra lift during the dive. It may be just to help another diver or because you are using a rental tank and it is heavier than you are used to.

[cvchief]

and I'm wondering if the most recent downdrafts/downwellings fatality in Cozumel.....

When was that? Did I miss one determined to be the result of a down current?

[Ron Lee]

When was that? Did I miss one determined to be the result of a down current?

I am not sure that any has been confirmed to be the result of a down current. One unconfirmed comment on the March 28, 2012 Santa Rosa fatality suggested a down current.

[Rhone Man]

Main benefit to a small wing is when you travel a lot.

I don't see the lack of bouyancy in an emergency as a big issue. We all carry redundant bouyancy, and if life ever got really hairy, you can go old school and ditch your weights.

[bhalah]

Seriously though, there is benefit to having a small wing. It will reduce drag and it also means that you are not ridiculiously over weighted.

Neat, I never knew that reducing drag meant less weight. This must mean resistance to a diver descending is increased of the drag effect of their wing. KOOOOOL

[dumpsterDiver]

That, and if air bubbles are moving down it seems to me that no amount of air you can carry in a BC is going to be enough to counteract the downcurrent.

This is most definitely not true. Small bubbles move up slowly and big bubbles move up fast. It is quite possible that lots of small bubbles could be going downward, while a diver with an inflated BC could be floating upward.

[cvchief]

I am not sure that any has been confirmed to be the result of a down current. One unconfirmed comment on the March 28, 2012 Santa Rosa fatality suggested a down current.

That was the one where she was last seen going up?