Can I use a single wing for doubles?

[nereas]

...Actually I was thinking the other way. Is there any way to make a dual bag double wing work with a single tank through creative use of bungies?

You don't need bungies to make a U-shaped doubles wing work with a single tank.

Just attach the wing to your backplate, and then attach an STA over the wing and to the plate.

They will flop around a bit, but that is no major problem.

The bungies would be a worse idea, I believe.

 

[Jasonmh]

thats what i was thinking i just wanted to confirm. something close to 40 lbs should be good for a set of Al 80's and a steel backplate though huh? also, which manufactures make a donut shaped doubles wing? i really prefer them to the horseshoe.
thanks

40 should normally be fine for double AL80s and a steel BP. How much lead do you use?
I regularly dive with a 40# doubles wing, drysuit, and double 80s. Like others have said, you need a 40 pounds doubles wing, 40 pound singles wing is not going to work right. Many manufacturers make donut shaped doubles wings, my favs are DSS and Halcyon. There are also many other great choices from Oxycheq and others.

 

[nereas]

thats what i was thinking i just wanted to confirm. something close to 40 lbs should be good for a set of Al 80's and a steel backplate though huh? also, which manufactures make a donut shaped doubles wing? i really prefer them to the horseshoe.
thanks

Alum 80s, sure.

Steel 80s, different story.

 

[Teamcasa]

There is a significant difference between, “Will it work?”, “Should I try it?” and “Is this safe?”
The answers are; maybe, depending on physical size and lift of the wing vs the weight it has to support. Why even try it, you now know it’s edgy at best and deadly at worst. Safe, yes in that you may survive diving that configuration but on the whole, it is never a wise decision to use gear for a purpose it was not intended for.

Save some money, buy the right stuff.

 

[beanojones]

Wow!

Tobin at DSS did not believe me when I told him that several divers dive like this, with steel deco bottles.

You are going to need a fairly strong wing to support all this.

Well i did not actually dive it with a travel wing, I used the short-lived ScubaPro Redundant Tek Wings. Standing up on a boat with that load in the waves was fun, fun, fun.

Speaking of DSS, when did they start selling gear? I love the looks of their Torus wings.

 

[PerroneFord]

There is a reason that technical divers generally own several different doubles wings in addition to their singles wings. You can spin it anyway you want, but trying to use a singles wing for doubles or a doubles wing for singles is a recipe for trouble that spans the gamut from inconvenient to potentially lethal.

Are you willing to bet your life or safety to save $250-$300?

i was wondering if it would be okay to use a singles wing such as the halcyon pioneer 36# wing or any other higher capacity singles wing. this would only be used for double al 80's, nothing real heavy.
thanks

 

[RJP]

Are you willing to bet your life or safety to save $250-$300?

Was thinking the same thing - would you spend an extra few bucks to keep this thread from being continued in "Incidents and Accidents" or worse yet in "Passings"

 

[RAWalker]

You acctually hit the nail on the head with the OMS bungie wing.
I have the 45# OMS bungie wing and it is rated for use with both single tank or doubles. I've been diving it with a STA and find it to be a fine compromise. The bungies keep it from turning taco, control air movement within the bladder and keep it fairly streamline.
I wouldn't attempt anything beyond twin al 80s considering it's lift.

Is there such a thing as wings that will work with both? Like say if you go with the OMS and bungie the hell out if them when you are diving a single tank or something?

Or is there really no way to make it work?

 

[bigred177]

There is a reason that technical divers generally own several different doubles wings in addition to their singles wings. You can spin it anyway you want, but trying to use a singles wing for doubles or a doubles wing for singles is a recipe for trouble that spans the gamut from inconvenient to potentially lethal.

Are you willing to bet your life or safety to save $250-$300?

i understand this very much and have a mach v wing for my singles right now. i am looking for a doubles wing and saw a few singles wings that were around the 40# lift capacity and since that is what i am looking for in my doubles wing, i thought it may work. so i guess my question was more of a "is a singles wing wide enough to fit under a set of doubles?" and no i would absolutely never bet my life to save $300.

 

[TSandM]

A singles wing is not suitable for diving with doubles.

A doubles wing is at best suboptimal for diving with a single tank. Bungieing the overlarge wing in an attempt to keep it from tacoing around the single tank is a kludge. At BEST it results in a poorly streamlined wing that traps air in the "bubbles" of wing that are trapped between the bungies. At worst, it won't vent, or won't hold air if holed.

Transitioning to double tanks should be a move toward overhead or decompression diving. That kind of diving should NEVER be done on a restrictive budget. Cutting corners, when you have become utterly dependent on your equipment (because the surface isn't an option) is not a good strategy.