Disclaimer: I have been diving for less than a year and have less than 50 dives. Take any statements I make for their own intrinsic value (if any), not because of any presumed "expertise". I have only owned one BCD - a DSS stainless steel back plate and LCD 30 wing - so that is the only BC I have actual hands-on diving experience with other than the jacket BCs I used in OW training last year.
Dive Gear Express is awesome on customer service. And their house brand wing (i.e. what runsongas linked here) is identical to the Dive Rite Travel EXP wing (i.e. as I understand it, a known qood quality wing). Further DGX's warranty is, essentially, lifetime on this setup. I believe (call them and confirm) that their warranty on this setup is even such that you could buy it, dive it for 6 months, decide it just isn't right for you, and return it for a full refund in store credit. If you return it within their "normal" return period (14 days? 30 days? I don't remember), you can get a full refund, period.
To say the least.... And that's if you even get to completely ask your question. Most of mine were cutoff halfway through with an assumption about what I was trying to ask and then I was given an answer to a question that I was not even trying to ask.
Am I incorrect in understanding that Tobin's recommendation for the wing lift capacity a person needs is dependent on the presumption that the diver will drop their weights if they have an emergency just when they arrive at max depth at the start of a dive? In the posts I have seen, he doesn't even point that out and acknowledge that, if you don't want to lose your weight belt and weights in that situation, you should buy a wing with enough additional capacity to match the weight you're carrying. Maybe my limited experience extends to not seeing a fuller explanation posted. Personally, I was shocked at how much weights cost and I would much rather have a slightly bigger wing than dive with a plan that involves taking my weight belt off and dropping it in the middle of, say, an uncontrolled descent because my dry suit neck seal was installed incorrectly and it just popped off.
In contrast, I think I've seen posts from you, tbone, that specifically talk about never ditching your weights at depth - only if you need to drop them at the surface in order to stay afloat. So, it seems like you would agree that a wing needs enough lift to get you up from the deepest part of your dive without requiring you to ditch weights. No?
I guess color me still a little unclear on how a person should really determine exactly how much wing capacity they need. And, if I need to add it, that is with the caveat that, at least for me, I would like my wing capacity to reflect my wallet's desire to not have to drop a weight belt with weights that cost $5/pound.
---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 02:49 PM ----------
I flew to Mexico and to Hawaii with my stainless steel backplate (and harness, wing, wetsuit, regulators, computer, and mask) in my carry-on bag. Fins and some other things in my checked bag. I think it's a great way to fly'n'dive. It may depend on the airline, but I've never flown anywhere for anything where anyone weighed my carry-on. They only seem to care that the size allows it to fit in the overhead bin.
---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 02:52 PM ----------
I think the Trianta from DRiS might require an STA, but I think the DGX BP/W does not. My current setup does not require an STA and I think I would only buy a BP and/or W that would allow me to use them without an STA. If you DO want to use an STA, you can do so on any BP/W, so there's no downside to having a BP and W that don't require an ST, right?
---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 03:11 PM ----------
I bought some of the Highland QR tank straps about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I think. It turned out that they were not at all easy (for me, anyway) to remove for tank changes. If I adjusted them to be satisfactorily tight, then when I flipped the buckle open there was not enough slack in the strap to unhook the one side of the strap from the other. I always had to loosen the strap to be able to unhook the hook from the buckle. And if I adjusted them when they were wet, the next time I went to use them and they were dry, there was no way at all to hook the buckle side over the hook without first, loosening the strap then tightening it back up. Overall, they were slower for me than regular cam bands.
Thank goodness I bought them from Dive Gear Express. I had no thought of returning them. But, I got an email soliciting a review of my recent purchase. I wrote one and gave them, I think, 3 stars because they are well constructed. They just didn't give me what I wanted. Customer Service at DGX read my review and contacted me. They updated the product description based on my review and they gave me a full refund on the straps and THEN they told me to go ahead and keep them. I have since given them away to another SB member. I even paid the postage out of my own pocket to mail them to him.
I ordered the DGX brand QR tank straps ($40, for a pair, so less expensive than the Highland straps, too).
https://www.divegearexpress.com/tank-strap-quick-release-with-s-s-hinge-buckle
THESE are what I wanted all along. I went through an initial process to get them adjusted right and now I don't have to touch the adjustment at all when putting them on and off. And, another thing I like better than the Highland ones, the tail of the strap - i.e. the extra part of the strap, the part that goes through the D-ring that the buckle hooks onto, that lets you adjust the length - velcros to the inside, instead of the outside. So, once the strap is fastened around a tank, it is impossible for the end of the strap to dangle and pull your buckle open. The Highland straps had the strap tail velcroed on the outside, so it could, potentially, be loose, just like the tail on a normal cam band. Since I have trim weight pockets on one of my tank straps, they prevented the tail on one of my old cam bands from laying down and securing all the way, so that was always a little bit of a worry for me. No problem now! The tail does overlap one of the weight pockets a little bit, but it's in between the weight pocket and tank, so it's not a concern when in use.
Dive Gear Express is awesome on customer service. And their house brand wing (i.e. what runsongas linked here) is identical to the Dive Rite Travel EXP wing (i.e. as I understand it, a known qood quality wing). Further DGX's warranty is, essentially, lifetime on this setup. I believe (call them and confirm) that their warranty on this setup is even such that you could buy it, dive it for 6 months, decide it just isn't right for you, and return it for a full refund in store credit. If you return it within their "normal" return period (14 days? 30 days? I don't remember), you can get a full refund, period.
To say the least.... And that's if you even get to completely ask your question. Most of mine were cutoff halfway through with an assumption about what I was trying to ask and then I was given an answer to a question that I was not even trying to ask.
Am I incorrect in understanding that Tobin's recommendation for the wing lift capacity a person needs is dependent on the presumption that the diver will drop their weights if they have an emergency just when they arrive at max depth at the start of a dive? In the posts I have seen, he doesn't even point that out and acknowledge that, if you don't want to lose your weight belt and weights in that situation, you should buy a wing with enough additional capacity to match the weight you're carrying. Maybe my limited experience extends to not seeing a fuller explanation posted. Personally, I was shocked at how much weights cost and I would much rather have a slightly bigger wing than dive with a plan that involves taking my weight belt off and dropping it in the middle of, say, an uncontrolled descent because my dry suit neck seal was installed incorrectly and it just popped off.
In contrast, I think I've seen posts from you, tbone, that specifically talk about never ditching your weights at depth - only if you need to drop them at the surface in order to stay afloat. So, it seems like you would agree that a wing needs enough lift to get you up from the deepest part of your dive without requiring you to ditch weights. No?
I guess color me still a little unclear on how a person should really determine exactly how much wing capacity they need. And, if I need to add it, that is with the caveat that, at least for me, I would like my wing capacity to reflect my wallet's desire to not have to drop a weight belt with weights that cost $5/pound.
---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 02:49 PM ----------
I flew to Mexico and to Hawaii with my stainless steel backplate (and harness, wing, wetsuit, regulators, computer, and mask) in my carry-on bag. Fins and some other things in my checked bag. I think it's a great way to fly'n'dive. It may depend on the airline, but I've never flown anywhere for anything where anyone weighed my carry-on. They only seem to care that the size allows it to fit in the overhead bin.
---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 02:52 PM ----------
I think the Trianta from DRiS might require an STA, but I think the DGX BP/W does not. My current setup does not require an STA and I think I would only buy a BP and/or W that would allow me to use them without an STA. If you DO want to use an STA, you can do so on any BP/W, so there's no downside to having a BP and W that don't require an ST, right?
---------- Post added August 27th, 2015 at 03:11 PM ----------
I bought some of the Highland QR tank straps about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I think. It turned out that they were not at all easy (for me, anyway) to remove for tank changes. If I adjusted them to be satisfactorily tight, then when I flipped the buckle open there was not enough slack in the strap to unhook the one side of the strap from the other. I always had to loosen the strap to be able to unhook the hook from the buckle. And if I adjusted them when they were wet, the next time I went to use them and they were dry, there was no way at all to hook the buckle side over the hook without first, loosening the strap then tightening it back up. Overall, they were slower for me than regular cam bands.
Thank goodness I bought them from Dive Gear Express. I had no thought of returning them. But, I got an email soliciting a review of my recent purchase. I wrote one and gave them, I think, 3 stars because they are well constructed. They just didn't give me what I wanted. Customer Service at DGX read my review and contacted me. They updated the product description based on my review and they gave me a full refund on the straps and THEN they told me to go ahead and keep them. I have since given them away to another SB member. I even paid the postage out of my own pocket to mail them to him.
I ordered the DGX brand QR tank straps ($40, for a pair, so less expensive than the Highland straps, too).
https://www.divegearexpress.com/tank-strap-quick-release-with-s-s-hinge-buckle
THESE are what I wanted all along. I went through an initial process to get them adjusted right and now I don't have to touch the adjustment at all when putting them on and off. And, another thing I like better than the Highland ones, the tail of the strap - i.e. the extra part of the strap, the part that goes through the D-ring that the buckle hooks onto, that lets you adjust the length - velcros to the inside, instead of the outside. So, once the strap is fastened around a tank, it is impossible for the end of the strap to dangle and pull your buckle open. The Highland straps had the strap tail velcroed on the outside, so it could, potentially, be loose, just like the tail on a normal cam band. Since I have trim weight pockets on one of my tank straps, they prevented the tail on one of my old cam bands from laying down and securing all the way, so that was always a little bit of a worry for me. No problem now! The tail does overlap one of the weight pockets a little bit, but it's in between the weight pocket and tank, so it's not a concern when in use.
