abrown203:
I understand. I very much appreciate your attention to detail.
Let's stick with the HP80. When I beach dive dry I use 24lbs in my Zeagle Ranger and 3lbs on the ankles (1.5lbs/each ankle) for a total of 27 lbs. I see a HP100 in my future though.
Just so you know my personality a little better... I am just a regular Joe looking to transition from a traditional BC to the simplicity and stability of a BP/W. I am not looking for the perfect BC for a fixed configuration. I do not tweak my rig setup for absolute least possible drag or loose sleep worrying about having the perfect trim. It has never really bothered me that my Ranger has much more lift (44lbs) than I have ever needed. It is actually a little bit of security. I understand that when you go to a BP/W setup you are required to make more choices. I also admit that a lot of this thinking may be out of ignorance, and I am always open to education.
Aaron,
If I understand your current configuration you have about 36 lbs of total ballast, 27 lbs of lead, a tank that's -7 empty, (faber hp 80?) and maybe 2 lbs of regulators.
That's quite a bit of ballast. Even if we assume a couple lbs to overcome a buoyant BC, that leaves ~34 lbs to sink your wetsuit.
I'll do an example here based on those numbers, but you might want to verify your suit alone is +~34.
If you use a SS plate and harness, with 8 lb weight plates, a Faber HP 80 and regulator your rig will be max negative with a full cylinder by ~29 lbs.
You are going to need another ~5 lbs of additional ballast (29+5=34) I'll assume that's in a belt.
Your suit can loose no more than 34 lbs of buoyancy if you go deep enough to fully compress it. That means you need ~34lb so of wing to offset the buoyancy loss of your suit.
Your rig is 29, 29<34, so minimum wing size is 34 lbs. A Torus 35 is a good match.
If it turns out your suit is less than 34 lbs positive, then you may be able to use a smaller wing.
Let me know if you have other questions.
Tobin
