Hi, I'm thinking about putting together a PB/Wing setup. I'm looking at the OMS dual bladder with 94lb. lift (the red one with the bungi straps around it), but am wondering if that is too much wing. I still dive mostly singles but am gonna do doubles in the near future. I guess my question is, for anybody out there with any experience with this wing, will it be ok for singles and doubles? Thanks.
OMS Wing
- Thread starter SHRIKE
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I have one that I use on the very rare occasion that I dive doubles, wet. Really the only reason for a double bladder wing is redundancy. This redundancy is usually accomodated by a drysuit, which in turn would make a 45lb. single bladder wing more than sufficient. However if you find that you'll be regularly diving doubles wet, then this may be a necessity in your dive locker. As I said previously, mine very rarely gets used.
As for diving it with singles; I don't see why you couldn't. It would be very overkill, but it should work just fine.
Good luck & happy diving.
As for diving it with singles; I don't see why you couldn't. It would be very overkill, but it should work just fine.
Good luck & happy diving.
Can you use that wing with a single tank? Yes. I have done it, and I have seen others do it as well. I don't recommend it. It is certainly far more lift than you need for single tank diving. Even with the bungees, there is a lot of room for air to move around and create trim challenges, plus the physical size predisposes the wing to more drag than I consider reasonable. For the most part, that wing is probably more lift than you would need even for most doubles diving, particularly if you use a drysuit. I have a 77 lb dual bladder (gusseted) wing that I use with steel doubles when diving wet, and that borders on overkill. With my DS, even with deco bottles and double 120s, in fresh water, a 55 lb wing is quite adequate. You may want to at least consider going with a good single tank wing (perhaps something closer to 30 lbs lift), and then evaluate your specific doubles wing requirements when you set your tanks up.
If you'd like an OMS bungee wing, go with the 60lbs or 45lbs. I use a 60lbs single bladder bungeed for both singles/doubles. My trim is fine(so says my cave instructor and other more experienced cave divers, not just me) and I don't have any of the problems a lot of people complain about. 94lbs is overkill, so there really isn't a point in buying it to dive unless you've already got one sitting around. There is a purpose to the dual bladders as posted earlier, but also consider your alternatives, such as a lift bag with a pull dump(well, works in the ocean anyways, not to great for most caves).
Make sure you follow the directions when installing the bungees or you might make them too tight. I'm sure this is where a lot of the problems come from that people complain about......it was their own fault and didn't set up the wing correctly.
Try out several wings before you purchase. I made a hunch on the OMS 60lbs single bladder bungee wing and made out OK, not everyone is the same though.
Also, when you get the wing, loosen the hose from the wing connection, and rotate it so it's pointing up instead of down. On the OMS bungee wings, the hose is connected to the front of the wing instead of the back like most every other. Thus, unless you want to route it up underneath your arm ala some sidemount rigs, the best option is to have it pointing up so it routes neatly over your shoulder. I've seen OMS wings with the inflator hose ripped from the wing because it's pulling so hard on the connection if you have it pointing down(stock from the factory) but routed over your shoulder. Also, my last recommendation if you get an OMS wing is to change out the inflator hose for a 12" one. SOOOOO much nicer!
Make sure you follow the directions when installing the bungees or you might make them too tight. I'm sure this is where a lot of the problems come from that people complain about......it was their own fault and didn't set up the wing correctly.
Try out several wings before you purchase. I made a hunch on the OMS 60lbs single bladder bungee wing and made out OK, not everyone is the same though.
Also, when you get the wing, loosen the hose from the wing connection, and rotate it so it's pointing up instead of down. On the OMS bungee wings, the hose is connected to the front of the wing instead of the back like most every other. Thus, unless you want to route it up underneath your arm ala some sidemount rigs, the best option is to have it pointing up so it routes neatly over your shoulder. I've seen OMS wings with the inflator hose ripped from the wing because it's pulling so hard on the connection if you have it pointing down(stock from the factory) but routed over your shoulder. Also, my last recommendation if you get an OMS wing is to change out the inflator hose for a 12" one. SOOOOO much nicer!
That wing is going to be too large for you even in doubles. The double bladder version is going to be even more "too large".
Using that with a single would be beyond overkill.
I have one and almost never have used it even when set up with huge doubles and multiple stages. It is just too big.
Also, as said before, your DS is your back up bladder. The double bladder is not really necessary.
OMS is gret stuff but you might want to look at a 60# or so. That would work for most tech diving but still be a bit much with a single. OMS makes even smaller wings for your single but then you would have to buy two. (but if you want to get into doubles diving money is the least of your issues)
Lastly, buy the bungee version if you like. There is a great deal of hate around for it but to date no one has even given a real reason why it is "going to kill you".
That and the bungees come off.
Using that with a single would be beyond overkill.
I have one and almost never have used it even when set up with huge doubles and multiple stages. It is just too big.
Also, as said before, your DS is your back up bladder. The double bladder is not really necessary.
OMS is gret stuff but you might want to look at a 60# or so. That would work for most tech diving but still be a bit much with a single. OMS makes even smaller wings for your single but then you would have to buy two. (but if you want to get into doubles diving money is the least of your issues)
Lastly, buy the bungee version if you like. There is a great deal of hate around for it but to date no one has even given a real reason why it is "going to kill you".
That and the bungees come off.
Grey_Wulff
Contributor
I have about 100 dives on my 94lb lift double bladder OMS wing doing rec and tech diving. Here's my experience, good and bad:
1) The wing has loads of lift, covers all circumstances. After I adjusted several of the bungees I find trim is excellent. The wing may create a little more drag in the water but I regularly do surface swims of 300 yards plus and it does not bother me.
2) The wing works just as well for singles as it does doubles. I dive HP100, HP120, 2xLP80 and 2xLP95
3) The wing is very well made, the D-rings are very meaty and the wing works fine with multiple stage bottles. I bought my wing secondhand, combined with dives of previous owner it has about 300 dives on it. Durability is excellent.
4) I like redundancy and bought a dual-bladder wing because we have plans to dive doubles in warm water and hence cannot use my dry suit for backup. I don't want to be playing around with a lift bag except for lifting other objects and sending up a marker.
5) The left-hand deflator is not ideally placed, but with a little rotational adjustment it works fine.
6) The right-hand deflator I leave unattached from my air supply. I tuck it in one of the bungee cords and can either manually inflate or use my dry suit hose in case the other bladder fails.
7) My wing came with a comfort pad, shoulder straps and I latter bought weight pockets. After my tech training all this extra stuff has gone! If you want to dive DIR at some point in the future this is not the wing for you.
8) I have a travel BCD for overseas rec diving. This wing is heavy! However, it goes with me when I'm doing serious diving overseas. I use it exclusively in San Diego where I do most of my diving.
I'm fully aware some people hate this wing and will not say a good thing about it. Personally, I have been very happy with it and have no intentions of changing it out anytime soon.
Best regards,
Grey_Wulff
1) The wing has loads of lift, covers all circumstances. After I adjusted several of the bungees I find trim is excellent. The wing may create a little more drag in the water but I regularly do surface swims of 300 yards plus and it does not bother me.
2) The wing works just as well for singles as it does doubles. I dive HP100, HP120, 2xLP80 and 2xLP95
3) The wing is very well made, the D-rings are very meaty and the wing works fine with multiple stage bottles. I bought my wing secondhand, combined with dives of previous owner it has about 300 dives on it. Durability is excellent.
4) I like redundancy and bought a dual-bladder wing because we have plans to dive doubles in warm water and hence cannot use my dry suit for backup. I don't want to be playing around with a lift bag except for lifting other objects and sending up a marker.
5) The left-hand deflator is not ideally placed, but with a little rotational adjustment it works fine.
6) The right-hand deflator I leave unattached from my air supply. I tuck it in one of the bungee cords and can either manually inflate or use my dry suit hose in case the other bladder fails.
7) My wing came with a comfort pad, shoulder straps and I latter bought weight pockets. After my tech training all this extra stuff has gone! If you want to dive DIR at some point in the future this is not the wing for you.
8) I have a travel BCD for overseas rec diving. This wing is heavy! However, it goes with me when I'm doing serious diving overseas. I use it exclusively in San Diego where I do most of my diving.
I'm fully aware some people hate this wing and will not say a good thing about it. Personally, I have been very happy with it and have no intentions of changing it out anytime soon.
Best regards,
Grey_Wulff
cdreamer
Contributor
I don't have the double bladder but use 94# lift bladder w/ bands
and single 100's and trim is fine.
and single 100's and trim is fine.
JeffBernst
New
I just began using a dual bladder OMS 60 lb wing with a SS backplate and twin 104 hp steels. So far, I find that the rig is extremely stable and easy to trim underwater. I've also installed the bungees and had no problem mouth inflating the bladder.
As to the issue of needing a redundant bladder, I actually had a bladder failure at depth with another dual bladder wing. I pulled the dump valve to vent gas and found that the valve came off in my hand! I was happy to have another inflator.
As to using the dry suit as the backup bladder . . . I would much rather use the dry suit air bubble for its intended purpose--keeping me warm and use my backup bladder for precise buoyancy while I ascend or do staged decompression.
As to the issue of needing a redundant bladder, I actually had a bladder failure at depth with another dual bladder wing. I pulled the dump valve to vent gas and found that the valve came off in my hand! I was happy to have another inflator.
As to using the dry suit as the backup bladder . . . I would much rather use the dry suit air bubble for its intended purpose--keeping me warm and use my backup bladder for precise buoyancy while I ascend or do staged decompression.
PfcAJ
Contributor
You don't need a dual bladder wing, you need a balanced rig (search for it). You also don't need 94lbs of lift (60 is the extreme upper bound for even the largest tanks). You certainly dont need bungees around it. If your OPV or inflator mechanism breaks, the bungees force air out. That could be very bad.
I think you'll ultimately be unhappy with a 'dual purpose' wing that is supposed to accommodate singles and doubles. They don't do either very well.
I think you'll ultimately be unhappy with a 'dual purpose' wing that is supposed to accommodate singles and doubles. They don't do either very well.
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