New DGX wing

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30lb is too too much lift for a tropical, single-tank diver using minimal weight...

I do not really agree with this statement. 30 is not too much. It's probably more than is NEEDED. But, it's only too much if it creates some kind of problem.

I have the VDH 18 and the VDH 35. I can assure you that the VDH 35 is a great wing and you will not have ANY problems with it if you use it for tropical, single tank diving. I think the DGX wing is the same.

Think about what most tropical divers are using. Normal, integrated BCDs that most of them are using have as much as 45 pounds of lift. That does not cause a problem for any of them. The VDH 35 (and DGX 30) are well-designed wings and much smaller than those integrated BCDs.

Honestly, I suspect most people (including myself) probably could not tell any difference whatsoever in a blind test between diving the VDH 18 and the VDH 35.

I had the 35 first. I had absolutely no NEED for the 18. It is purely a luxury. I just WANTED it for a week of single tank, tropical diving that I had planned. It was great for that. But, I really cannot say that I would have been able to tell any difference in the water if I had had the 35.
 
Correct - may be more than needed, but I don't see it being a problem. I have two single tank wings, a 32 lb and a 23 lb. Honestly they feel about the same diving, and last time I was in FL and could have used either I just used the 32 lb wing as I prefer the inflator hose on it over the other one (the HOG oval style).
 
I’ve used my Halcyon 40lb single tank wing for everything from 3mm wetsuit diving (when the quarry was warm!) to drysuit diving with a lot of weight.

I’ve never been able to tell the difference in how my wing feels or behaves. The only wing difference I’ve been able to tell was when diving a horseshoe shaped wing with doubles (recently replaced with a doughnut)

That and the taco effect seem to be things some people just fret about.
 
My most "local" diving is like 28-30 degree... but in Celcius :cool: I'm a wuss, I'm never doing anything remotely temperate, let alone actually cold hehe. But you're right, there are considerations for the DM course in the future, or maybe deco diving with a pony - 18lb *might* be sufficient, but my Rescue instructor thinks 18 might cut it a bit close, while 30 is too much, so that's not helpful either...


They have been an absolute pleasure to work with! I'm also more confident in their ability to stay in business and 100% functioning. VDH is great but too boutique and runs the inherent risks of instability like Deep Sea Supply used to. One-man shows are always a bit suspect, even though many of them do churn out excellent products. Perhaps better chance of ensuring continued customer support in the future.

(I don't exactly *know* the sizes of those companies, but my impression is Oxycheq/DiveRite is bigger than DGX/DRIS is bigger than OMS is bigger than Deep 6/Edge-Hog is bigger than VDH/DSS etc. my estimations could be way off though :oops: what do you guys think? While small businesses can and do deliver top-notch quality, bigger companies have the cash flow to be more resilient when SHTF)

I have multiple divers in my house and multiple back plate and wings. I have 32lbs lift wings and 25lbs lift wings from Dive Rite and Edge-Hog....they are all very close in size....the reality is that regardless of what you get between 18-35lbs you are basically splitting hairs when comes to size among the same brand and even between some brands.

You would think that 30lbs is too much but I just spent the summer diving locally in a 5.5mm wetsuit in water no warmer than 20c, dived with single 12L steel tank rated to 232 bar and a 3L 200 bar steel pony bottle, no additional weight except my Dive Rite stainless steel backplate. A smaller wing would have worked but I was too lazy to pull my 32-35lb Dive Rite Voyager wing off and I am sure it did not hold me back in any way, shape or form.

You can fret over the amount of lift but basically you will not have any problems with any single tank wing you buy except if you buy one with limited lift now and something about your diving changes to where you need more in the future.

I tend to think that the DGX 30lbs lift wing is the best of all worlds...it is narrow, streamlined, and has adequate lift to be versatile across a band of temperaures/exposure suits.

Or buy an 18lbs lift wing and dive the cr*p out of it and buy another to suit your needs as they change.

Contact @stuartv....he purchased multiple single tank wings to see the size difference between them. He can give you first hand experience with just about all the sizes mentioned in this thread.

Good luck to you.

-Z
 
I do not really agree with this statement. 30 is not too much. It's probably more than is NEEDED. But, it's only too much if it creates some kind of problem.

I have the VDH 18 and the VDH 35. I can assure you that the VDH 35 is a great wing and you will not have ANY problems with it if you use it for tropical, single tank diving. I think the DGX wing is the same.

Think about what most tropical divers are using. Normal, integrated BCDs that most of them are using have as much as 45 pounds of lift. That does not cause a problem for any of them. The VDH 35 (and DGX 30) are well-designed wings and much smaller than those integrated BCDs.

Honestly, I suspect most people (including myself) probably could not tell any difference whatsoever in a blind test between diving the VDH 18 and the VDH 35.

I had the 35 first. I had absolutely no NEED for the 18. It is purely a luxury. I just WANTED it for a week of single tank, tropical diving that I had planned. It was great for that. But, I really cannot say that I would have been able to tell any difference in the water if I had had the 35.

Absolutely agree, I have used the VDH 35 wing doing single tank diving in Turks and Caicos, no problem whatsoever
 
I have a vdh 35 and will be getting the dgx 30 when im back in FL in a couple of months. Im going to do some comparison tests but i really dont think i'll notice any difference.
 
I have the VDH 18 as my dedicated travel wing. I can pack it in my carry on without any trouble.
Do you know exactly how much it weighs? The DGX is super light, around 2lbs. I don't think I can find anything else to complain about it! Great to see all the votes of confidence from everyone <3
 
7550C22D-1023-42B5-A28A-B46AF9BBEAD5.jpeg
I don’t have the exact weight of the wing, I’ll weigh mine in the coming days. I think that the main advantage of the 18 pound wing is the slim profile. Here is a pic on mine, fully inflated on a steel lp 85.... I use this wing whenever additional lift is not needed.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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