So I am looking toward taking my advanced nitrox and decompression procedures sometime early next year. And I am looking at the what I need to convert by singles BPW to doubles, which is mostly a new wing, so I have narrowed it down to Dive Rite or Apeks. I favor Dive Rite because they are a local cave country brand, but I've heard good things about the Apeks wing. Has anyone dove both? Any reason to pick one over the other?
I have dove both Dive Rite doubles wings (the older Rec, the Classic and the Classic XT, and the old 77lb Super Wing) and Apeks double wings (60 lb, but not the 45). I presume you are thinking of the Classic or Classic XT as the DR wing.
I have found all of them to perform well, when I used them. I don't see any notable differences in features. I have a slight preference for Apeks simply because of the durability of the wing material and the weight of the power inflator, but that is only a slight preference. Some divers seem disinclined to use the Apeks wings because the casing is a bit on the stiff side. That is true, although I didn't find it to be a problem.
Obviously, the wing you select should reflect the cylinders you plan to dive. For double AL80s as an example, a 45 wing is adequate (Apeks 45 or Dive Rite Rec). For double steel 130s, it wouldn't be, and the Classic XT or Apeks 60 would be preferable.
Next is inflator length, I am favoring the 12" hose and I don't like how far down the 16" dangles, so I bungee it down making it harder to use it to dump air. Any negatives to selecting the 12" hose?
You choice of length is just that - your choice. I find 12" to be too short. Using a thin piece of bungee cord, run through the left chest D-ring / slide works well for me, it certainly doesn't impair my use of the hose., But, I also use the wing's butt dump 95% of the time anyway, so I seldom deploy the corrugated hose, or use it for purging air.
You might be interested in a discussion of the length issue in another current thread:
Wing inflator hose length/location/reach
