Another 'which rig' thread

[ferris213]

Hi Tobin/ DSS

I was wondering if you could give me some guidance on which rig is best suited to me.

I'm 6'2", 178lbs. I use a 5mm full length beauchat wetsuit, 3mm booties and sometimes a 3mm hood. Mares avanti Quatro fins (maybe a little bit positive?) I normally rent standard Al 80 tanks. I currently dive a Mares Dragon jacket style bc.

I currently use 14lbs of lead.

My question is, what size plate/wing would you recommend. I suspect SS plate will be best. If that is the case how will I go if I get to dive in warmer water, ie not wetsuit?

I notice your wings have the corrugated hose located in the centre of the wing, rather than off to the left. Does this foul a yoke fitting? I have a mares abyss 42 if it makes a difference. Why do you mount them in the centre?

I remember reading one of you wing styles doesn't have a zipper, is this correct? If so why not? How would you repair the bladder in the event of a pinch flat?

Thanks for your time, I have been looking at a few brands but the number of people singing your praises here has made the choice a real no brainer!

Regards,
Pat

 

[cool_hardware52]

Hi Tobin/ DSS

I was wondering if you could give me some guidance on which rig is best suited to me.

I'm 6'2", 178lbs. I use a 5mm full length beauchat wetsuit, 3mm booties and sometimes a 3mm hood. Mares avanti Quatro fins (maybe a little bit positive?) I normally rent standard Al 80 tanks. I currently dive a Mares Dragon jacket style bc.

I currently use 14lbs of lead.

My question is, what size plate/wing would you recommend. I suspect SS plate will be best. If that is the case how will I go if I get to dive in warmer water, ie not wetsuit?

I notice your wings have the corrugated hose located in the centre of the wing, rather than off to the left. Does this foul a yoke fitting? I have a mares abyss 42 if it makes a difference. Why do you mount them in the centre?

I remember reading one of you wing styles doesn't have a zipper, is this correct? If so why not? How would you repair the bladder in the event of a pinch flat?

Thanks for your time, I have been looking at a few brands but the number of people singing your praises here has made the choice a real no brainer!

Regards,
Pat

Hi Pat,

At 6'2" I'd suggest a "large" plate. With al 80's and 5mm suits a Stainless Steel plate is a better choice, as you need some ballast.

14 lbs of lead + 2 lbs of regulator is about 16 lbs of total ballast. About 4 of these are required for the buoyant al 80 cylinder, leaving about 12 for your suit.

Your "rig" will be about - 11 lbs with a full cylinder, ~7 for the plate and harness, 2 for your reg and 2 for a full al 80.

With a suit that's ~12 positive and rig that's only about 11 lbs negative you can use a small wing. The Torus 17 or LCD 20 are both reasonable choices.

If zipper access is important to you, the LCD wings have zippers. In reality bladder access via zipper is of little use if you don't carry an extra bladder and the tools required to remove and reinstall the fittings.

We can of course service the bladders in Torus wings here at DSS. This is seldom necessary.

All of our wings have centered fill hoses simply because it makes venting easier. Interference with reg first stages is uncommon, and easily cured by simply rotating the cylinder slightly if necessary. This too is very seldom a problem if the cylinder is correctly positioned height wise.

Recap:

Large SS Plate
Hogarthian Harness
LCD 20 or Torus 17 Wing
(cambands and wedgeblocks included)

Tobin

 

[ferris213]

Thanks Tobin, I think the 17 Torus looks good.

If needed can I fit 2 x 1lb weights threaded directly onto the cambands? Will this damage the wing at all?

One other thing, if I had the opportunity do dive warm water with no wetsuit, am I correct in thinking this set up will still be ok? (11lb neg rig with a 17lb wing?) I guess it won't be ideal because the wing will need to be mostly inflated to be neutral but it should be safe right? I won't do much of this type of diving at all so I'm not sure I can afford a Kydex plate as well.

Again, Thanks for taking the time to help me with this.
Regards,
Pat

 

[cool_hardware52]

Thanks Tobin, I think the 17 Torus looks good.

If needed can I fit 2 x 1lb weights threaded directly onto the cambands? Will this damage the wing at all?

One other thing, if I had the opportunity do dive warm water with no wetsuit, am I correct in thinking this set up will still be ok? (11lb neg rig with a 17lb wing?) I guess it won't be ideal because the wing will need to be mostly inflated to be neutral but it should be safe right? I won't do much of this type of diving at all so I'm not sure I can afford a Kydex plate as well.

Again, Thanks for taking the time to help me with this.
Regards,
Pat

I'm not a fan of adding weight to the cambands. Belts are simple and widely available. 4-6 lbs in a belt is easily tolerated by almost any diver.

Regarding diving with no suit; being overweighted is not a good idea, and the solution is never the BC. Being overweighted is correctly solved by changing components such as more buoyant suit, less negative tanks, less negative back plate etc.

Tobin

 

[ferris213]

All good points, I'll be placing an order soon.

Thanks.
Pat