Any special skills needed for bp/wings?

[SparticleBrane]

Sometimes I think he does that just to get on our nerves.

 

[djanni]

Oh Gawd,

Now I suppose that by that comment a bp/w cam band is more complicated than a regular bc cam band?

It's just weight pockets on a cam band what else... it's a no brainer.

Your claims that a bp/w is a more complicated setup is just that pure BS, your limited experience with a bp/w is like what less than 20 dives and you returned the setup to Tobin.

All of your queries for assistance just shows how little you really know about diving and here you are giving advice to folks?

What a phoney.

SangP

Okay Smarty pants... you tell all of us how to do it. And remember, it's really really simple right!!?!

There is a single tank. The tank bands are the typical style. For balance, we want a trim/weight pouch on each side of the tank. How is this done so that you can still bring the tank strap around and get the velcro to match up?

To help you remember here is my original post:

It may not be that simple. How much weight and what style camstrap makes a difference?

 

[isurus]

Oh Gawd,


It's just weight pockets on a cam band what else... it's a no brainer.

actually I was, I think, the first to mention tank weights on this thread and I was referring to something other than weights on a cam band. In South Africa I used these really nice long thin tube weights that mounted in clusters around the tank and spread the weight all along your back in a similar way to a backplate

 

[eandiver]

OMS constantly wraps cord around their wings and the wings do not seem streamlined at all. I want something simple, not a crazy wing with cords wrapped around it or one with freaky holes.

As for Diverite, I have simply not been impressed with the quality of the gear of theirs that I have seen/held/dive with and after conversations with other people who own rec-wings I have come to the conclusion that they are not the best choices.

I've had my rec-wing from the TransPac2 to my current BP set up and the quality seems fine to me. Out of curiosity what problems are folks having with them?

They also came with bungees but going to doubles you just remove them. Can't you do that with OMS wings?

Freaky holes ............I like that description.

 

[zach5150]

I don't have personal experience with the Torus wings. Now I have held a few DSS wings in my hands and they seem to be of excellent build. However, the Torus wings have these large freaky holes in them. They do not have a place to bolt on an STA. I know the big thing with DSS is STA-less designs, but my personal preference is to use an STA for stability and weight and therefore I cannot advise others onto the new torus single wings.http://www.deepseasupply.com/page21.html

I'm not really picking your preferences apart....it's just that there is so much confusing and sometimes innaccurate information posted on this board that it makes it hard to for people learn about stuff..(which is why alot of us are here). You are making statements about your opinions, which everybody respects....but if you've never used the gear, I submit that maybe some of your opinions are a not based in any solid experience.

Now, I've never dove w/ a STA. So, I cannot and will not say it's better or worse than the STAless design. What I can say is that my STAless system from Tobin is absolutely rock solid. When I mount my tank it doesnt move, even a little bit. It requires less hardware, is very easy to break down for cleaning and maintenance and is a lower profile design than systems w/ STA's.

So, as I said, I have not dove an STA system, so I'm not saying that they're bad. Obviously, they work great...tons of people use them and are very happy...
But I'd be willing to put my Torus system up against anything out there for 1)ease of use, 2)quality of build, 3)thought/design of the shape of the bladder and position of dumps, and inflator hose., 4)profile of design, 5)stability of the tank mounting system, 6)support from the mfg...and any other thing you can think of to measure a BP/W system by.

Bottom line is everyone has their own stuff they like to use...thats why we all have choices. ,

 

[Vayu]

Zach I understand what you are saying. DSS gear looks to be pretty good. The wings look like they are pretty solid. However, when I judge a wing I look for some versatility. Can a DSS torus wing be bolted onto a standard backplate? I don't know, but with those large freaky holes it would seem questionable. I use a Golem wing and the way it came was 'STA-less' as well. It had rods built into the wing and slots for a cam band. However, this wing and most wings also have two smaller holes to bolt it directly to the backplate or to install a single tank adapter.

I've dove without an STA and with one. I for one prefer to dive with one, and it provides about 1# of ballast as well. With a standard steel backplate and an STA the rig comes to about 7 lbs. With a DSS backplate and no option to use an STA the weight of the rig would be negative by about 5 lbs. Since the 35 Torus wing is also a bit butt-light it almost forces a diver who would wear very little weight to add weight around the waist.

In most other systems a weighted single tank adapter could be used to offset any weight on a belt that might be needed. Now some times weight belts are justified but down here a wetsuit and backplate is usually sufficient. Due to the fact that alot of people down here can dive without a belt if an STA is used I do not like that the torus wing does not allow for it. So if a friend asked me to set them up with a system I would get them a wing with holes for the bolts.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Zach I understand what you are saying. DSS gear looks to be pretty good. The wings look like they are pretty solid. However, when I judge a wing I look for some versatility. Can a DSS torus wing be bolted onto a standard backplate? I don't know, but with those large freaky holes it would seem questionable. I use a Golem wing and the way it came was 'STA-less' as well. It had rods built into the wing and slots for a cam band. However, this wing and most wings also have two smaller holes to bolt it directly to the backplate or to install a single tank adapter.

I've dove without an STA and with one. I for one prefer to dive with one, and it provides about 1# of ballast as well. With a standard steel backplate and an STA the rig comes to about 7 lbs. With a DSS backplate and no option to use an STA the weight of the rig would be negative by about 5 lbs. Since the 35 Torus wing is also a bit butt-light it almost forces a diver who would wear very little weight to add weight around the waist.

In most other systems a weighted single tank adapter could be used to offset any weight on a belt that might be needed. Now some times weight belts are justified but down here a wetsuit and backplate is usually sufficient. Due to the fact that alot of people down here can dive without a belt if an STA is used I do not like that the torus wing does not allow for it. So if a friend asked me to set them up with a system I would get them a wing with holes for the bolts.

What do you perceive is the advantage of an STA? I can only think of one application where I feel it would be advantageous ... and that's if you're mounting a large (19CF or larger) pony bottle off to one side of your tank, so the rigidity of a long, inflexible STA would provide some added stability for the cantilever effect caused by mounting the pony to one side of the main cylinder. Otherwise, it's a non-issue.

I currently dive three types of singles wings ... Oxycheq 45, Eclipse 40, and Torus 35. I dive the Oxycheq and Eclipse wings with an STA, and the Torus without. Personally, I prefer the Torus. It pulls the tank in closer to my body, it's longer and it's slimmer. From a performance perspective, it simply feels easier to manage underwater. On the surface, because of the difference in wing shape, it provides as much lift in a 35 lb wing as my Eclipse does in a 40 lb wing ... based on how high my face is out of the water on surface swims.

Not sure what bothers you about the center panel holes ... that part of the wing gets trapped between the tank and the backplate, so from a performance perspective, there's no possible issue that I can think of. If you want to use an STA, you have simply to remove the STA that's built into the wing, pull the rubber stoppers out of the wing, and mount it just as you would any other wing. It doesn't take much effort at all ... although I'm not sure what benefit you would derive from doing so.

Personally, I have five BP/W rigs hanging in my garage ... on any given day I can grab any one of them and go diving. I seem to be reaching for the Torus rig more often than not lately. Frankly, they're all good rigs ... it's just that I find the Torus to be a bit more "comfortable" to dive with than the others ... kind've like a favorite pair of jeans that you just want to wash and put back on again.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[zach5150]

I'd like to point out that I wasnt trying to beat up on Vayu....I was just trying to learn more about his reasoning for his recommendations.....thanks for your response to that Vayu...

NWGreatfulDiver...thanks for your insight as well....I only own own BP/W as of now, and after reading your post, sounds like I bought the right one! (for now!)

Cheers to everyone....go dive...stay safe....have fun...that's what it's all about right?

 

[fishb0y]

Hopefully people will look at Vayu's number of dives before they start thinking he is the leading expert on BP/Ws. Just looking at them doesn't really qualify as an expert in my opinion.

I dive a DSS but unfortunately I have not tried a one of the Torus Single Wings. I have the double wing and I think that it is outstanding. I do have some reservations about the zipper less design of the single, but with product support that you have from Tobin and his crew, I would not hesitate to send the wing back to get it repaired. Not that I have had any problems with their gear, but as shown on SB many times, DSS stands proudly behind all their gear.

I did own a OMS IQ pack and I had a couple hundred dives on it (see how that is different than your 16-50 total). While I never had any problems with the bungies on the wings, I did make the mistake of having the largest wing available to use for both doubles and a single tank wing. My word of advice, get the smallest wing possible. My OMS was bulletproof.

I only had the opportunity to use a Diverite a couple of times, so I don't feel that I have the experience to say anything good or bad about them, except for the fact that a good friend of mine swears by them.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hopefully people will look at Vayu's number of dives before they start thinking he is the leading expert on BP/Ws. Just looking at them doesn't really qualify as an expert in my opinion.

Except that ... well ... you can't believe everything you read on the Internet.

For the longest time, I thought JeffG wasn't even certified ... for example ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)