Best Deals on Singles BP/W

[Soloist]

Sorry guys but I am afraid that for Soloist its a VDH Argonaut wing or no wing.

That settles that! Obviously Lisa loves her VDH #18 wing. The narrow slots on the wing work perfectly with extended slots on our 2013 vintage Freedom Plates.

I think the reason Hog wings are so wide is because they designed the center panel of the wing to match the shape of their plate, which is a standard doubles style plate, and this could have been to avoid pinch flats caused by the plate overlapping any part of the bladder area. When the two are combined it looks normal, however with the Freedom Plate it looks really wide and there is a lot of extra center panel showing on the sides that doesn’t seem to be right. I also noticed with the Hog wing that with all that extra material the bladder with a little air in it, it would flop around and roll from side to side with lateral movements. Kind of annoying.
It’s a shame because I really like the quality of the Hog wings and the price point is great. They’re just so damn wide!
If you’re looking for streamlined I recommend @OWIC647 ’s VDH wing. It’s the ticket from what I have seen personally.

Here is a pic of the #23 HOG wing. To put this in perspective, that is an 8” diameter AL100 tank. This scenario is much worse when diving my 7.25” diameter steel 120’s with the #32 wing. Could be the motivation for HOG offering up the #32 wing with bungee loops.

 

[ams511]

Those are reduced prices not retail.
Look at MSRP. If you notice the other brands don’t have a crossed out first figure. You can’t count on cut rate internet prices as actual long term price quotes.

The only place a diver pays retail (MSRP) for an Oxycheq wing is at Oxycheq's online website. This is the same strategy for many companies that use dealers. Just pick up a newspaper and look at car ads. I picked NESS because their price is in the middle, CA's is a bit higher, and Golem's is a bit lower.

I do remember the price spike but that was well over 5 years ago if not closer to 10. After that the price of the wings have been stable. So none of the retailers I mention are giving cut-rate internet prices. This is what the market price is. Granted it is a rather small market.

I do not know what relevance future prices have on a diver wanting to buy a wing today. People buy on sale precisely because they know the price is going up in the future.

Oxycheq wings are well constructed wings and are currently priced in the ballpark with other wings, so your original post is incorrect. I realize some people dislike the owner or had a bad experience with the company, if that is the case then say that rather than knocking the product.

 

[ams511]

Thank you....I'm very pleased with the wing/plate combos I offer these days and I've done a tremendous amount of work getting the best possible quality at a price point that's attractive to most divers. Try as I might, I sometimes get a little PO'd when I read negative or derogatory stuff posted by keyboard divers who neither know me or have ever used anything I offer....Goes back to the famous saying on SB ....I don't know it, don't teach it, don't dive it so therefore it must be crap mentality....

I don't remember anywhere in this thread where anyone said your products are crap. I remember Stuart saying he was a bit put off by your comments in another thread and looking at post #22, the OP was a bit put off by either yours, Tobin's, or both responses. So you may want to not take everything personally.

One of the great things for buyers (but not so good for sellers) is that the online scuba market is mature with a lot of great sellers. DGX, Leisurepro, DRIS, Scuba.com, Piranha, Cave Adventurers, Diver's Supply, and of course VDH, just to name a few give excellent service. Just because someone talks positively about DGX or anyone else doesn't mean they are talking negatively about VDH.

The OP specifically asked what is the cheapest rig they can buy. At $299 DGX has the cheapest rig out there, whether it is the best value is up to debate. Stuart did not like the harness and spent some time linking the bits he likes. Some people do not like the cross-hair pattern of the wing, etc. In my experience, there is no perfect off-the-shelf rig. They all require a bit of tweaking here and there. Admittedly some are personal preferences, for example I prefer the oval correlated hoses over the round ones. Some vary depending on use, for example for local diving I prefer metal cam straps, for travel plastic, etc.

If you don't mind a bit of advice, please make the descriptions on your website more detailed. That is your first contact with potential customers.

 

[Bryan@Vintage Double Hose]

Thanks for straightening me out I'll try to do better in the future.

 

[uncfnp]

I don't remember anywhere in this thread where anyone said your products are crap. I remember Stuart saying he was a bit put off by your comments in another thread and looking at post #22, the OP was a bit put off by either yours, Tobin's, or both responses. So you may want to not take everything personally.

One of the great things for buyers (but not so good for sellers) is that the online scuba market is mature with a lot of great sellers. DGX, Leisurepro, DRIS, Scuba.com, Piranha, Cave Adventurers, Diver's Supply, and of course VDH, just to name a few give excellent service. Just because someone talks positively about DGX or anyone else doesn't mean they are talking negatively about VDH.

It has been suggested on SB previously that some businesses actually do themselves a disservice by posting frequently on SB and sometimes this is absolutely true. You just cited two prime examples. There is a popular manufacturer that posts on SB that I absolutely will not buy from based solely on his online responses on SB. And a dive op that, while not the only factor, his comments on SB have convinced me to dive elsewhere.

As for Bryan and VDH, FWIW I cringed both times, with the previous wing thread and his comments to Stuartv and also in this thread, and both times it seemed out of character with the Bryan that has helped me with equipment needs on two occasions. And the Bryan that has purchased used gear with his own funds to then donate to worthy causes.

 

[mstevens]

$ 10 - 12' of 2" webbing Goldilocks Harness Webbing, per {1 ft | 30 cm}

That doesn’t appear to be a working link. It is available, though.

 

[uncfnp]

That doesn’t appear to be a working link. It is available, though.

Looks like they changed the link address. Try this.

Goldilocks Harness Webbing, per {1 ft | 30 cm}

 

[kmarks]

$170 - HOG 23# wing Hog 23lb 360 Wing

Was that a sale price? That wing is $299.95 right now. That makes just a tiny bit of a difference in the overall price.

 

[stuartv]

Was that a sale price? That wing is $299.95 right now. That makes just a tiny bit of a difference in the overall price.

No idea. I just googled for the wing that day and found it at that price on that site. I got mine on sale from Dive Right In Scuba a while back for the same price it was listed on Diver Supply, so I think they are out there at that price, but I guess it might require a little patient shopping.

For $300 just for the wing, I would be searching for it elsewhere or looking at something different. Probably the DGX wing for $199 by itself. Or possibly a VDH wing.

 

[Soloist]

Was that a sale price? That wing is $299.95 right now. That makes just a tiny bit of a difference in the overall price.

Valid point. You will see the HOG wings at discounted prices periodically, but normally the price is comparable to their competitors. I own the #32 and the #23, but unfortunately can’t recommend them based on the previous comments in this thread. Cheers.