OP
BP/W in Taiwan
- Thread starter Graham15
- Start date
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cool_hardware52
Contributor
Graham,
Currently you are using about 14 lbs total ballast (lead + regulator)
Your BC is likely 2-3 lbs positive with an empty bladder, due to padding etc.
Your tank is +3 at ~500 psi
14 -3 (tank) -3 (bc) = 8 Your wetsuit is about 8 lbs positive.
Your wing (or any bc) need to meet two criteria; be able to float your gear at the surface, and be able to compensate for the loss of buoyancy of your exposure suit.
Your wetsuit cannot loose more buoyancy than it starts with, so you need at least 8 lbs of lift to offset the worst case scenario, a completely compressed suit.
Large Backplate and harness will be about -7 lbs, your reg is -2 and a full al 80 is bout -2. That makes your rig about -11 with a full tank, and about -6 with your tank at 500 psi.
To float your gear a the surface with a full tank will require a minimum of 11 lbs of lift.
Given that 11 > 8 the requirement to float your gear at the start of the dive dictates he minimum size of the wing.
We offer a 17 lbs wing, which would provide enough lift for your application.
These small wings are a joy to use in warm water, but would likely not provide enough lift if you need to use heavier (more buoyant) exposure suits, or large negative steel tanks.
If you contemplate thicker suits / bigger steel tanks you may want consider a slightly larger wing in the 20-26 lbs range.
BTW at 6'1" you would be a "large" in our plate sizing system, but would be a "Standard" in most others. Most back plates are just under 16" tall, 15 1/2" - 15 3/4" is typical because the material they are cut from is 48 " wide.
Our medium plates are 15" and our large plates are 16"
Let me know if you have other questions.
Tobin
OP
Tobin,
Thank you very much for the info. That answers a lot of questions for me. It also gives me a lot more to think about. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the coming days as I do more research. Also, do you ship to Taiwan? Thanks
Graham
cool_hardware52
Contributor
OP
Tobin,
I'm trying to decide between the LCD 20, the LCD 20 W/ 22 mil bladder and the torus 26. Can you offer any advice?
Thanks
Graham
cool_hardware52
Contributor
The LCD wings are fitted with a 12 mil bladder as standard , and can be fitted with a heavier gauge 22 mil bladder as an option.
The Torus wings are fitted with the 22mil bladder as standard.
The heavier gauge bladders provide greater resistance to damage from impact or pinch flats. Pinch flats are by far the most common way to damage a wing. Penetration or other failure of the outer shell is almost unknown.
I always recommend using the smallest lift capacity wing that meets the requirements I listed in my previous post, float your rig at the surface with a full cylinder, and compensate for the compression of your exposure suit.
If 20 lbs will meet you current needs, and foreseeable needs I recommend it.
If you anticipate needing more lift capacity, heavier exposure suit, or large negative steel tanks then a Torus 26 is a good choice.
The LCD 20 is smaller and packs up a bit smaller than the Torus.
Tobin
I believe we spoke on the phone....offer still stands that you can demo a Halcyon Eclipse or Oxycheq Razor. Sorry I don't have a DSS but would like to someday. Then after you buy one you can join the DIR-F class Jan13 in Kending, Taiwan.
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