Scubapro Xtek Replacement Wing?

[Neilwood]

Been doing some dives this weekend with my brand new kit and realised that the wing on the X tek is absolutely huge (probably perfect for doubles bit huge for single tank).

Loved diving the bp&w set up but felt the wing moving huge amounts so can anyone suggest a replacement wing?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Cold water Wing lift is most a function of the buoyancy of your exposure suit.

Tobin

 

[tbone1004]

which wing do you have?

 

[Neilwood]

27kg horseshoe type. With hindsight I shouldn't have bought the horseshoe type as twins are not on the radar at the moment. Should probably have gone with a donut type as the horseshoe is flapping all over the place

I am diving with a 7mm wetsuit ( approx 14 kg of lead). If it helps I am 6'3 and about 135kg with a bit of bioprene

 

[cool_hardware52]

27kg horseshoe type. With hindsight I shouldn't have bought the horseshoe type as twins are not on the radar at the moment. Should probably have gone with a donut type as the horseshoe is flapping all over the place

I am diving with a 7mm wetsuit ( approx 14 kg of lead). If it helps I am 6'3 and about 135kg with a bit of bioprene

Without know *what* you use for a cylinder "14 kg of Lead" doesn't offer me much info about the buoyancy of your suit.

Assuming you are using a Stainless plate, and typical steel cylinder that is about -2 lbs empty then I can estimate that you are using ~31 lbs of lead, 2 lbs of regulator and about 6 lbs of plate and harness or ~39 of total ballast. That's a *lot* of ballast. The typical single piece 7mm full suit would be expected to be 18-28 lbs.

I'd suggest you test your suit before buying a new wing.

Keep in mind that personal buoyancy is usually *way* over estimated. I doubt you are 10+ lbs personally buoyant.

Personal buoyancy also need not be compensated for with your buoyancy compensator. Unlike a compressible wetsuit fat does not compress and need not be compensated for.

Tobin

 

[Neilwood]

The cylinder is a 12l steel (type unknown as it was a rental).

The plate is a stainless steel. The suit is a big one (4xl) as I needed it for height so probably at the extreme end of buoyancy. Also brand new prior to the weekends diving.

I am not sure if there was some residual air in the wing between the bladder and the cover (it does seem quite a big cover)

 

[tbone1004]

the covers are permeable and will bleed any air out fairly quickly. There are a lot of options to replace it with, but you need to do an accurate weight check first with just the suit to see what amount of lead you actually need, but something in the 15-20kg would be much more appropriate

 

[cool_hardware52]

The cylinder is a 12l steel (type unknown as it was a rental).


The plate is a stainless steel. The suit is a big one (4xl) as I needed it for height so probably at the extreme end of buoyancy. Also brand new prior to the weekends diving.

Test the suit. I've never seen a single piece 7mm suit that was 39 lbs positive.........

Roll it up *without* trapping a huge air bubble. Wrap a weight belt around it. Dunk in water. Add lead until it just sinks. Weigh the lead. Cast scuba weights are often inaccurately marked.

Once you know how buoyant your suit is you can confidently size the correct wing capacity.

Testing the suit removes the cylinder buoyancy from the equation, but it's still nice to know. Check with the dive op and find out what tanks they provide, then research that cylinder.

Tobin

 

[BoltSnap]

27kg horseshoe type. With hindsight I shouldn't have bought the horseshoe type as twins are not on the radar at the moment. Should probably have gone with a donut type as the horseshoe is flapping all over the place

I am diving with a 7mm wetsuit ( approx 14 kg of lead). If it helps I am 6'3 and about 135kg with a bit of bioprene

The wing you bought is meant for a double setup not a single tank for sure. You should have bought the 18Kg doughnut wing (or the 13Kg).

 

[tbone1004]

in his defence, scubapro does specifically state that is for singles or doubles, similar to the dive rite rec wing