starter looking for some advice on BCs

[rongoodman]

That's good to hear. Back when I used to follow a couple of the UK dive groups I remember seeing or hearing about them fairly often.

 

[Centrals]

Why are they referred to as bungee wings of death I am purchasing an oms wing with bungee it gas 96lbs of lift everyone I dive has bungied wings cuz it keeps them streamlined when not inflated they don't need the extra lift but it is there if needed

At least one diving agency have couple of paragraphs on the matter in its manual!!!!
I dive with one(60lbs) for many yrs. No issue whatsoever.

 

[matrium]

I guess i nailed it down to a few choices

a) Tecline stuff, since i already found a shop in Germany and might even find one in Austria selling it. Would make returning stuff in case of failures much easier!

b) DSS stuff. What i like is that Tobin already took some time and helped me understanding what i really need. Also i like that they sell backplates in different sizes, because one size cannot seriously fit everyone, right? As i am pretty much exactly 6 feet tall i am still torn between a medium and a large backplate though. My problem with DSS is that they are like on the other side of the planet and it would take weeks and cost a lot of transportation cost if i send them something to repair. MAYBE i just worry to much

c) John from DiveRightInScuba told me he will try to check which of their brands are serviceable somewhere nearby. Very interesting, since they have some nice sets too


Any more thoughts from you guys? I am pretty sure now what i want:
Single Tank Setup
Steel Backplate
30lbs/15kg Wing
Simple Harness - guess you can't really go wrong there, but i somehow prefer simple designs with no big logos. Just don't like beeing used as a billboard in general.

---------- Post added January 11th, 2016 at 03:10 PM ----------

What bugs me a bit is the lack of BP/W BCDs in local shops in Vienna. I've been to 2 shops and they all just had jacket style BCDs. I really don't understand why that is. Even when looking through online shops in Vienna you get the feeling that divers in Austria just use jacket-style BCDs and nothing else. So far i found ONE shop selling that expensive Halcyon BP/W-stuff, but thats it.

 

[dmaziuk]

My problem with DSS is that they are like on the other side of the planet and it would take weeks and cost a lot of transportation cost if i send them something to repair. MAYBE i just worry to much

Keep in mind there isn't much that can go wrong with a metal plate and 2" webbing should be available from a hardware store. If you can unzip the outer shell, you can patch holes in the wing: any p/u patch kit should work incl. bicycle tyre patches. So that pretty much leaves the corrugated hose connection and the inflator valve. Not sure how much one needs to worry about those failing.

 

[divad]

.......

 

[Centrals]

What bugs me a bit is the lack of BP/W BCDs in local shops in Vienna. I've been to 2 shops and they all just had jacket style BCDs. I really don't understand why that is. Even when looking through online shops in Vienna you get the feeling that divers in Austria just use jacket-style BCDs and nothing else. So far i found ONE shop selling that expensive Halcyon BP/W-stuff, but thats it.

deepstop.de
Plate + harness for Eur 195.00

 

[matrium]

Keep in mind there isn't much that can go wrong with a metal plate and 2" webbing should be available from a hardware store. If you can unzip the outer shell, you can patch holes in the wing: any p/u patch kit should work incl. bicycle tyre patches. So that pretty much leaves the corrugated hose connection and the inflator valve. Not sure how much one needs to worry about those failing.

Hm i guess that makes sense. Tobin from DSS also said that the most common parts needing service are the power inflator and corrugated hose. That brings me directly to another question: are these parts normalized in any way? Meaning if it breaks can i just buy a generic inflator and hose somewhere else and attach it to my wing? Maybe that's a stupid question

 

[tbone1004]

yes, inflators and dump valves are all pretty universal. The only reason you'd ever have to ship a wing back is if you damaged the wing bladder itself. Everything else is pretty universal, though it is usually better to just buy a new wing at that point.

 

[matrium]

I am pretty sealed on the DSS rig now, but the shipping cost is high with about 120$. Also they are not really sure if that already includes import tax and stuff like that. Really hard to find solid information on the internet too. Is any of you guys from europe by chance and has ordered stuff from the U.S.? That extra cost is already hard, but if they get some crazy ideas like applying our usual 20% VAT to it, that would be hard. And how in hell would they even do that? It's not like the value of the package is printed outside or something. So can i assume that if that cost is not collected by UPS noone will? Maybe they expect me to specify it in my tax equalization, but maybe i just forget it, things like that happen xD

Good old european taxes...

Oh man, at least it's not like they are already taking like 40% of my income away because of income tax.

Oh wait... they do that...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Keep in mind there isn't much that can go wrong with a metal plate and 2" webbing should be available from a hardware store. If you can unzip the outer shell, you can patch holes in the wing: any p/u patch kit should work incl. bicycle tyre patches. So that pretty much leaves the corrugated hose connection and the inflator valve. Not sure how much one needs to worry about those failing.

I thought you can't unzip the DSS wings because there is no zipper??? A pinch flat means shipping it back - no field fixes??

Replacing an inflator is simple, but pinch flats and holes in the bladder are the next most likely source of troubles - I think, anyway.