cool_hardware52
Contributor
I only know of Oxycheq and Apeks.
They seem more than adequate for single-tank recreational diving. Am I missing something?
If a brand offers limited choices in wings it makes it easier for retailers to stock them, and it relieves them from having to actually understand and explain why a given wing is or is not appropriate for a given application. I'd venture only a very small fraction of dive equipment resellers and their staff can quantitatively explain how much BC capacity is required. It's much easier to point at the wall display and say "you'd look good in that one"
As for 17 lbs wing being "too small" I'll point out that it wasn't all that many years ago that most divers used no BC at all, and some still dive using no BC. If one is properly weighted little to no inflation is necessary to remain at the surface.
Weighting, not BC capacity, is the key to comfort at the surface. The state of scuba education today is another impediment to wide spread use and acceptance of smaller wings. I typically spend 20-40 minutes on the phone with new divers looking for a BP&W, and virtually none of them understand what a BC is actually compensating for, or how to quantitatively estimate how much ballast they might need. Not their fault. Their BOW instructor told them they needed 10% of their body weight.....
Are there applications where a 17 lbs wing is insufficient? Sure, many. Highly buoyant exposure suits have the potential to lose more buoyancy and demand BC's that can replace this lost buoyancy, but 3mm suits that are ~3-5 lbs positive can't lose more than 3-5lbs.......
Tobin