Wing Choice Question

[WVRICK]

I am getting back into diving and need to buy new equipment. After reading lots of posts on here I decided to go with BP/W for several reasons. I will be diving singles, mostly warm water 3mm wetsuit or shorty. I contacted DSS and Tobin recommended a Torus 17 and I tend to trust the guy who makes these things. However, I see posts on here abut people using 30s and 40s with singles. What exactly am I missing? What should I get and why?

 

[Tortuga68]

40 is way overkill for the type of diving you list, assuming single AL80 tank, you could dive doubles with a 40 - even 30 is more than you need although will work ok

If you're going to dive colder waters at times and use heavier exposure protection/steel tanks, could be a different story

 

[dbulmer]

To the OP,
I've seen DSS kit over here and it's well made and worth buying.
Tobin knows his stuff so I think you can take his advice without worry.

30lb and 40lb wings to cut a long story short are for people who need a bit of weight to sink or need lift because of the gear they use - what you are wearing and the gear you are carrying contribute to this.

 

[chrpai]

Once you avoid the crazy wings such as a 60lb wing that claims to be for singles or doubles you're pretty much ok. The real world difference between a 17lb wing and a 27lb (what I dive) isn't that much. I'll trust that Tobin asked all the right questions and that you answered truthfully. The 17lb will be nice and you'll like it.

But, will you ever be doing cold water diving locally? If so, you might need a bigger wing or two wings.

 

[WVRICK]

Thanks for the input. I too think I can trust Tobin and his advice since it is best to have happy safe customers. Glad you mentioned the local diving which I may do in colder water so I will talk with Tobin and have him factor in that so I can get by with one wing.

 

[Griffo]

Once you avoid the crazy wings such as a 60lb wing that claims to be for singles or doubles you're pretty much ok. The real world difference between a 17lb wing and a 27lb (what I dive) isn't that much. I'll trust that Tobin asked all the right questions and that you answered truthfully. The 17lb will be nice and you'll like it.

I find a world of difference between my 30# and 23# wings.

To the OP - the wing has to be able to do two thing
a) float the rig on the surface both with you in or out of it and a full tank
b) provide enough lift for you with a full tank and maximum suit compression

A is mostly determined by what tanks you choose, and whether your weight is on the BC or on you
B is mostly determined by how much exposure protection you need. There can be a 20# difference between a 3mm shortie and a 7mm farmer john for instance. The more suit, the more lead, the bigger the wing needs to be.

 

[gbf]

I got the same recommendation from Tobin, and did as he said. T17 + stainless plate is perfect for me and my 3 women (wife/2 daughters) doing Caribbean diving. I use no additional weight, wife uses 6 lb, and girls use 2 and 4.

 

[WVRICK]

Darn, the thought of diving with little or no weight is so tempting it means I will probably end up getting two wings ( a 17 and a 30) when I save enough money. Thanks for the input. When I saw people wanting 40 wings in the tropics I thought what the heck am I missing

 

[Sevenrider860]

I will be diving singles, mostly warm water 3mm wetsuit or shorty.

I spent last week in the Dry Tortugas on the M/V Spree. Single AL80 with 2.5mm shorty. The T17 w/ DSS Backplate was the perfect combination for that diving. You cant go wrong with a DSS purchase.

 

[danvolker]

I have a 19 pound halcyon wing, and the 27 pound wing....The issues I see relate to my tank choice....If I am using an Al 80, the 19 pound wing is the most ideal by far--it is the slickest, allowing the best glides between kick strokes, the least work in propulsion, so the best bottom time.

If I use our hp100 tanks ( the one's we have are the heaviest 100's I have ever heard of), the 19 pound lift wing has to be almost fully inflated to get neutral at the beginning of the dive. This is with the steel backplate and a big light cannister--which I use with whatever wing I attach.

I used to sometimes use LP 120 tanks, which were less negative than the hp100's...so were also OK with the 19 pound wing...

I like to have more potential lift in the wing to compensate for cameras and the needs of helping another diver at the surface....I have been in the situation when using an HP100 mated to a 19# wing, where I came up with some other divers, and one was having issues with a BC failure, and was freaked, and I had to support this other diver on the surface, plus my camera, and myself....this meant that with the 19 pound wing, I was staying on the surface by doing a 1.5 mph swim effort straight up---swimming upward this hard at the surface to stay there.....fortunately the boat arrived within about 5 minutes, but it was a tiring event that I could imagine occurring again---which means my gear choice with the 19# wing was a poor choice if I wanted to be easily able to support a buddy. The 28 pound lift wing would have been ideal for this...and had I been using the Al 80 tank, so would the 19 # wing.... My wetsuit is a 2.5 mil freedive suit, with very little buoyancy--without a tank on, I need about 7 pounds on a weightbelt to be neutral.

So the other factor for you---if you are normally needing to use 12 pounds of weight on a belt or more, then again, the 19# wing may be better--as the one dive in many hundred where you might need to support another dive issue would be worth just dropping the weightbelt at the surface--for the added streamlining....and if you needed more weight than me, then the 19 is delivering more lift for the heavy tank also.