Wing recommendations

[Tom Olsen]

Well,, don’t wanna go too low,, especially on my wife’s,, she might just have to give me a hand one day
Thanks for your input guys,, 30ish it is.

 

[Tom Olsen]

My insurance company (at the end of the day,, the airline) was in favor of my claim and most of my stuff has been purchased.
However, you guys seems to be both knowledgable and helpfull. Myself,, I have only experience with the Zeagle softplate (when it comes to B&W).
Hence,, I’m about to replace our BCD’s but it’s a though call. My shoulders are f... and not that flexible. When doning a traditional BCD I just clicked and released my harness.
My Zeagle softplate has (as all soft plates) a single «loop» which the web passes through whilst the other backplates has two slotts for the same «waist webbing». The single loop allows the webbing to release freely and open up a big loop for my arm/shoulder to slide through.
From my understanding, a hard backplate would not release the webbing the same way. Am I correct in my assumptions or am I overthinking it?

Also, when it comes to weight and packability I’m leaning to the DGX #30. Any thoughts about this?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[runsongas]

you can get a cinch system for the plate. subgravity has a slider system, agir makes the harpa, and halcyon has a cinch for their backplates. I have also seen some people only thread one side through one slot of the plate which allows you to pull the webbing through as needed for adjustment.

 

[Diver below 83]

My insurance company (at the end of the day,, the airline) was in favor of my claim and most of my stuff has been purchased.
However, you guys seems to be both knowledgable and helpfull. Myself,, I have only experience with the Zeagle softplate (when it comes to B&W).
Hence,, I’m about to replace our BCD’s but it’s a though call. My shoulders are f... and not that flexible. When doning a traditional BCD I just clicked and released my harness.
My Zeagle softplate has (as all soft plates) a single «loop» which the web passes through whilst the other backplates has two slotts for the same «waist webbing». The single loop allows the webbing to release freely and open up a big loop for my arm/shoulder to slide through.
From my understanding, a hard backplate would not release the webbing the same way. Am I correct in my assumptions or am I overthinking it?

Also, when it comes to weight and packability I’m leaning to the DGX #30. Any thoughts about this?

Thanks,
Tom

the dgx 30 seems to pack decently small for its overall size. Not a lot of bulk. They did a good job keeping it slim

 

[Hoag]

My shoulders are f... and not that flexible. When doning a traditional BCD I just clicked and released my harness.

Tom,
I am not that flexible either. I have my BP/W rigged in a way that offers the most possible adjustment, and it does it in a way that is effortless. The way I have mine rigged would, however drive "Hogarthian purists" off the deep end. (Which is kind of ironic since my last name actually is Hogarth. )

Instead of running my webbing through the slots at the bottom of the backplate, I add a small loop of webbing there and instead run my main webbing through a d-ring as shown in the pics. The allows me to pull the webbing as snug as I want during a dive, but once on the boat, I can loosen it off by several inches on each side, allowing me to easily get in or out of it.

Here is a diagram that shows how I have mine rigged.

I start off by rigging it the way you would any BP/W ...

... but at the bottom, I run about a 12-18 inch section of webbing (in this case the black webbing) with a D-ring on it through the BP instead of running the main webbing through the BP. I then secure it by running both ends through a tri-glide.

I then thread my main (in this case blue) webbing) through the D-ring (from behind).


To tighten or loosen my BP/W, it is simply a matter of pulling my webbing through the D-ring.

If you look carefully, you can also see in the photos that I have weight pocket attached to the black webbing. This gives me easy access to them if I need to ditch weight, but keeps them out of the way.

 

[drk5036]

My insurance company (at the end of the day,, the airline) was in favor of my claim and most of my stuff has been purchased.
However, you guys seems to be both knowledgable and helpfull. Myself,, I have only experience with the Zeagle softplate (when it comes to B&W).
Hence,, I’m about to replace our BCD’s but it’s a though call. My shoulders are f... and not that flexible. When doning a traditional BCD I just clicked and released my harness.
My Zeagle softplate has (as all soft plates) a single «loop» which the web passes through whilst the other backplates has two slotts for the same «waist webbing». The single loop allows the webbing to release freely and open up a big loop for my arm/shoulder to slide through.
From my understanding, a hard backplate would not release the webbing the same way. Am I correct in my assumptions or am I overthinking it?

Also, when it comes to weight and packability I’m leaning to the DGX #30. Any thoughts about this?

Thanks,
Tom

You have a lot of options. Check out the diverite deluxe harness. It has a parachute clip on one side that can be unbuckled to make doffing the rig easier. As others have mentioned there are other systems that can be used as well.

I have the DGX 30# wing, along with a VDH 23# wing that I bought first. I like the thicker fabric of the VDH a little bit more, but I wish I would have had the option to get the DGX 30# wing when I was originally shopping. It’s basically perfectly sized. Works for a semidry with a single steel tank, but you won’t notice the difference between it and a smaller wing for tropical diving.

 

[M-Cameron]

for a frame of reference, i just started diving a 23# wing, running it on a SS backplate, w/30# of lead with a 7mm suit....honestly was concerned it wouldnt be enough lift but it turns out its plenty.

 

[stuartv]

for a frame of reference, i just started diving a 23# wing, running it on a SS backplate, w/30# of lead with a 7mm suit....honestly was concerned it wouldnt be enough lift but it turns out its plenty.

Are you wearing all that lead on a weight belt? Or mounted/attached to the BP/W?

 

[M-Cameron]

Are you wearing all that lead on a weight belt? Or mounted/attached to the BP/W?

20 on the bdc in quick ditch pockets, 10 on the belt

 

[stuartv]

20 on the bdc in quick ditch pockets, 10 on the belt

If you had to take your BCD off in the water, you think a 23# wing is going to float it with 20# of weight in the pockets?