WINGS and things - advice?

[Tim Ingmire]

Right then,

things being what they are I need views on wings.  Whats good and whats not:

What brands?
Single bladder / double bladder?
Single piece harness?
soft back plate / SS backplate etc?
new / 2nd hand?
Bungee / no bungee?

Come on pin your opinions to your sleeves and get stuck in - with none of the handbagnet sheenanigans please.

Tim

[Mr T.]

Hey Tim,

You know my thoughts here:

Halcyon
DB
SS BP
One-piece harness
New if poss.

Mind you, I don't know any different, do I?

HTH.

[Davey Willo]

Surely you meant single bladder Mr T

[Mr T.]

Oh, sorry, were we talking about diving again??

I wish someone would inform me when we switch subjects like that away from drinking !  

Indeed, Single Bladder wing - for use with Twins.

Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to interviewing this rather cheeky little Montre Chez '63  

[Gavin Yates]

<font color='#000F22'>It may sound like a cliche but I'd speak to Hayhurst ...

[Jay]

You'll get a lot of different opinions on this one Timing - people tend to become very loyal to their own particular brand of kit and its configuration. Fact is most wings and configs have their pros and cons but are all very good. The best thing to do is to speak to someone like Andy Hayhurst who is able to talk your through the various options and guide you to what you will actually need (as opposed to what you think you need.)

[Mark Chase]

<font color='#000F22'>So what does Mr Hayhurst fly???

Halcyon make good kit thats very expensive for no apparent reason that I can see.

I use a Custom Divers Wing which is good but could be improved.

A couple of points about wings I have noticed since starting to use one:

The back plate should have slots so you can simply insert a cam band and use it for single tank dives if you like.

There should be a method of fixing the wing to the back plate to prevent the wing lifting off the harness and wrapping around a single tank.

A further two sets of slots one each side of centre, will allow the wing to be fitted with soft cam bands for twinning up independents when on holiday

There should be a groove in the back plate to hold a single tank straight when in use

There should be ample holes in the back plate to allow mounting kit.

A lightweight aluminium plate should be available as an option for travelling if you wish to save on weight.

There should be adjustable locations for D rings on the harness

D rings should be SS

The CD back plate harness and wing do all of the above.

There are some points which I dont like. I dont like all the joints in the harness. 1 snap connector is all thats required to make the rig usable but I do like to two adjustable shoulder straps as they make getting it on and off very easy.

I binned the chest strap and crotch strap as they didnt do a lot

The D rings on the shoulder straps could be improved with off set D's that would make clipping things on a bit less hassle

The alternative bum dump is poorly located as it is inaccessible when wearing full kit and stages. &nbsp;

The inflator hose sleeve is a brilliant bit of kit for keeping inflator hoses out of the way but it needs a loop added to the top to stop it sliding down over the inflator hose connector and prevents quick detachment if the inflator should jam.

In the water I found no problems on the surface laying back and waiting for the boat it is very stable and the three point height location on the back plate made balancing the rig a doddle. Lift is more than adequate for twins and two stages and my wing is two years old and so far I have had no breakages faults or other problems past those mentioned above. I dive all year in fresh and salt water and have used the wing with twins and stages and single and pony rigs and found it to be generally very good.

If I were choosing again it would be another CD or an OMS but I am only ruling out Halcyon on price there is nothing wrong with the wing.

On the hot issue of bungies:

I do mainly wrecks and I do a bit of penetration and I have tangled various bits of kit but never a wing bungee.

If I did I doubt if I would notice as they are silicone on the CD and break / cut very easily. They also tie back together again very easily too.

I dont honestly feel the bungee do very much on the CD wing as they are not as drastic as the OMS ones but they do keep it looking neat and stream lined.

For pose value a Halcyon looks good on the boat but crap in the water. The wing flaps up and around the tanks and looks awful on singles.

There is also to awful problem of being mistaken for a DIR diver. &nbsp;

Good luck with the decision process.

Mark Chase

[Andy the Coastie]

<font color='#0000FF'>I got a buddy trident last year, mainly because of the SCUBA work i was doing at the time,all i can say is that i am impressed with it, better than the old stab jackets used years ago.

Have played with it a bit, and can handle twin 7-10 and dumpy 12's.

Found it to be comffie, but add safety in mind.One bad point is the little pouch on the cumberband,no good for anything apart from holding me fags and lighter.

Still can't beat a dumpy 12 on a harness only.


Andy

[Paul Hinchliffe]

I have a C/D set up, or at least did have only the bladder remains, I didnt know what I was doing when I bought it all those shiney D rings looked great, there is enough of them to make 2 harnesses so at least you wont have to buy any more of them when making your own harness, the original is OK and well made but has too many danglies and break points simpler the better I think,  lost count how many times I broke the croch strap connector, and the chest fastener?was bang in line with my D/S inflator
The backplate rib up the middle is the wrong way round and does not allow the use of butterfly nuts unless you want to fcuk your drysuit/wetsuit, dome nuts definatly needed for this which are a pain. I now have a weezle with a big rip in it!
The bladder is ..alright, but needs a shorter inflation hose as its massive, and yes that stupid bit of cloth wraped around it is a pain, a peice of bungee is much better, the other dump needs a serious coat of looking at.
Apart from that Im well Happy with it £400 well spent.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Mark Chase @ Mar. 08 2003,19:03)]So what does Mr Hayhurst fly???

I believe he is currently using OMS but I did see him in a Diverite wing last weekend.