Buddy Tekwing with single cylinder

[NamTinker]

Dominic
Have you used your Tekwing (22.5kg) with singles (10/12l steel)?
I finally switched from a BC to s/s BP a couple of months ago(should have done it ages ago!) but a lot of diving is shallow < 15m and a twinset is a pita - especially with our rocky exits.
The buckles on the side, supposedly for a waistbelt to prevent tankwrap?  Does it work?  Other methods (without buying a 13/16 kg version)

NamT

[Helen F H]

<font color='#000080'>i used a buddy trident with a single and found it wrapped around the tank to the extent that i had a rapid ascent from 5m (thank god only 5m!) because i couldnt get rid of the air. &nbsp;Dunno how much different the bladders etc are between them, but im not ever using it with a single again.

[Dominic]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Have you used your Tekwing (22.5kg) with singles (10/12l steel)?

A 12l in fresh water, yes.

As for how well it worked... welll... let me put it this way:

I bought my twinset at the same time as my wing, so I was twinned from the word go. And I could never understand the anti-wing brigade's cries of &quot;unstable!&quot; &quot;tips you face down!&quot; &quot;grr! arrgh!&quot; and so on.

Until the day I put a single cylinder on it. Fcuk me, it was horrible, I spent most of the dive fighting the damn thing. I was all over the place.

Now, it goes without saying that taking a rig set up for twins and just sticking a single on it is going to give you problems. I'm fairly sure that, had I persevered, I could have fine-tuned it and fixed the problems.

But I'd have to say that, in all honesty, I can't recommend the Tekwing for singles. A wide wing with over 20 kilos of lift just isn't the right thing to put on a singles rig.

Mind you - if you have a Combro style backplate with lots of holes along the edge, I suppose you could jury-rig a bungee system that'd control the excess. Back-mounting your lead would fix the face-forward issue (my rig actually pulls me backward as it's set up), and it's possible that those side-buckles really do work as advertised (Chopped them off mine)... so it might be worth trying it out.

[MartinS]

Have to agree with Dominic - took mine on holiday last year and used the ABS backplate with a single cam band - spent the whole dive trying fighting to keep from tipping forward. &nbsp;Biggest nightmare was at the surface.
Martin

[chrisch]

What do you suggest for singles then???

I have been looking at the Buddy Travelwing and was advised to get the Tekwing as its better and the same price.

Rig is a single 15 and a side slung deco of 5 or 3 if I can get away with 3.

My old Spiro has no D rings so the deco would have to be worn as a pony - non starter.

Chris

[Dominic]

You could take a look at a small DiveRite wing - was diving with somebody using one of these at the weekend, was a very neat-looking rig.

So was the Halcyon, but you could buy two Buddy wings for the same price as a Pioneer..

[Conor]

I'm biased but would reccomend the Dive Rite Travle wing for singles...its perfect.

Consider trek/rec if you use twins, haven't used them myself

Conor

[daz]

Jack of all trades, master of none spring to mind.

Diverite travel wing is IMHO ideal for singles.
Diverite trekwing also works very well with singles (I have used one with single 10/12 and 10 or 12 with 3l pony. &nbsp;It is also reasonable for lightweight twins, 7's are ok. &nbsp;It does not give enough lift on the surface for my liking with twin 10's or 12's. &nbsp;But YMMV.
Diverite Recwing is great with most twins, 7's/10's/12's + stages. &nbsp;I have used mine with singles and it is ok but does wrap a bit on the tank.

Basically the recwing and trekwing are virtually identical, except the recwing is slightly longer. &nbsp;The bungees on the wings do minimise tank wrap.

Daz

[MATTBIN]

I use my TekWing with a 12 (plus pony) and have to disagree, its fine I love its trim in water and at the surface you just have to be a little carefull or it can tip you forward but if you lean back its fine and very stable. The only minor problem is dumping the air from the wing with a single in shallow depth and can result in going a bit surface born if not carefull but I really like mine, having said that I am looking at going twin very soon.

Matt

[NamTinker]

Thanks for all the replies.
I have a smaller bladder that I used till I got the Tekwing. &nbsp;The rear (bottom) dump is situated at the bottom (facing the body) though and I find it a hassle to quickly dump when sligtly angling down (shallow diving). &nbsp;The Tekwings' outward facing dump is a pleasure to use.
I had a backplate made up from seeing pics and scaling - price about 50 UK pounds equivalent - and I suppose I could rig a bungi system but it would complicate a simple system.

Guess I'll stick to the smaller one and keep the Tekwing for the twins.

BTW DIR and GUE type diving are only arriving in Southern Africa in Feb this year.