New Tekwing v's Frog Midnight for twin 10's

[Martin Owen]

I'm considering changing my BCD for a wing, which i think i have narrowed down to the above two.

Can both or either of them accommodate twin 10's easily with SS bands spaced at 8" (I'm keeping the boots on) i realize the frog backplate is drilled for 11" but can i 'just' drill another hole 3" up from the bottom one? Or would it need a different backplate (ideally with holes for twinning up with buddy bands for the red sea etc)
What is the spacing in the Tekwings plastic backplate? would 8" be an issue?

Last but no means least are these wings too long for 10's (new Beaver Cly's, which are a touch longer than normal 10's i believe?)

[thehappychappy]

I used my frog wing and homemade backplate (11" holes) with faber twin tens with boots on.

why have the bands at 8" ?


The wing worked perfectly, the thing id say is you need to be carefull of not damaging the bottom part as the cylinders when sat down and being so short can end up sitting on the wing.


Now Ive moved to Euro 12's this is not a problem.

Davie

[Martin Owen]

The 8" spacing is twofold, firstly the holes in my BCD backplate (with metal inserts) are spaced at 8", but more importantly the bottom band is touching the boots with the top one as high as possible, so the only way i can see of getting the bands at 11" is by removing the boots (or cutting 3" off them) which i don't want to do, unless i look out for some smaller boots as these are quite tall as you can imagine.

My main concern is damaging the bottom of the wing with the boots, i assume if you drop the cylinders so they are level with the bottom of the wing then they will be too low to reach the valves?

[MATTBIN]

Martin hi.
I doubt you will be able to drill a s/s plate to 8" centres (ask Woz or NigelH).
I think the Tek has 8" centres, the plastic b/p is easy to drill, get some CD mushroom nuts, they have large heads so dont push all the way through the b/p but grab the thread of the bolts/studs in their internal thread, so you may need to shorten the existing bolts/studs.
The Tek (old style) worked very well with 10's, alternatively you could use the twinning bands if you leave the s/s bands on the cylinders which would negate drilling at all. I'd imagine the new Tek will be just as good. I used twin 10's (plus a 3L) and now use 12's plus a side slung 5L without an issue, so upgrading will be perfectly possible, if you need to later on.
I found trimming upright 10's not easy nor did I like where they sat, I use long 10's inverted with a CD valve guard, they sit nicey and trim well. The 12's are fine with an upright orientation.

HTH
Matt

[Rob Dobson]

I reckon 10's would be a little short for the Midnight in terms of when the set is on dry land you stand a good chance of damaging the wing under the the cylinders.

I don't know that the Tek Wing will be any better though... Personally I'd get the Midnight and replace the tins!

[ralphg]

I have juts got twin 10's with cut down boots which allow an 11" spacing. The boots seem to work well and are a pretty solid fit, I don't anticpate any problems. I also was considering the midnight as I liked the idea of an eliptical wing, but rejected it due to the length with the 10's and the likelyhood of damaging the bottom of the wing when kitting up on a boat. In my opinion a horseshoe shaped wing looked to be a better bet with the shorter cylinders. Eventually went for a diverite rec wing, which feels just about right in terms of size and has enough lift if I decide to switch to 12' later


Ralph

[Martin Owen]

Thanks for the replies so far.

OK what about the Apeks WTX4 (or possibly WTX6) or even the Frog Indigo (not sure if this has enough lift tho'?) both look like a smaller (height) wing that might be more suitable??

[Alun]

Last year I replaced the bands on my twinset to big thick agir ones. I cut the boots down using a stanley knife. Dead easy to do and the boots stay on fine. Go with 11" spacing, it's the future

[Martin Owen]

The band spacing is the least of my worries, I'm more concerned about the boots wrecking the bottom or the wing.
Hence the Apeks thought, anyone tried one on 10's?