BC or Wing

[jevs]

I cant make my mind up which omd wing with twin 12s or stay with my sea quest bc. the wing just seems to sit up high and is tight around my chest.

[PeteM]

I cant make my mind up which omd wing with twin 12s or stay with my sea quest bc. the wing just seems to sit up high and is tight around my chest.

If a wing is tight it is adjusted wrong. The reason I love my wing is because it does not constrict

[ChristianG]

Do you mean OMS?

On the assumption, and I don't know, that you haven't dived a wing before, what has made you decide on OMS in favour of the plethora of other wings out there?

[Nigel Hewitt]

I cant make my mind up which omd wing with twin 12s or stay with my sea quest bc. the wing just seems to sit up high and is tight around my chest.
Hang on. Are we talking about the same thing here?
A wing is a bag that goes completely behind you. It may attach to a harness but but normally is just sandwiched between the tank and whatever the tank mounts on. It might get a bit snuggly on your back and shoulders but it can't constrict your chest because it doesn't go there.
However the word 'wing' is fashionable so a lot of BCD makers produce 'Wing Style' BCDs that might be wing ish and they might not. As soon as a wing gets sewn to a BCD it has lost its whole reason for being.

I use a BCD with a single and a wing with twins or a rebreather. It's a matter of placing the buoyancy where you need it.

The wing on the twins goes between the back plate and the cylinders and has a big panel in the middle that doesn't inflate so it is horse-shoe shaped and blows up in the free space around the tanks.

[The Rocketeer]

The advantages of a wing are supposed to be that it doesn't constrict your chest.

Most do come with a rather fetching crotch strap which will stop the wing riding too high when in inverted situations.

As the others have hinted at - A wing for twins is invariably more comfy and built for the job than a BCD and most of us never go back once converted.

Regards

Paul

[SUNDODGER]

........ most of us never go back once converted.

I did!! I hated my wing - it just didn't feel right.

I much prefer the 'sensation' of a stabby/BCD call it what you will.

Really must get round to selling my Dive Rite wing.........

[paul_c]

as people have said a wing wont be tight acorss the chest, that is the harness whichever style youa re using.


my one peice harness is snug at the moment cause of the Xmas pies and beers. so im makinga new one for all of £8 to replace it by replacing the webbing.


now i dive a wing i wont ever go back to aBCD.

[Nigel Hewitt]

I did!! I hated my wing - it just didn't feel right.
I much prefer the 'sensation' of a stabby/BCD call it what you will.
Really must get round to selling my Dive Rite wing.........
This sounds like a wing on a single.
A wing on a single is a fashion accessory on a par with 4 inch heels.

[Jen - Winged Blob]

Nigel, it's really not necessarily a fashion accessory. Some of us simply don't wish to be further padded out with bulk around a midriff area that's already 'challenged'! ;)

[Nigel Hewitt]

ROTFL.

You say it isn't.
Nigel, it's really not necessarily a fashion accessory.You say it is.
Some of us simply don't wish to be further padded out with bulk around a midriff area that's already 'challenged'! ;)

Do make up your mind :D

[Jen - Winged Blob]

That's to do with comfort, not fashion! ;)

[The Rocketeer]

@Nigel

Okay I take your point on that one - yes using a huge OMS wing with a single 12 is a bit on the overkilling side.

However for general comfort the wing gets my vote every time and for versatility they do offer better performance on twinsets whilst some will still have a backup facility for singles.

BCD - Best at Singles, may have a compromise facility for twins.

Wing - best for Doubles, rebreathers, etc, may have a compromise facility for singles, leboutin heels, and often even come with a kinky crotch strap too! :D

Regards

Paul

[Mikey Dubb]

I am quite new so my opinion isnt really a weighted one...but when i eventually move on to wings...i wont be able to afford one unless i sell my BC! lol :D..I have a new wife who has very quickely developed a "watch what you spend attitude"....POO!!

[John Bantin]

Be aware that the SeaQuest BC (as opposed to some other waistcoat-style BCs) may have insufficient maximum buoyancy to float the twins without you in them. As for the position of the buoyancy, I find that the air always rises to the highest spot whether I use a wing or a waistcoat-style BC. That is, high up at my back behind my shoulders. The waistcoat allows for some front support when at the surface. The wing can be big enough to support a small outboard motor when fully inflated so that you can drive to your home port. (That last bit was ironic humour)

[dct]

This sounds like a wing on a single.
A wing on a single is a fashion accessory on a par with 4 inch heels.


Not if it's designed purely for singles, my ND travelwing is great, used for all my UK diving, it keeps things simple, which is a pure practicality.

Dan

[Nigel Hewitt]

Not if it's designed purely for singles, my ND travelwing is great, used for all my UK diving, it keeps things simple, which is a pure practicality.
<perplexed>
OK. A properly designed system runs horizontally in the water and vertically on the surface.

A wing, designed purely for a single, would need to move the centre of buoyancy further forward on the surface. The trick for this is an inflatable section in front of your shoulders that is empty when you are face down and the gas gathers at your back but fills when you are head up. That makes it into what people call a BCD.

In the surface a simple wing uses the weight of the clutter behind you, that is now showing above the water and revealing its true weight, to do that.

If you're used to it and it works for you that's wonderful...
...but I stand by my 'fashion accessory' assessment. 'Wings' just sound more trendy to the majority.

[Woz]

I have a BC, single tank and twinset wings. I dive mostly the twinset wing in open water (on a twinset) but like the single wing as I use a 5mm backplate and it's very uncluttered and streamlined.

I use the BC in the pool only these days.

For vertical orientation in a wing on the surface you need to move some lead about, not have it all on your weightbelt. I have a couple of trim blocks on the top camband and horizontal or vertical is perfectly fine.

[Richard Whitcombe]

I dislike BCDs a lot now. I find them cluttered, usually with useless pockets in the water, squeeze on full inflation, move around a bit when you twist and generally "messy".

Im far happier in my single tank wing and harness with a single pocket threaded through the waist webbing (which is easily accessed underwater).

Nothing to do with fashion - i find it fit far better as you adjust it precisely, far more stable (it doesnt move at all), far less cluttered and generally cleaner and easier to use.

I use a crappy rental BCD for pool training only now and really dislike using the things for any real dives outside of confined.

Then again i use a long hose too with my wing so i expect to cause students to have a stroke when faced with the sheer complexity of that :)

Like the above i put lead (in my case a 2kg block either side of the tank) on my top cam strap to help hold a flat trim underwater.

[neil_richardson]

Got wings aplenty, but started diving my 20 year old Buddy BCD again recently, purely for shore dives and bumbles, and got to admit i'd forgotten how comfortable and how nice and how complete it actually is...

That aside, all my semi complicated to complicated dives, are in wings, and i'd never consider doing anything other than a bumble in anything other than a wing.....