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On Wed, 8 Sep 1999 15:17:26 -0500 (EST), you wrote: >"Greasy piece of shit"... or just what are bungied wings??? >Besides the obvious reasons hans touched on for no bungies (yes, this = has >been beat to death but it is really important) I will reiterate that you >do not want squeezing cords to deflate your buoyancy device for any = reason >and YOU must be in complete control of when and how much gas leaves your >wings.=20 Makes sense to me. I tried this idea before it was commercially produced, and personally didnt like it.I used it on maybe 3 dives before I cut the tubing ( too bad I can't cover up the old grommet holes ). It's like trying to balance a ball bearing on a razor blade.. either the tubing too thick & tight, making it difficult/impossible to orally inflate, or it's so skinny & loose it drapes like spaghetti. Coupled with a lower dump, it's a real losing proposition in my book. Of course another reason you do not want these bands is that they >present interuptions to the surface of the wing resulting in more drag >while swimming. As for the lower dump, would you'all swim like a newbie >diver with your feet down causing a lot of drag pushing a lot of water = out >of the way (or fighting current in a feet down position)??? In a >horizontal postion, like you should be most of the time, that lower dump >can be useful to let air out of your unbungied wings.=20 I like mine.I find it very useful in finetuning buoyancy, and it's a natural position to vent a lot of air quickly ( I know, this is not always a good thing..but I'm still on the same dump valve for almost 10 years, and no failures..)Being able to tweak that buoyancy quickly is important in my opinion, especially to prevent damage in smaller caves while still maintaining good silt control ( Hey, now THERE's a topic no one seems to ever mention) Being from the >midwest, we folks do have a natural suspicion of easterners and = especially >northeasterners; and such tomfoolery as bungied wings only lends = credance >to that suspicion.=20 >The first person that whines about the northeast being special because = of >the deep cold water can just stick it as they are not the ony ones to = dive >in such conditions. Many of these people just want to perpetuate thier >line >of limited thinking.=20 My first 10 years of diving was in Michigan until I moved to Florida in '83..is that midwest or northeast? Well, i guess in relation to Indiana, I'm just a pure Nawthener :) >Time to go back into reclusion and let the fire fly. > >Sam Frushour > > >On Tue, 7 Sep 1999 billy@bd*.co*.au* wrote: > >> Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 22:37:48 >> From: billy@bd*.co*.au* >> To: techdiver@aq*.co* >> Cc: cavers@cavers.com >> Subject: Bungy Wings - The Awful, Horrible Truth From One Who Knows... >>=20 >> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 02:26:44 +0200 >> From: Hans Petter Roverud <proverud@on*.no*> >> Subject: Bondage wings >> ---------------=20 >>=20 >> It seems safe to say that opinions vary from "This is what we see dead >> divers wearing" to "These wings are the design used by most = Northeastern >> wreck divers and we have no problems whatsoever". For those who think = I'm >> beating a dead horse -- I am, but I'm trying to add the plausible = reason >> why "bondage" is no good idea.=20 >>=20 >> I know a lot divers using "bondage" without any incidences. I also = know one >> who jumped in and found himself on the bottom at 100' in no time with = a >> wing that didn't hold air. What happened? A low pull dump had gotten = wedged >> behind his backplate and was stuck. Since the bungee cords work as an >> auto-deflate, any minor leak will let the air out of the wing in no = time. >> With a non-bondage wing a low dump valve stuck open wouldn't actively = purge >> the wing -- it would just bleed air out as the wing approached full = volume. >> You'd still get ample buoyancy in a horizontal, slightly head-up = position. >> The same would go for any otherwise insignificant puncture or faulty = fitting. >>=20 >> Thus, I believe the combination of bungee auto-deflate and jammed pull >> dumps to be _the_ deadly combination. I don't choose either feature. = If you >> do, please get rid of the balls on the pull cords or the bungee. These >> features in combination may give you a catastrophic failure. Why not = get >> rid of both? Would for instance an OMS be unwieldy without the bungee?= =20 >>=20 >> At any rate, next time bondage wings won't inflate and hold air, check= if >> the pull dumps are stuck in the open position. BTW, what purpose does = low >> pull dumps really serve? Without that bungee assisted auto-deflate one >> would never be able to purge air by pulling a low dump anyway -- since= air >> likes to float in water you'd have to swim head-down to bring the air = to >> the low dumps. (OK, so maybe you do assume an inverted position = sometimes >> but do we really need alternative dumps for any conceivable posture?)=20 >>=20 >> Rather, dump air through the corrugated hose and lose those pull = dumps, the >> bungee or preferably both! The fact that it's all hunky dory as long = as the >> balls of the pull dumps don't snag or get wedged doesn't mean it's a = safe >> combination. You've got an auto-deflate wing and _any_ minor leak will >> purge it. The bungee puts a constant strain on the wing and will = collapse >> it whenever the opportunity presents itself.=20 >>=20 >> If you elect to keep bungee as well as pull dumps, at least check that= the >> wing holds air before you jump in. If a pull dump is jammed open = you'll >> know the moment you try to fill the wing. >>=20 >> regards, >>=20 >> Hans=20 >>=20 >>=20
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