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Chuck, scootering is nothing compared to the agony of going against an
ocean current with ineffecient gear. Tech BC's of any kind are an
oxymoron, and the double wings are a solution to a self-inflicted
problem - using the wrong rig , wrong tanks , wrong combination. Warm
water is westuit and aluminum 80's , cold water is steel and a drysuit. 

 There are all kinds of special tricks to how we do things, and guess
what - they were developed due to ocean diving, not cave. I did 400
wreck dives before I ever saw a cave, and will do many more more ocean
dives than cave dives in a given year. 
 
Chuck Noe wrote:
> 
> To all:
> 
> I had the opportunity this past weekend to make several dives with one of the
WKPP team "mix" divers and made
> some observations that may be of interest to the list.
> 
> While I had used backplate/harness systems back when nothing else was
available, I have for the past 3 years
> been using one or another Transpack. I am breathing the long hose and wearing
a waist-mounted light. Due to the
> dual-purpose nature of my diving (deep ocean diving AND cave) using both
wetsuits and drysuits, I have been
> using the redundand "Super Wings" with the second inflator attached when
diving wet. I found this system to be
> very comfortable while providing me with the versatility to perform varying
dives with one basic set of gear.
> 
> However, in diving with this particular WKPP member it became obvious that
for maximum efficiency in the cave
> environment, the hogarthian rig provided a distinct advantage. He blew my
doors off with sheer speed no matter
> which scooter I rode. This was most evident when working against the flow and
indicated to me that I presented
> more drag to the water (even though he is 6 inches taller and 65 pounds
heavier than me)! It didn't matter
> which scooter I was on either. When I rode my Mako and he rode a Gavin he
blew me away. When I rode the Gavin
> and him the Mako he blew me away still. When I rode one Gavin and him the
other he still blew me away.
> 
> Now we can't necesarily heap all the blame for this on the Transpack or the
Super Wings air cell. It is a good
> piece of gear, uncomparable for comfort, with a legitimate purpose. But, for
no-holds-barred, all-out
> scootering in a cave, his rig seemed to have an undeniable advantage. It also
made me consider how the extra
> drag affects my swimming performance.
> 
> Anyway, I'm putting together another rig specifically so I can keep up with
the big dogs next time I'm down
> that way. All is not lost though; I hear that this new Transpack is a great
foundation for sidemounts.
> 
> Disclaimer: The intention of this post is not to discredit the functionality
of the Transpack system, it
> provides a distinct advantage over the backplate/harness in terms of comfort
and versatility. But, the
> minimalistic approach of the hogarthian system appears to hold the advantage
with regards to performance and
> functionality.
> 
> Chuck (you have to prove it to me) Noe
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