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Lyle, At 22:30 4/06/2001 -0600, you wrote: >details. I was looking to purchase a BC and the sales person for the >local dive shop suggested that I look at a back plate and wing setup (He >got in a lot of trouble because they do not sell back plate/wings). I Sounds like a rare find, a sales person in a dive shop who both has a clue and is prepared to recommend gear their shop doesn't stock :-) Although I should point out that though MY local dive shop deals mainly in Aqua Lung gear they can order in just about anything provided I know who the distributor is and exactly what I want (I would guess this is the same for the shop you visited). >started doing some research and stumbled onto the DIR principle and of >course it made sense, however I am having trouble finding anyone in my >area who actually dives with a Back plate/wing setup to get advice from. Can definately relate to that :-) >I have been looking at both Halcyon and Dive Rite gear and I am having >trouble deciding between the two. I think that the Halcyon setup is a >better configuration with a few more options however the wings only >allow for single or double tanks not both. The dive rite setup does not >appear to be as complete however they have wings like the trek and rec >wing that are supposed to be good for both singles and doubles. Has >anyone used the dive rite wings with singles and doubles and if so what >was your opinion? Do I bite the bullet and buy two wings from Halcyon? I can't offer any experience with the Dive Rite wings. I've dived with folks using Dive Rite, Scubapro and Zeagle wings, though (and looked into all these brands) and none have appealed to me. I use a Halcyon single tank wing. My opinion is that you can't have a wing that works for both single and double tanks. Scubapro make what they call a RecTec wing that has bungie cord around it (something to be avoided) and presumably is meant to be used for both singles and doubles. I've seen these wings in action on a single tank, they are way too wide and trap air underwater. On the surface they lol around and look rather ungainly. Why not start with a single tank wing for rec diving and if down the track you get interested in technical diving all you need to do is buy a double tank wing (can use the same backplate and harness you used with your rec wing). I wouldn't be in any rush though there is enough to see and do in the first 30 metres to keep most folks happy (unless you have specific needs, research, etc). A lot of people seem to believe there is a progression in diving that you must follow (ow-->advanced-->rescue-->DM-->instructor, or OW, advanced and then some sort of technical training). There isn't. IMO if/when you decide you want to (and are ready to) look at technical diving you then need to consider those around you; Is there the best training available? Are there other people around you who are as committed as you are (and therefore likely to put in the effort and prove to be good buddies or provide you with appropiate support for this type of demanding diving)?. At present my answer to the above is NO on all counts BTW :-) >Am I completely wrong on the dive rite gear and do not understand the >setup? Am I totally out to lunch and the diving that I am currently >doing does not warrant a back plate and wing and just get a regular BC? I think if you start off with backplate and wings you will save money in the long run and have a better (more streamlines, less cluttered) setup. I've owned a few jacket style BC's over the years and wouldn't go back. If you want to look at my setup for single tank recreational diving (I also work as a DM and am an active research diver) checkout... http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/shartley/projects/gear/ You'll also find plenty of DIR links here that may be useful. >I have also noticed that many of the PADI courses seem to gloss over >what I would consider important material, would someone recommend a >different training facility or just stick with PADI? Check out... http://www.gue.com/ Hope this helps. Cheers, Simon Simon L Hartley RSM Website Coordinator\First Year Course Coordinator Associate Lecturer School of Environmental Science and Management Southern Cross University P.O. Box 157 Lismore NSW, Australia 2480 Ph: (02) 66203251 or (61 66) 203 251 Fax:(02) 66212669 E-mail: shartley@sc*.ed*.au* http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/shartley/ http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/ -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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