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Hi Kevin: You missed my point (or perhaps I didn't express myself clear enough). The bungee wings are ludicrous. No question about it. My point was that instead of calling the guy a stroke on another list, you should have explained to him why the bungee wings are less than optimal. What you explained on this list (unless you cc'd him) does him no good. He is most probably at a point in his diving where he REALLY doesn't know the difference. Maybe you could be the one to open his eyes. Then again, maybe you already did this and were just venting here. If so, thats fine. If not, maybe you should think about doing so. Regards. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin Rottner <kevin@So*.co*> To: Joe <joe@po*.co*>; <techdiver@aquanaut.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 7:26 PM Subject: Bungee Wings of Death > So did you explain why he might not want to do that? > > Just curious. > > Regards. > > Joe > > > > > Hey Joe. > OMS markets their "Elastomeric Retraction Bands" as a device that " Assists > in deflation" and "Elimination of air shift " and " Low drag / low snag " > and finally " Trim Adjustability." These are the buzzwords. But I really > think people dive them because they " look tech ". I personally think that's > why people still dive with cages or cobras, and things like ten brass snaps > on their for no reason. > But these " look tech " bungees are really an evil plot, much like the > Russians and Water Fluoridation. ( I think we need a few more laughs a > little more often on this list .... ) > Why I think they are bad: > 1. Even loose, they can prevent you from getting all your lift out of a > bladder, and the tighter the worse the problem. > 2. Even loose, you cannot fully orally inflate them, and once again, the > tighter they are, the worse the problem. > 3. Even when set "right", they create surface folds on the bladder which > increase turbulence and create more drag than they could ever eliminate. > 4. They can trap air in a wing not allowing you to fully deflate the wing > sort of the reverse of # 1 ) > 5. The bands hold the bladder closer to the diver, closer to the center of > gravity, this can effect roll, and making some positions more difficult. > 6. A stuck dump valve can become a fatal failure even with moderately tight > bands, literally power dumping your wing, on the way to the bottom. > 7. I'm a wreck diver, and they can be serious snag points, despite the > marketing claims. > But don't take my word for it. Research the Jane Orenstein fatality, dual > steels and a wetsuit in a mix course, body recovered by some of those on > this list. Check out the Ben Longhi fatality, totally attributable to those > dams cords. Or research John Claypool / Andre Smith / Mike Ekin fatalities. > I could go on and on ...... I also grow tired of burying divers. > What purpose do they have. If you don't need it ...... > > Kevin > > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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