Tec Tip: Which Wing Do I Need?
Imagine if someone said to you, “Carry this sea anchor on every dive. You don’t need it now, but there is a possibility you’ll need it on a dive a few years from now.” Silly, right?
Yet this is exactly what happens when a recreational single-tank diver (that’s most everyone) purchases an oversized wing primarily intended for use with double tanks, because they have a vision of someday becoming a technical diver. Selecting an oversized wing means living with a lot of unnecessary drag…which means extra physical effort and higher gas consumption on every dive for years!
In our opinion, too much emphasis is placed on lift capacity when choosing a wing. If a diver is overweighted, they’ll need the extra lift capacity to counter excess weight, but “getting the lead out” is a separate discussion. In most diving, assuming a properly weighted diver, the wing only needs enough lift capacity to counter the negative buoyancy of the cylinder configuration being used.
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