Intro | Table | £150-199 | £200-249 | £250-299 | £300-349 | £350-399 | £400-500 | Conclusions
EXTRA
May 2000
COMPENSATION CLAIMS
APEKS NX 2000 This wing is made for Apeks to its own spec by Zeagle in the USA, and the men at Apeks think they have improved on the original Zeagle double-bag design. There was no torso squeeze and, when fully inflated at the surface, it kept me high out of the water.
We were surprised that it proved to have somewhat less buoyancy available than its Zeagle cousins but otherwise it was superficially similar.
The NX 2000 had the same tiny zipped pockets, too far round the back to get to, but unlike the Zeagle it had an integrated-weight system that allowed the weights at each side to be jettisoned independently of the other.
A very effective crotch-strap was easily unhitched when the time came. Dumping the last bit of air from the jacket meant twisting around in the water, because the pull-dump of the corrugated hose left the opposite side higher and therefore with air remaining. £411
DIVERITE TRANSPAC II REC WINGS Almost standard issue among many wannabe tekkies, this offers all the advantages of the true-tekkie redundant bladder Super Wings but can be used with one tank should you so wish. It has the classic Transpac II harness (12 D-rings) but a smaller single wing (double-bag) which is kept neat with a laced elastic strap.
The Rec Wings had lots of buoyancy available and acquitted itself perfectly at the surface but was a little irritating under water because I had to cavort about to get all the air to the right point in its bladder to get it out of the dump valve.
It also suffered from the DiveRite modular system failure that causes it to fall separate from its harness once no longer securely sandwiched on a cylinder by its two tank-bands. £418
ZEAGLE TECH Zeagle of the USA was responsible for popularising the wing concept, and the Tech is the classic design. Huge amounts of buoyancy available in a triangular (double) bag gives masses of surface-to-mouth height when needed.
Indeed,among BCs that made sense with only one cylinder, it proved, alongside the Poseidon Clublift, to be the best at this. Check the chart and you will see that the Clublift offers a lot more maximum buoyancy for the same effect, and this is because the Zeagle bag is so shaped that it keeps most of the air too low down at your back to be really effective.
Of course, you must rig your weights to the back also or you will be pushed on to your front. This is an old criticism of wing designs.
Two tank bands keep everything secure and the same can be said of the integrated-weight system which, uniquely, can be jettisoned by pulling on one handle only. Alas, the small zipped pockets are too small and badly positioned to be of any use whatsoever.
Under water the air was positioned exactly where needed, and easily discharged without any contortions on my part when swimming horizontally. This BC will also work very well with twin cylinders, for which it was obviously designed. £420
MARES SYNCRO POWER This is a beautifully constructed single-bag design, but that it is a wing is not immediately obvious, because it is so loaded with features that, when uninflated, it looks like a jacket-style BC.
There are four dump valves, two at the top and two at the bottom, but we were disappointed that none of these seemed well enough positioned to be as efficient as those on most other BCs tried alongside it. It wasn't that bad, it was just that it didn't live up to its looks - and those looks are extremely good.
Plenty of maximum buoyancy gave a good height out of the water at the surface, and the integrated-weight system held the lead securely. The releases for this are exceedingly meaty knobs, but you need a good grip because it took a lot of effort to pull out the weight pouches.
We were amused to see that Mares has eschewed the use of stainless-steel D-rings on this top-of-the-line item. £440
DIVERITE TRANSPAC II SUPER WINGS Difficult to compare with other BCs here, the Super Wings needs to be used with twin cylinders and we were testing with only one. A firm favourite with those who like to dive with two, three or more cylinders, it has about as much maximum buoyancy available as a small inflatable boat. We wouldn't be surprised if an optional extra was an outboard motor to help you travel home!
With nearly 43kg of maximum lift available when fully inflated, this ultimate tekkie BC did not give us the most height above the water at the surface because so much of the buoyancy bag was out of the water. If that bag fails for any reason, a second, redundant bladder awaits to see you home. You get two bladders inside one outer bag and two direct-feed hoses, one for each cylinder on your back.
When not inflated, the wing is kept neat by a system of elasticated cords but it naturally tended to flap with a single tank. Dumping all the air out of it under water proved impossible.
The Transpac II harness is covered in D-rings. We're still not sure whether we counted 11 or 12! Pockets are an option and fit on the waistband, as do optional integrated weight pouches. The wings are held in place by being squeezed between the tank and the soft backpack of the harness. When not clamped to any tanks, the whole thing just falls apart in an irritating way. £457
DACOR RIG 2 Another tekkies' BC that really needs to be used with twin cylinders, the Rig 2 had an enormous double-bag design wing that gave us nearly 27kg of maximum lift under water and held my mouth a full 30cm above the surface. With only one cylinder it was bound to push me on my front, so don't be beguiled into buying something you don't need.
It has a harness which can be tailored to suit with the help of a cross-head screwdriver and a spanner. There is a hard backpack, an efficient integrated weight system which I suspect you will need to supplement with a weightbelt if you use twin aluminium tanks, and one small pouch pocket at the front which looks as if it is for an extra weight. We counted 10 stainless-steel D-rings.
With our solitary tank the Rig 2 was no fun to use under water. The wing, without elastic laces to keep it neat, billowed like the spinnaker of a small yacht. When it came to dumping air, it was like chasing a small fart in a large duvet. Like the DiveRite Super Wings, it was spoilt by the wrong application. £466
SCUBAPRO SUPERHAWK NT This is a wing BC with a double-bag design that ensures that no air gets trapped when it comes to dumping it. It concertinas out nicely low down when filled to maximum, and two elastic straps keep it neat in normal use under water.
The harness fitted well and came equipped with six D-rings and two small but usable zipped pockets. The integrated-weight system felt secure but allowed the weights to be removed easily when needed. Twin crotch-straps keep it firmly in place, although you need to practise unhitching them before you can pass up your set from the water.
The Superhawk NT proved that its maximum buoyancy was effective at the surface, holding the diver very high out of the water. As with all wings, there was no torso squeeze.
The Scubapro cinch-strap tank-band is convenient if you always use the same tank but can be very awkward to adjust. This BC was excellent, but then it was the most expensive. £498
Intro | Table | £150-199 | £200-249 | £250-299 | £300-349 | £350-399 | £400-500 | Conclusions
Appeared in DIVER - May 2000
