On  Friday, February 16, 2001 7:10 AM, Brad Stambaugh wrote:

> Of those on this list, who dive single tank wings, and wear ~ 7mm
> neoprene, how many lbs. of lift do you have in your wing?
> There has been a lot of disagreement (on tech list) about the 27 lb.
> wing being enough lift when used with ~ 7 mm neoprene, at depths of ~ 90
> feet.

Regardless of what others might say, if *you* don't have peace of mind - or
faith - in the equipment that you're using, then you're not diving properly!
:-)

To put that into perspective - and bringing it back to weighting:  Two
divers can have identical equipment and both wear 7mm suits; but because
they may well have different body shapes - and displace different amounts of
water - they will both require a different amount of weight.  What works for
one, in terms of buoyancy, will not necessarily work for another.

It will also depend on the type of neoprene used and its comparative
resistance to crushing at depth.

My previous BCD gave me 45lbs of lift.  When I switched to the backplate and
wings (27lb lift), I doubted, (despite Mika's and Kent's assurances), that
it would be adequate.  I was proven wrong.  On our recent GBR trip, the wing
proved remarkable comfortable and gave me all of the buoyancy that I
required to depths below 90 feet.  Granted, I was wearing a lycra suit and
no weight. :-)

But just to reiterate:  If you're not mentally comfortable with any piece of
equipment - even if it works properly - then change it for something that
*you* are happy with.  Sometimes it pays to listen to your own gut feelings
rather than the opinions of others!  :-)

Strike