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Here is some nice information
Philip Gerin sent me about a new designed wing to fit the KISS rebreather. |
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- Wing designed for the Kiss RB.
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- Guys,
- So far my quest for the
perfect BC for the Kiss was not successful. Now, it’s over. Pat Duffy
accepted to take the challenge and the wing for the Kiss now exists.
- Here is the wing I
designed (with some help from Alan Studley) for Oxycheq to fit the Kiss
rebreather.
- I started from a 50lbs
wing and re-shaped it (length, width and thickness) to fit the Kiss shell.
- Pat Duffy did a really
good job and the quality of manufacturing is top of the line.
- Buoyancy is 41lbs/ 18.5 kg.
- DESIGN:
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I paid a
lot of attention to make it polyvalent and adjustable to different wishes a
Kiss diver has as far as trim and buoyancy are concerned.
It is why
this wing features height adjustable slots to put it on the Kiss
shell/back-plate.
Considering that some of us also teach OC and/or dive singles (up to 15
litres) or small doubles (2x7 litres or 2x9litres), the wing also features 2
sets of grommets that are useful for these configurations.
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The result is a very a versatile
and polyvalent wing that will suit a lot of different needs.
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When
designing it, I kept in mind that a rebreather diver must be able to access
the inverted tank valves at any moment both out of the water and at depth
with the wing partially or completely inflated. The sides are slim and start
close to the back-plate. When at depth, the wing does not over-wrap the
tanks completely and leave easy access to the valves.
The result is a streamlined rebreather diver and good
hydro-dynamic qualities.
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A RB
diver also pays attention to the volume of upper part of the wing so it does
not interfere with the breathing hoses and leave room for the loop. This is
the case with this wing too so the upper section is slim and low behind the
diver’s neck and the elbow does not come in contact with the loop OPV even
when fully inflated.
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I tested it
both with dry and wet suit, with heavy stainless steel back-plate with
handle (Portland Oceaneering), aluminium back-plate (home design and
construction) and Travel Back-plate (Oxycheq). I used different types of
harnesses from the continuous webbing (à la DIR) to protected
shoulder straps (Deepoutdoors’ Matrix harness) to Back-pack (Abyss Tec2Rec
with aluminium BP for stability of the back-pack/RB case)
I am happy
with the results I obtained concerning buoyancy and trim for all these
configurations.
Pat Duffy has this wing
IN STOCK @ Oxycheq.(He calls it the 40 lbs wing)
Philippe Gerin
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Philippe, thanks for your
contribution! |
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