Anyone used this wing? (Apeks WTX3)

**jb2cool** · January 2nd, 2006, 01:31 PM

Seems to be a reasonably similar to some of Halcyon's wings but this one is cheap-cheap. You can buy this online for just £110. Ok, it might not last forever but worth a look?

http://www.apeks.co.uk/products/prod...oyancy Control

*JohnKendall* · January 2nd, 2006, 01:46 PM

You don't want any D-rings attached to your wing. I'd also like to see one, and try one in the water before advising anyone to get one. There are lots of products out there that look like they might be DIR right up to the moment you dive it and discover that it's the little things that make the difference. I don't know if it is the case with this, but I wouldn't want to be the person spending the money and finding out.

HTH
John

**jb2cool** · January 2nd, 2006, 01:48 PM

if i can get hands on with one i'll have a little look and report back. Just seemed too good to be true. Half the price of similar products. Makes you think it'll be poorly put together don't it.

JS1scuba · January 2nd, 2006, 07:08 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by jb2cool)

Seems to be a reasonably similar to some of Halcyon's wings but this one is cheap-cheap. You can buy this online for just £110. Ok, it might not last forever but worth a look?

http://www.apeks.co.uk/products/prod...oyancy Control

I have close to 90 dives on this wing. It's perfect. It's robust, has a TRUE buoyancy rating. As to the D-ring on the bottom, you can remove that with a bolt cutter if you like. The net weight of the wing is also quite low and makes it perfect for traveling.

It's not cheap. It was manufactured in the thousands not dozens which lets Apeks / Aqualung drive the cost of manufacturing down.

Get one, you will like it.

Cheers

QBU · January 3rd, 2006, 12:14 AM

WaterDawg tried one. I'll see if I can talk him into giving his review.

WaterDawg · January 3rd, 2006, 02:08 AM

Joel,

I had a chance to dive the one you sent to Spectre. First let me give you some back ground. I dove a set of PST E-8 130's w/ an AL bp and dry suit. The first dive of the day was done w/ a Halcyon 55# Explorer. The first words out of my mouth were "DAMN! THESE ARE SWEET TANKS!" As they Trimed out great.

For the second dive (same tanks, same pressure) I used the Apeks wing (60#)...It was NOT fun. My trim was way off, I felt like I was working harder as well, in fact my first words after this dive were "Is the flow greater here?" It turns out it was not, but the drag sure felt like it.
The material seemed "light weight" to me but I was suprised by the sturdyness of the middle part (were the tanks lay), it is more than any other wing I've seen.

Basically out of 2 oTHER people that I know that have dove it no one seems to like it, and one even called the dive cause of it.

I was (and still am) happy to see another player in the BP/W wing game as in the end I think we (the customers) are the winners. I WOULD like to try their soft back plate and singles wing, I just did NOT like the doubles wing.

Just another Opinion. I am an Apeks fan but just not for that particular wing.

WD

JS1scuba · January 3rd, 2006, 05:35 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by WaterDawg)

Joel,

I had a chance to dive the one you sent to Spectre. First let me give you some back ground. I dove a set of PST E-8 130's w/ an AL bp and dry suit. The first dive of the day was done w/ a Halcyon 55# Explorer. The first words out of my mouth were "DAMN! THESE ARE SWEET TANKS!" As they Trimed out great.

For the second dive (same tanks, same pressure) I used the Apeks wing (60#)...It was NOT fun. My trim was way off, I felt like I was working harder as well, in fact my first words after this dive were "Is the flow greater here?" It turns out it was not, but the drag sure felt like it.
The material seemed "light weight" to me but I was suprised by the sturdyness of the middle part (were the tanks lay), it is more than any other wing I've seen.

Basically out of 2 oTHER people that I know that have dove it no one seems to like it, and one even called the dive cause of it.

I was (and still am) happy to see another player in the BP/W wing game as in the end I think we (the customers) are the winners. I WOULD like to try their soft back plate and singles wing, I just did NOT like the doubles wing.

Just another Opinion. I am an Apeks fan but just not for that particular wing.

WD

WD --
The wing that was sent to Spectre was a 60lbs wing not a 30lbs single tank wing. So this is not a fair discussion here of the two wings. Nevertheless, Jeff showed me the photos of the APEKS 60 and the Halcyon 55. They are dramatically different. We went back and tested the H-55 and found it to be a 48lbs lift not a 55, hence the size difference. The APEKs WTX60 and WTX80 are true lift wings. They also have more than 500 dives testing on them and frankly it was only you guys who have reported trim issues. That's not to say you were not having issues it's just that you were the only ones that have reported issues. Most everyone who has used these seems to love the way they balance out.

I use the WTX60 with all my 7.25" tanks and I use the WTX8 for my 108s and 121 LPs I can't tell you enough as to how well these have me trimmed out. And I have thousands of dives experience in wings over the past 15 years. At 6'1" most all other wings leave my ass hanging down these keep me nice and horizontal.

The material choices were very specific and were heavily tested for a variety of enviroments and abraision resistance. It surpased all other materials tested.

From what the folks at A/L Apeks tell me we will also have a 45lbs wing sometime in early spring. That may work better for you as it will be closer in lift to the smaller H wing.

Thanks for the comments.

Cheers

WaterDawg · January 3rd, 2006, 06:36 AM

Yes, their singles wing looks great, and it appears that the lift is about what most folks use.

I can see how the longer wing would be great for taller folks, but for me the WTX60 is just too big even w/ dbl E8-130's. But Im not so sure its only the lift as I had demo'ed an H Evolve 60 (its a MONSTER) w/ AL80's and I dont remember it being that bad at all, but on the surface the Evovle 60 (64 actually) made me look like a Ninja Turtle

All I am trying to say is dont just go out and buy an Apeks BC (or any other brand) becasue they make good regs. Test it out if you can.
For the record I dive a DSS Torus.

Moz · January 15th, 2006, 08:06 PM

Hi folks,
Sorry to raise this thread again, but are there any more comments about this wing. I am hoping to have a look at one this week. Is there anything I should look out for? It seems to be very good value for money and looks very similar to other single wings. I havn't dived a wing before so even if I could try one I probably would be able to tell good from bad!
Being such a small wing is there really any difference between manufacturers with regard to trim? I am hoping to pair it up with either a alloy or 3mm stainless plate, so trim weights could really be added anywhere.

David

January 2nd, 2006, 01:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
jb2cool (Online) Padawan learner Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire Posts: 796	Anyone used this wing? (Apeks WTX3) Seems to be a reasonably similar to some of Halcyon's wings but this one is cheap-cheap. You can buy this online for just £110. Ok, it might not last forever but worth a look? http://www.apeks.co.uk/products/prod...oyancy Control __________________ http://jb2cool.bulldoghome.com

January 2nd, 2006, 01:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
jb2cool (Online) Padawan learner Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire Posts: 796	if i can get hands on with one i'll have a little look and report back. Just seemed too good to be true. Half the price of similar products. Makes you think it'll be poorly put together don't it. __________________ http://jb2cool.bulldoghome.com

January 2nd, 2006, 07:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
JS1scuba(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 82	Quote: (Originally Posted by jb2cool) Seems to be a reasonably similar to some of Halcyon's wings but this one is cheap-cheap. You can buy this online for just £110. Ok, it might not last forever but worth a look? http://www.apeks.co.uk/products/prod...oyancy Control I have close to 90 dives on this wing. It's perfect. It's robust, has a TRUE buoyancy rating. As to the D-ring on the bottom, you can remove that with a bolt cutter if you like. The net weight of the wing is also quite low and makes it perfect for traveling. It's not cheap. It was manufactured in the thousands not dozens which lets Apeks / Aqualung drive the cost of manufacturing down. Get one, you will like it. Cheers __________________ Joel Silverstein, VP, COO www.techdivinglimited.com a division of Scuba Training and Technology Inc. NAUTILUS DIVE PLANNER CYLINDER SPEC CHART Last edited by JS1scuba; January 2nd, 2006 at 07:10 PM.

January 3rd, 2006, 12:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
QBU(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Okinawa Posts: 121	WaterDawg tried one. I'll see if I can talk him into giving his review. __________________ "C"

January 3rd, 2006, 05:35 AM	#7 (permalink)
JS1scuba(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 82	Quote: (Originally Posted by WaterDawg) Joel, I had a chance to dive the one you sent to Spectre. First let me give you some back ground. I dove a set of PST E-8 130's w/ an AL bp and dry suit. The first dive of the day was done w/ a Halcyon 55# Explorer. The first words out of my mouth were "DAMN! THESE ARE SWEET TANKS!" As they Trimed out great. For the second dive (same tanks, same pressure) I used the Apeks wing (60#)...It was NOT fun. My trim was way off, I felt like I was working harder as well, in fact my first words after this dive were "Is the flow greater here?" It turns out it was not, but the drag sure felt like it. The material seemed "light weight" to me but I was suprised by the sturdyness of the middle part (were the tanks lay), it is more than any other wing I've seen. Basically out of 2 oTHER people that I know that have dove it no one seems to like it, and one even called the dive cause of it. I was (and still am) happy to see another player in the BP/W wing game as in the end I think we (the customers) are the winners. I WOULD like to try their soft back plate and singles wing, I just did NOT like the doubles wing. Just another Opinion. I am an Apeks fan but just not for that particular wing. WD WD -- The wing that was sent to Spectre was a 60lbs wing not a 30lbs single tank wing. So this is not a fair discussion here of the two wings. Nevertheless, Jeff showed me the photos of the APEKS 60 and the Halcyon 55. They are dramatically different. We went back and tested the H-55 and found it to be a 48lbs lift not a 55, hence the size difference. The APEKs WTX60 and WTX80 are true lift wings. They also have more than 500 dives testing on them and frankly it was only you guys who have reported trim issues. That's not to say you were not having issues it's just that you were the only ones that have reported issues. Most everyone who has used these seems to love the way they balance out. I use the WTX60 with all my 7.25" tanks and I use the WTX8 for my 108s and 121 LPs I can't tell you enough as to how well these have me trimmed out. And I have thousands of dives experience in wings over the past 15 years. At 6'1" most all other wings leave my ass hanging down these keep me nice and horizontal. The material choices were very specific and were heavily tested for a variety of enviroments and abraision resistance. It surpased all other materials tested. From what the folks at A/L Apeks tell me we will also have a 45lbs wing sometime in early spring. That may work better for you as it will be closer in lift to the smaller H wing. Thanks for the comments. Cheers __________________ Joel Silverstein, VP, COO www.techdivinglimited.com a division of Scuba Training and Technology Inc. NAUTILUS DIVE PLANNER CYLINDER SPEC CHART

January 2nd, 2006, 01:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
JohnKendall(Offline) GUE Instructor/DIRX Moderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 1,098	You don't want any D-rings attached to your wing. I'd also like to see one, and try one in the water before advising anyone to get one. There are lots of products out there that look like they might be DIR right up to the moment you dive it and discover that it's the little things that make the difference. I don't know if it is the case with this, but I wouldn't want to be the person spending the money and finding out. HTH John

January 3rd, 2006, 02:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
WaterDawg(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: FL Posts: 28	Joel, I had a chance to dive the one you sent to Spectre. First let me give you some back ground. I dove a set of PST E-8 130's w/ an AL bp and dry suit. The first dive of the day was done w/ a Halcyon 55# Explorer. The first words out of my mouth were "DAMN! THESE ARE SWEET TANKS!" As they Trimed out great. For the second dive (same tanks, same pressure) I used the Apeks wing (60#)...It was NOT fun. My trim was way off, I felt like I was working harder as well, in fact my first words after this dive were "Is the flow greater here?" It turns out it was not, but the drag sure felt like it. The material seemed "light weight" to me but I was suprised by the sturdyness of the middle part (were the tanks lay), it is more than any other wing I've seen. Basically out of 2 oTHER people that I know that have dove it no one seems to like it, and one even called the dive cause of it. I was (and still am) happy to see another player in the BP/W wing game as in the end I think we (the customers) are the winners. I WOULD like to try their soft back plate and singles wing, I just did NOT like the doubles wing. Just another Opinion. I am an Apeks fan but just not for that particular wing. WD

January 3rd, 2006, 06:36 AM	#8 (permalink)
WaterDawg(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: FL Posts: 28	Yes, their singles wing looks great, and it appears that the lift is about what most folks use. I can see how the longer wing would be great for taller folks, but for me the WTX60 is just too big even w/ dbl E8-130's. But Im not so sure its only the lift as I had demo'ed an H Evolve 60 (its a MONSTER) w/ AL80's and I dont remember it being that bad at all, but on the surface the Evovle 60 (64 actually) made me look like a Ninja Turtle All I am trying to say is dont just go out and buy an Apeks BC (or any other brand) becasue they make good regs. Test it out if you can. For the record I dive a DSS Torus.

January 15th, 2006, 08:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
Moz(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Gateshead Posts: 205	Wtx3 Hi folks, Sorry to raise this thread again, but are there any more comments about this wing. I am hoping to have a look at one this week. Is there anything I should look out for? It seems to be very good value for money and looks very similar to other single wings. I havn't dived a wing before so even if I could try one I probably would be able to tell good from bad! Being such a small wing is there really any difference between manufacturers with regard to trim? I am hoping to pair it up with either a alloy or 3mm stainless plate, so trim weights could really be added anywhere. David