| Brand Name | Sopras Tek |
| Part Number | SoprasTek |
T**Y
A big change in buoyancy and trim from a horseshoe!
This is the first donut-shaped doubles wing I have ever used. The biggest issue I had was it significantly changed my trim in the water. I've never been head-heavy ever -- until this wing. It was a significant and startling difference. I had to spend about an hour making adjustments until I got things relatively close to where they were with my old horseshoe wing: mainly which holes on the wing and plate to use, and minor adjustment to my band position.Speaking of my old wing: here is a photo of the Sopras wing on top of two different Halcyon Explorer wings. It's hard to see but there are three wings there. On the bottom is the Halcyon Explorer 65. In the middle is the Halcyon Explorer 40. They have almost exactly the same shape: the 65 inflates *thicker*. On the very top is the Sopras wing. As you can see, the Sopras wing is noticeably smaller than the other two wings. That's because it has so much more inflation area below the bolts: it's a donut after all, not a horseshoe. And I think it's that significantly different shape that leads to the big change in trim.Be prepared to spend some time getting in and out of the water to adjust your gear to get back in trim.Things I liked about this wing: I really like the strong rings around the elbow and the dump valve. Every wing I've ever had eventually frayed badly in those spots. Nice to see them protected. The smaller size is nice. Lift is good. It's a small doubles wing, so it won't do everything. It barely kept my head above (fresh) water with a set of cave-filled LP104's: I really should have used a larger wing for those, and that's pretty much worst-case for this wing. But for my HP100's I was fine, though the wing was full, of course.The inflator is really nice: smooth and easy to control. It's easy to let in just a *tiny* amount of air. Dumping was rarely a problem, but using the inflator to dump meant rotating to the right and going a little bit head-up (which is pretty standard). I did not use the rear dump so I can't comment on that: maybe I need to get used to doing that?The biggest thing I didn't like: how crinkley the wing sounds from the bladder. It sounds like a bliaminate drysuit or foul weather gear. I did not disassemble the wing to look at the bladder, but I fear that the bladder material is not as high-quality as what I'm used to from my Dive Rite or Halcyon wings. I worry about its durability. But for now, I only have about 20 dives on it and it's been perfect during that time.So, at least initially, it seems to be an effective piece of gear, for about half the price of the comparable Halcyon wing. We'll see about its durability and longevity, but as an initial evaluation I'm very happy with it. So, 5 stars for now, until I have any problems with it! :)Edited 2019/12/21: Still happy with this wing. Had my Explorer 40 explode, so using this pretty heavily. The embroidery has started to fray a bit. Other than that, looks fairly new. Haven’t had a bit of trouble with it. Have learned to use the rest dump, and use it frequently now. No issues or complaints. With lighter tanks (2 x AL80’s) I can squeeze a small deco bottle in there and still get my head above water. It’s a nice wing that fits nicely between single-tank wings and the massive 65LB doubles wing.
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