BP users - Weight belt, weight harness or pockets?

[Waterborne]

I started off with the OMS no sag pockets and found that they do sag ALOT!!! Not to mention the fact that they slid around on my harness throughout the dive. I kept having to push them back over to keep them from banging together in the front (and sometimes smashing into my package.) So I went with the Halcyon ACB system and I couldn't be happier. After the first dive with them, I thought it was odd to be that happy about how weights are carried. More comfortable and less drag than the OMS. Plus the Halcyon system has the added benefit of mounting the canister light to it. The OMS system had no such option.

 

[ianr33]

A question for everybody using a weightbelt. Does the weightbelt and the backplate waist strap interfere with each other? Can you remove your weightbelt OR your backplate independently of each other?

 

[detroit diver]

When using a drysuit, the weightbelt is put on before securing the waist strap. If the weight belt were to loosen accidentally, it would catch on the crotch strap and keep you from rocketing to the surface.

If you indeed need to drop the weight, it is no big deal to then open the waist buckle and let it go.

 

[JeffAustin]

12 lb Seasoft belt, sitting just under the waistbelt for the BP works fine for me. Although the Helios is lighter than the Explorer, it is still over 2 lb. of weight, but at that price, it is hard for me to consider it "ditchable"!

 

[ColdH20diving]

I just switched to using a DUI weight harness, before I was carrying ditchable weight in my BCD. Since I carry between 24-26 pounds of lead, it's made getting in and out of my IQ harness so much easier. My dive buddies are thanking me...........

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Doubles, 12# SS backplate, V-weight.

DUI 450. 55# wing.

Works for me.

Doc

 

[filtered]

Singles

Al 80 single tank
Aluminum Backplate
Pioneer 27 lb wing
3 mm wetsuit
No weights

Twin 80's
Aluminum plate
Explorer 40 lb wing
3 mm wetsuit
No weights

Only warm water diving in my part of the world

 

[Cave Diver]

No ditchable weight for me either.

In warm water, 3 mil shorty, AL80 tank I needed 4lbs of weight to maintain 15' safety stop.

Now that I've switched to a backplate, which weighs about 6lbs I need no additional weight at all.

 

[Scubadent]

I also switched from a belt to a harness.

Carrying 24lbs of shot in a neoprene belt became a nuisance dealing with the weight supported solely by the hips. As a backplate user, I found that I couldnt put any shot pouches in the rear pockets of the belt because it would push the bottom of the plate outwards and force the 1st stage closer to the back of my head. Also, I wanted to wear the belt outside of the crotch strap for easy ditching but found that the only feasible method of donning my gear was to put on the belt, then the BP and thread the strap under my weight belt. No easy task I found.

The DUI harness has been a godsend for me. Of course any harness could have done, but in the bloody purchasing frenzy of a DUI CLx 450, Turtle fins, Apeks regs, DIR hoses, spring strap materials (DIY), and various instruments and timers, the DUI harness was closest to my credit card laden hands.

I have found my trim has improved and my buoyancy is easier to control. It is also exponentially more comfortable to wear, both under the water and lumbering back onto the shore after a long tiring dive.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I use a tank weight, and a six pound SS backplate...

Double 112's

No additional weight needed, and no ditchable weight...