BP/W No Weight to Dump ????

[Rec Diver]

Do you have the hammerhead 2 piece STA or the 1 Piece? By the way, how do you like the setup? What wing do you have on it?

I use the 1 piece STA and a Halcyon Pioneer 45# wing. This has been the best set up I have ever used. I would and do recomend it to everyone I dive with as well as those on this board. Good luck and have fun. You are NOT going to regret this purchae.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

Thanks everyone for answering my questions on previous threads. I am sold on this BP/W thing!

I have decided to get the Hammerheadscuba SS plate with a Halcyon Wing. Here is my biggest concern. I currently carry 12 pounds of lead when diving.

If I were to say, buy a hammerhead Plate(7 lbs) with a 1 piece STA(5lbs), thats already 12 pounds +- 1. The other route would be to get to get the two piece STA (2.lbs) that will give me what 3 pounds to dump? Is this even safe?

Anyone else has this problem?

What kind of Halcyon Wing do you have? The Pioneer has a built in STA which would eliminate the need for the one piece STA and free up the 5 lbs you mentioned. You can still keep it on a weight belt. I prefer a weight pocket.

I only need 12 lbs of weight (single AL80, 3mil suit). Since the BP is about 6 lbs, I keep 4 lbs on a XS trim pocket on the starboard side of my tank strap and 2 lbs on a pocket on my waist belt.

You've got a various options but if you want maximum "dumpability" of weights, put more on weight belt, trim pocket, etc. That would entail the use of AL STA if your wing doesn't have built in.

As for safety, achieving neutral buoyancy is a lot more safe than having "dumpable" weights.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

I use the 1 piece STA and a Halcyon Pioneer 45# wing. This has been the best set up I have ever used. I would and do recomend it to everyone I dive with as well as those on this board. Good luck and have fun. You are NOT going to regret this purchae.

Why do use a 1 piece STA? The Halcyon Pioneer 45# wing already has "an integrated single tank mounting system, eliminating the need for a separate single tank adapter (patent pending). "

 

[Rec Diver]

Why do use a 1 piece STA? The Halcyon Pioneer 45# wing already has "an integrated single tank mounting system, eliminating the need for a separate single tank adapter (patent pending). "

This Halycon adapter system is not very secure, imagine that; a DIR product that does not operate as prescribed. I found that on occasion my tank would slip over the Halcyon adapter. After repeated frustration with this I added the single tank adapter. I have had no more problems. I dive in the Great Lakes. Most dives are below 50 degrees. I dive mostly with a dry suit, so it was nice to free up a little weight from my pockets. Plus this also allowed me to balance the weight along my back instead of just at my hips.

 

[Sideband]

Peole say you will be OK without ditchable weight. Yes untill you need to dditch your
weight then you're screwed.

About the only place anyone wants to ditch weight is at the surface in order to be able to stay there. Buoyany emergency ascents are a real last ditch maneuver and if you have to do it then ditch your rig.

I know, no one I know has had to ditch weight but I
could have hadthat problem once when my BC dump valve decided to stick full open.
I was still the surf and simply turned around back to shallow water but what it
it stuck at 120 feet? There I'd be way negative. I could likely swimm up but what
it I'm at 120 feet and low on air (due to being dumb, narc'd, ...whatever)

From a stuck open inflator? The problem there isn't too little air, it's too much air and a runaway ascent. As soon as it sticks pull your dump. It will vent faster than than it is filling. While still dumping disconnect the LP hose. Now orally inflate to get neutral. Begin your ascent and dump excess air as you come up. Ditching weight would be a rather bad thing during this process.

Joe

 

[tau]

I just got of the phone with ED (Hammerheadscuba). I ordered the SS plate with the 2 piece STA.

Now I need to figure out what wing I should get.

Thank you all for posting.

 

[lamont]

Of course if you don't have a drysuit, then having a small amount of ditchable weight becomes a good thing to have. You just need to make sure it's not so much that you lose control of your ascent should you need to lose it. As much weight as you have air in your tank (6 lbs for al80 etc..) is what I was taught. Of course the reasons for ditching weight at depth are very few, so mostly it is an option reserved for once you are at the surface for the point of positive bouyancy in an emergency.

Yup, I don't dive wet. Particularly now that I dive all the time with argon, I'd need to lose my wing integrity, go out of air, and go out of argon to produce a situation where it was getting really dangerous. And even then, I should have a buddy to give me air while I ditch my gear.

Uncle Pug has commented on several occasions that different diving conditions probably produce many of the arguements on this board. This is probably one of those situations. Ditchable weight the way I dive just doesn't make any sense... YMMV.

 

[kidspot]

yeah - lots of different environments - and ditching does seem to get over-emphasized. It's a skill I've been made to practice in nearly every class I've taken, but the alternatives (like team resources) never even got mentioned.

when you're ready to try one of those different environments (like 82* crystal clear water...) come on over to Maui and leave the PNW behind for a few days drysuit optional

Aloha, Tim

 

[zboss]

Thanks everyone for answering my questions on previous threads. I am sold on this BP/W thing!

I have decided to get the Hammerheadscuba SS plate with a Halcyon Wing. Here is my biggest concern. I currently carry 12 pounds of lead when diving.

If I were to say, buy a hammerhead Plate(7 lbs) with a 1 piece STA(5lbs), thats already 12 pounds +- 1. The other route would be to get to get the two piece STA (2.lbs) that will give me what 3 pounds to dump? Is this even safe?

Anyone else has this problem?

Actually being a hammerhead owner and diving salt with AL100's that are nearly neutral when at 500 pounds... I don't need any weight when my tank is empty. So - I agree with some posters on this board that have indicated that you should go with an aluminum plate to begin with. You DO need to be able to shed some weight.

However, if I were diving doubles, say 108's, that might be 5 or 6 pounds postive at the end of a dive, the extra weight from the steel plate would be handy.

One thing I have to say about Hammerhead as a company is that I have had nothing but great experiences with them. I do have a slight problem with my dive rite venture wing not fitting extactly right with the single piece STA but I have been told to return it and they will either replace or drill it for free.

 

[Tom Winters]

There are some pretty marginal postings on here about ditching weights. It almost sounds like some people posting here have such lame aquatic abilities that being able to ditch a few pounds of weight is all that keeps them alive. I never certified anyone who could not swim their gear up from depth OR swim a simulated unconscious dive up from depth. I never had anyone fail those skills either - they're not very difficult.
Now the whole idea is to be comfortably neutral at the end of the dive with an empty bc/wing. You should not have to pump up your bc to stay easily on the surface. If this is the problem - you're overweighted bub, so cut some weight out.
Now in some cases - big giant steel tank, steel backplate, wetsuit - you will be pretty negative at the start of the dive.
Well, so what? Uh, don't they teach students to maybe put a couple squirts of air in their bc/wing anymore if that's the case? Controlled descent? Ring a bell?
Next, people will bring up "Oh, what if your bc/wing fails?" What kind of junk gear are these people diving with? The gear, reasonably maintained, is pretty reliable - way more reliable than most divers seem to be. A lot more divers have parts of their bodies fail diving than parts of their dive kit.
Now granted, proper weighting in cold water with a neoprene drysuit is going to be a little more of a challenge than just rolling off the boat in south Florida, but it still isn't like figuring the max apogee thrust of the primary tanks of a space shuttle (rocket science for the hard-of-catching-on).
So don't make a big deal of all this weighting stuff. Figure out what you will need and then figure out where best to put it. Way too many people dive overweighted - totally needless and potentially a real killer.