How many of you put most of your weights in the front integrated weight pockets?

[tazgator]

Overall I believe you have pretty much come up with the answer yourself, and collaborated it with confirmation from quite a few on this forum. Equal distribution of your weights is key... and while I may have a couple of pounds of lead by my tank as trim weights. I have the weights that I will need to get to, to get positive in an emergency in the front integrated to the BC where I can get to them in a jiffy...

 

[Chris12day]

I think the major problem had nothing to do with ditchable or non-ditchabel weights. It had to do with using her intergated weight pockets as a storage unit! Weight pockets are not for storage or gloves or other things except weight! Yes, they maybe handy, but are not to be "opened" while diving. Either use other pockets or carry a clipable bag, like the ones for lobsters......

Safe diving

 

[tazgator]

Whoa... Agree Chris, I didn't pick up this as the thread seemed to be exhaustively expanding in different tangents when it comes to weights... but I concur, I don't mess with using lead BC pockets for anything else but that... that's an easy recipe for inadvertent dropped lead at any point of the dive...

 

[stevensamler]

I wanted to find out if there are more divers like me and my dive buddy, on this forum who were taught and still practice the habit of putting most of their weights in the front of their BC. I have asked around to some instructors and dive masters in my area and most agree that this is the best way to use a quick weight ditch system.

I posted earlier on an incident that occurred last weekend :What would you do or has this happened to you with your weights!

I was diving this morning at La Jolla Shores CA and my dive buddy"s integrated weight (velcro secured) fell out. Thank God we were heading back towards shore and this happened at 20 feet. All I know is, I took a look at my gauge for a second and when I turned to look for my buddy she was gone. She said when her weight fell out she immediately shot up like a rocket!!! She at least remembered to breathe and not hold her breath and were pretty shallow. It brought something to my attention that this could have happened at our 75 foot depth that we were earlier. That is why I wanted to ask for any thoughts or experiences this topic, on what to do if this should occur especially below 30 feet.

I received a lot of good advice. The main message from everyone was the importance of proper weight distribution. They did make a lot of sense: on how this would lessen the affect when losing an integrated weight. By having more weights distributed in different areas, when one falls off it won't affect you as much and will not cause you to ascend so quickly. Distributing the weights in different areas allows you to be better balanced as well.

My dilemma is: I want to do something to help divers out their who are convinced in loading most their weights in the front pocket ( of BC) still think it's a good practice. Tell me why you still think this is still good, especially after reading this post.

If you are still not convinced on weight distribution, tell me if you think someone should make a quick release leash, tether or something that could help retrieve the weight in the event of an inadvertent release of the weights. If you think that this is a good idea let me know. I don't care who makes this, I just think those choosing to use their weights the way I was ( and my dive buddy), are risking an accident. Sometimes it's hard to change peoples mind on how they do things especially when they are experienced and have been doing things in a certain way without incident for a while, but it just takes one time to get you to realize how dangerous it can be. It could happen to yourself or someone you know lets try and address this all the way. That is why I thought, if I can't convince them to distribute their weights perhaps I can help them by providing some type of safety measure to their integrated weight system.

Tell me what you think.

Sounds to me your dive buddy is diving with to much weight, possible buoyancy swing of an al 80 and largest pressure change in first 33fsw she got a ride to the surface.

 

[Z Gear]

I think the major problem had nothing to do with ditchable or non-ditchabel weights. It had to do with using her intergated weight pockets as a storage unit! Weight pockets are not for storage or gloves or other things except weight! Yes, they maybe handy, but are not to be "opened" while diving. Either use other pockets or carry a clipable bag, like the ones for lobsters......

Safe diving

These pockets are not weight pockets they are separate storage zippered pockets on her BC. Although now she is more aware to be more cautious, if she decides to use these pockets in the future.

 

[danclem]

I dive with Zeagle BCD's, and have never had an issue with weights falling out. None of my friends who dive with Zeagle's have had an issue. Weights are placed in zippered pockets, there is a rip cord style quick release.

Where I have seen integrated weights accidentally dumped are BCD's where weights are placed in a pouch, which is then placed into a BCD pocket and secured via a plastic clip. One one occasion I do not believe the clip was pushed all the way in and completely locked. On another dive we think the diver accidentally hit the clip and released it.

So I have seen two accidentally dumped weights in many years of diving: both involved clip in integrated weights.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[freewillie]

It's not the weighting distribution, it's an equipment malfunction problem. The whole point of having ditch able weights is so you can get rid of them in an emergency. As pointed out earlier having a tether system would only compound the situation if you tried to ditch the weight in an actual emergency and they were tied to you. You should make sure the fastening system is secured before the dive, that's part of the buddy check. I've heard of divers losing weights because the weights were not placed properly or securely into their pockets. That's an equipment issue, not how you distribute the weight.

 

[doctormike]

It's not the weighting distribution, it's an equipment malfunction problem. The whole point of having ditch able weights is so you can get rid of them in an emergency. As pointed out earlier having a tether system would only compound the situation if you tried to ditch the weight in an actual emergency and they were tied to you. You should make sure the fastening system is secured before the dive, that's part of the buddy check. I've heard of divers losing weights because the weights were not placed properly or securely into their pockets. That's an equipment issue, not how you distribute the weight.

Maybe, but distribution has a direct impact on this problem. Specifically, if you put all of your ballast into something that is easily ditchable, then you run the risk of an accidental uncontrolled ascent if the fastening system fails. On the other hand, only having a portion of your weight as ditchable means that you can still get positive on the surface (as noted above, the primary reason for ditching weight in the first place), but you will not have as much of a buoyancy emergency if you accidentally lose some of it at depth.


I think that new divers look at non-ditchable weight as a dangerous thing, which is not the case. Stuff like a steel tank, a steel backplate, cam weights, or a single-tank adapter weight are really useful, especially when you are diving in cold water with a buoyant exposure suit, and require a lot of ballast. For example, if you dive a dry suit or a 7 mm wetsuit with an aluminum 80 and a jacket BC, you are going to need a LOT of lead. If you put that all weight on a belt, a buckle failure can turn you into a Polaris missile….

 

[Wookie]

Thousands of dives, lost as many as 24 lbs on a drysuit weightbelt. Never had an uncontrolled ascent. Try it sometime. Drop your weights from even 30 feet. Flare and arch, at your Safety Stop depth, go head down and fin slowly. It's tiring, but it isn't impossible to make your safety stop without bobbing like a cork. Even in a drysuit.

 

[Damselfish]

There's no one right answer for weight distribution for everyone. But using some kind of a tether to make up for any kind of unreliable weight system is just layering one bad thing on top of another, not a fix.

I think the right answer if you have unreliable weight pockets - in particular any that rely only on velcro, which was always a bad idea - is to not use them. Use a weight belt or harness instead or whatever other method makes sense for you. If you really want integrated ditchable weights and your current BC isn't reliable at that, get something that is.

If the problem is actually caused by mixing weights and other stuff in weight pockets, or for that matter other pockets, the solution is "don't do that." (I don't mean sticking a small weight in a regular pocket occasionally, like if you're going on a special dive that suggests over-weighting and staying on the bottom, or you decide to leave your heavy camera on the boat at the last minute, or whatever. But not as a major or regular part of your weights.)