Integrated weights versus weight belt

[String]

Given that even ONE failure of a belt can kill or permanently cripple you even 1 in 1000 chance is way too high in my view.

 

[dwhthediver]

So many opinions and answers posted, and they are all correct...for the individual posting them. I would suggest trying a few different configurations until you find what you are most comfortable using in the water. I would bet if you polled everyone who has posted they tried multiple configurations before settling on the one they use. So weight integrated, harness, belt, hard or soft weights, your decision, and it boils down to what configuration makes you feel the most comfortable in the water.

 

[Thalassamania]

The problem is that each configuration limits your effective responses to real problems that will present themselves. One must not only select the configuration that makes one feel the most comfortable in the water, one must also consider minimizing risks, and sometimes that may require sacrificing what might appear to be some level of comfort.

 

[Teamcasa]

The problem is that each configuration limits your effective responses to real problems that will present themselves. One must not only select the configuration that makes one feel the most comfortable in the water, one must also consider minimizing risks, and sometimes that may require sacrificing what might appear to be some level of comfort.

Exactly.

Despite the musings of some of the people who post here, no single gear configuration is right for everyone in every situation.

There are configurations that may fit many divers and many conditions but that still leaves a vast majority where their diving style, body type, gender, location and other factors where different gear setups make sense. Find out what works for you and your diving. Keep an open mind.

 

[Winterpeg]

Warm water with 12-16# seems like a lot. Are you wearing a thin wetsuit? When I was diving in South East Asia, I wore about 6# with an aluminum 80 tank while diving in a thin Lycra suit.
Richard

I just looked back at my log book. In Puerto Vallarta I wore a full 5mm wetsuit and 16 pounds; in the Caribbean last winter I wore my own 3/2 full wetsuit and 12 pounds. Does this still sound heavy? I am female and weigh 130 pounds. I am still relatively inexperienced; maybe I can go a bit lighter in the future. I plan to do my AOW in Cozumel in Feb/09 with PPB as one of my options, so will fine-tune it there.
Thanks everyone for the comments. It sounds like the way to go is to pick what I am most comfortable with if I buy my own BCD. I will certainly examine each type closely.

 

[Web Monkey]

I just looked back at my log book. In Puerto Vallarta I wore a full 5mm wetsuit and 16 pounds; in the Caribbean last winter I wore my own 3/2 full wetsuit and 12 pounds. Does this still sound heavy? I am female and weigh 130 pounds. I am still relatively inexperienced; maybe I can go a bit lighter in the future. I plan to do my AOW in Cozumel in Feb/09 with PPB as one of my options, so will fine-tune it there.
Thanks everyone for the comments. It sounds like the way to go is to pick what I am most comfortable with if I buy my own BCD. I will certainly examine each type closely.

Nobody can tell you if it sounds "heavy", you need to do a buoyancy check with the gear you'll be using and a mostly empty tank, then see what it takes to sink you.

As for weights, you need to be able to reliably retain them under any forseeable conditions, while still being able to reliably ditch them when necessary.

If you have a waist that's significantly smaller than your hips, a weight belt will probably work nicely. If it's the other way around, you'll probably be happier with integrated weights or a weight harness.

Terry

 

[olddiverguy]

I started diving in 1980, and was certified NAUI and SSI, up in NH. Back then, belt weight was the way to go, and integrated weights were evil. Back floatation BC's were evil because they float a dive face down, ScubaPro's underarm flotation was the way to go.
By the late 90's/2000, integrated was the way to go, and back flotation was back on the table.
SO... In my humble opinion, it really is nothing more than personal preference. Sure, in a gill net, integrated may be a disadvantage. Hardly likely if you are diving fresh water. So really, there are countless scenarios for pro and con of either style of weight.
Try them both and see which you prefer.

 

[Winterpeg]

since olddiverguy has resurrected this thread, I may as well ask a question. I rented a BC in Coz; now I want my own. I will likely use a weight belt, since it worked fine for me. (I only needed 10-12 pounds, and my waist IS smaller than my hips.) But out of curiosity, if I were to go integrated, wouldn't I have to then pack the weights with me when I travel? Because that would certainly use up my baggage allowance pretty quickly.

 

[la_diver]

Nope. The same weights on the belt would fit in the integrated weight pockects of your bc. My bc has two removable pockets that clip in my bc on lower side and two trim pockets on my upper shoulder that the weights are dropped into. No removable pockects on the trimpockets. Is it better. I used a belt when certifing and with that little experience I would say i like the integrated better, but i'm sure there are differences of opinion. I have Subapro Glide.