Pocket weight harness for free diving

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Saloooh91

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So yesterday I had my second sea open water scuba diving class and I used a pocket harness. I was really comfortable with them. I tried a weight belt but it really bothered during the dive since I have a little big waist. So my question is, can I use a pocket harness for freediving ?
 
The more serious free divers generally use a rubber weight belt as it will stretch a little and allow the belt to be positioned lower on the hips away from the waist. The stretch will allow for wetsuit compression during a dive and the weights won't move. (The rubber belt will also "stick" a little more to the wetsuit too).

Having the belt lower on the hips allows more freedom to breath.

Some friends of mine dive with a weight harness as this moves the weight away from their waist and they like this as they have bad backs. It also changes their trim as the weight is positioned around the chest rather than weight.

This link will take you to a page showing 3 weight systems and various weight related products. It is specifically focussed on free diving. (Although it is in New Zealand and nowhere near you). Weights & Weight Systems - Freediving - Ocean Hunter

One key thing for free diving is being as streamlined as possible. This is more important for free diving than it is for SCUBA.

What ever weight system you choose for free diving make sure:
1. you can drop it easily in the event of an emergency
2. you can adjust the weight so you can move from suit to suit and also remove weight if you are starting to dive deeper
3. It is as streamlined as possible. Drag is the enemy of a comfortable free dive.
 
The more serious free divers generally use a rubber weight belt as it will stretch a little and allow the belt to be positioned lower on the hips away from the waist. The stretch will allow for wetsuit compression during a dive and the weights won't move. (The rubber belt will also "stick" a little more to the wetsuit too).

Having the belt lower on the hips allows more freedom to breath.

Some friends of mine dive with a weight harness as this moves the weight away from their waist and they like this as they have bad backs. It also changes their trim as the weight is positioned around the chest rather than weight.

This link will take you to a page showing 3 weight systems and various weight related products. It is specifically focussed on free diving. (Although it is in New Zealand and nowhere near you). Weights & Weight Systems - Freediving - Ocean Hunter

One key thing for free diving is being as streamlined as possible. This is more important for free diving than it is for SCUBA.

What ever weight system you choose for free diving make sure:
1. you can drop it easily in the event of an emergency
2. you can adjust the weight so you can move from suit to suit and also remove weight if you are starting to dive deeper
3. It is as streamlined as possible. Drag is the enemy of a comfortable free dive.

Will this do ? DUI Weight & Trim System

They have those emergency pullies thingy.
In case of an emergency I can pull the weights off.
 
You should try an elastic freedive belt for scuba diving. It will work fine for both freediving and scuba diving. A rubber belt will work much better than a pocket belt under both applications. It will also be cheaper than a big harness. The elasticity of the belt will allow a person to comfortably wear it, even if they are more round than hourglass shaped.
 
As already mentioned, a rubber belt is the way to go. You may want to complement with a neck weight to redistribute some of the weight from the waist to the neck which will a) help to keep you more horizontal in the water during breath-up (i.e. less hydrostatic pressure on your diaphragm = easier to take your peak inhalation) and b) provide for better streamlining during the sink phase of the dive (same principle as weight forward on an arrow). General rule for recreational freediving is to have no more than 50% of your to total weight around the neck.
 
I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of the rubber weight belt. They are simple, streamlined, and easy to dump in an emergency. While the DUI weight and trim harness is an amazing unit for diving in a drysuit with heavy undergarments, it's bulk and design will prove to be problematic for a free diver.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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