What would you do or has this happened to you with your weights!

[Z Gear]

I like the idea of going with a heavier back plate and steel tanks that is a very good suggestion, thanks!

The Zeagle Rip cord is kind of what I was thinking of initially but after reading everyone's comments I have concluded that the best solution is without a doubt is proper weight distribution.

I know for sure that this info is vital for newbies and I am grateful to the more experienced divers as yourselves which took time to clear this up for me. Perhaps someone else will read this post and learn what to do and what not to do when it comes to weight distribution.

---------- Post added August 24th, 2014 at 11:20 PM ----------

As others have pointed out, if she was properly weighted, and at 20', losing one hunk of lead should have only begun an ascent to the surface, but not "like a rocket". Odds are, if she'd been able to dump the air, she probably would have trimmed out.

Along the same lines, losing an entire weightbelt at 75', shouldn't be a big deal... as long as the person vents whatever air is in his/her BCD at depth.

Those of us that started diving before BCDs were common... well before they were invented actually... typically on a deeper dive either fought like crazy to get down with no weight belt, or we took our weightbelts off at depth, then picked them up again before kicking upwards. I can remember diving on the wreck of the Arabia up here (105'), and it was common to see a bunch of weightbelts on her bow, withing to be retrieved.

Getting back to your question though, actually dropping lead at depth, while it has the potential to be more serious, it also a little more wiggle room to recover. Having said that, your friend responded appropriately by maintaining her breathing and enjoying the ride. As long as you aren't in deco, or really close to it, a quick ride to the surface isn't really a crisis, just an annoyance!

There's always the option to grab a suitable rock or something too, if you're near the bottom!

That's insane! Leave your weight belt and retrieve it when you where ready to go up!.Wow, I bet there must have been quite a few lost weight belts back then.

I wanted to say, that as far as her quick ascent was also due to the fact that she had an aluminum tank and had only 700 psi (25% full). She tried to quickly dump her air(BC) but their was almost nothing in it anyway.

I ask if she tried to grab me or anything near the bottom before she started to ascend. She said it happened to quickly but she did try to reach out.