Do or Not Do with Weight Pockets...

I used my new-to-me Express Tech on two dives in Aruba recently. I outfitted it with a pair of XS Scuba Quick Release pockets. I took on 10lbs of lead in the pockets and no other weight.

On the second dive, on giant stride entry, one of the weights popped out of the pocket. Fortunately, the site was only 25ft and a dive master who was already on the bottom was able to retrieve and hand off the weight so I could reload it.

Even though this happened once, on one pocket, I'm concerned whether or not this will be an issue in the future OR should I just remove them and stick with a separate weigh belt? I could save my pennies for the Zeagle Zip Touch weight system, but $80 is a lot of nut when I already have a belt.

I did like having my BC/weight all in one harness/unit, but if it's gonna potentially drop weight on entry, well, that's obviously a problem.

Any insight would be appreciated.

You might want to analyze your weight pockets more closely on set up. There's a possibility that you didn't line the velcro closure correctly which could explain why only one failed on you and not both.

I personally like to keep at least some weight on my person via a weight belt/harness and some on my BC. It allows you to ditch your BC without shooting to the surface (something you may need to do if you need to dis-entangled line on your first stage).

With the Express Tech you would need to gauge for your own personal safety. I'm not sure if you kept the crotch strap but if you did then the question would be whether you put the weightbelt under or over the crotch strap. Over it would make it more complicated to ditch your BC, while under would make it impossible to easily ditch your weight belt.

Some divers put their weight under their crotch strap, which goes against most agency standards for Basic OW. The concept behind this is that any diver who chooses to do so can either
A) Ditch enough weight to become buoyant
B) Can easily swim up and thread with their weight even with a complete loss of buoyancy control (ie. Drysuit and/or BC)

My opinion might not fit your style of diving, so I'm not going to steer you one way or the other. But I will say that XS weight pockets or any weight pockets for that matter shouldn't fail like that. If they do it's often user error or a defect.

The merits of the separate weight belt for safety is what has me thinking of donning it and just removing the XS pockets from the BC altogether.

I did not use the crotch strap and felt it wasn't necessary.

I use a weight belt exclusively but now use 2 lbs in pouches around the tank strap for trim in addition to the weight belt. The two lbs is for when on the surface (back inflate BCD) and seems to work well. I can ditch almost all weight in one shot if necessary with a belt.
I have found several weight pouches on the bottom of the ocean. Some people like integrated weights and their system of pouches is good enough so they don't lose weights. I just prefer a weight belt. BTW my weight belt is a neoprene belt with pockets and a foldover flap and lots of velco so I can recieve and take weights without taking the belt off. Also easier on hip bones. But it's more expensive than just a web belt.

If you ditch your BC, you do have the option to grab one of the weight pouches first though..
Then again, what is the ACTUAL chance you have to ditch it in the first place?

My take is, losing weight accidentally is way more danger than "takes longer to ditch a weight". The first thing I suggest is to turn the quick release pocket upside down, so the opening is upward. If you need to ditch the weight, just open the pocket, grad the weight and ditch it. It is less likely lose one when you don't want to.

In my point of view you should configure yourself to prevent as much problems as possible
AND
also configure yourself to be able to solve any problems with ease.

Tigerman:

If you ditch your BC, you do have the option to grab one of the weight pouches first though..
Then again, what is the ACTUAL chance you have to ditch it in the first place?

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The problem with that is if you ditch your BC for the sake of ascending you've got some major issues as a diver.
If you ditch your BC to untangle yourself you're going to need 2 hands, one to hold your BC and the other to untangle it.
There's no logical reason as to why you would need to remove weight and hold it in your hands at depth.
Removing one of your weight pouches at depth and holding onto it is an unnecessary task. Most weight pouches do not quick release off the webbing they're strapped to.

eelnoraa:

My take is, losing weight accidentally is way more danger than "takes longer to ditch a weight". The first thing I suggest is to turn the quick release pocket upside down, so the opening is upward. If you need to ditch the weight, just open the pocket, grad the weight and ditch it. It is less likely lose one when you don't want to.

Click to expand...

My point of view is you should not need to ditch any weight unless you're in major trouble (ie. on the verge of panic and unable to stay afloat). For this reason you need to be able to ditch weight quickly and easily. Yes loosing weight accidentally is dangerous but there are better solutions to prevent this.
Having to manually pull weight one by one out of your pockets isn't the same as having easily ditchable weight and falls under the same category as putting your weight under a crotchstrap, with the addition it now becomes impossible to ditch a majority of weight quickly. With a belt under the crotch strap you're still able to ditch all that weight, you just have to undo one more buckle.
Quite honestly with this configuration you've suggested, I don't think you'll be able to ditch all your weight easily under stress.

I believe your solution trades one problem for another.

I would figure out why it came out first. Given, that the BCD and Pockets are new to you perhaps you did not quite have things set right??

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