XS Scuba Pocket Placement

I just got my four pockets I ordered from Scuba Toys. I plan on putting one on each hip on my waist belt of my harness. I have two more and I am planning on putting them one the cam bands. One on each with one on the left side and one on the right. Does that sound about right to ya'll? I got four as I usually use a little more than 20 pounds total diving in CA. So, five in each waist one and a little in each cam band one. With my SS plate, it shouldn't be much. Would putting the heavier ones on the cams enable me to be more horizontal. I can reach back and reach them, so I can dump them if I have to.

I would hang as much off the CAM straps as possible. I think you can do 10lbs per strap, so that may be all of it.

You should not have to put any on your waste belt if you like. I used this weight belt for years.

XS Scuba Weight Belt

We have 2 pockets on out top cam band. That provides the most leverage.


I keep 2 belts one with two pockets for 1-9 pounds.

Belt 2 has two 5 pounders laced fore and a pocket behind each. That lets me rig 10-20 pounds. After that it's the DUI Weight & Trim.

If you need 10 on the waist consistently save the pockets and lace the lead.

Pete

Thanks for the answers guys.

Where you put the weight should depend on how you trim out, given what kind of tank you use, what kind of wing you use, your drysuit and where air might tend to hover in it, etc. If you're top heavy and/or your feet/legs tend to float up, you might put two pockets on the lower cam band and two on the waist. If your butt/legs tend to sink, you might put two pockets on the upper cam band. See how you tend to float vertically on the surface--if you feel yourself tipping back, you might want to make sure to have some weight on your waist belt. If you feel you want to face plant, then maybe all four pockets on the cam bands.

You have to work it out. It can take several dives to get it right. Generally, though, I would try to avoid one pocket on each side of each cam band--I dove that way for a while, actually, but then found two on top better.

Do you have access to a pool? If so I would dedicate an entire day (you may not need that much but it is there if you need it) to playing with weights and getting your trim right. In a month or two I'm going to do this, I have everything just about right but it is fun to play and see if you can prefect your trim. I find I don't like having all my weight in the tank trim pockets, it seams to make the whole rig top heavy and not as stable. What I do is put the majority of my weight on a belt and just enough to trim out in the pockets.

I have the same weight pockets mounted the in same position you mentioned. Its a great set up because I can move weights to any position and trim out. When I change tanks or exposure suits no problem trimming out. Keeping one pocket on each cam band allows you to keep the weight close to your plate for balance. Try it you will like it!! Keith

I would like to add one thing. You may need to place the trim weight pockets on the chest straps. If you are using a steel tank with the back plate your center of gravity may be to high and want to turn you turtle.
I tried putting weights on the cam bands and I wanted to roll over all the time.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I agree with mahjong's assertion that "where you put the weight should depend on how you trim out."
It's a trial and error process that must take place in the water and with all of your gear on.
What works great for one person in a certain configuration (number of tanks, tank type, exposure suit, etc.) might be suboptimal for a different person with his gear setup.
What works great for one person in a certain configuration might be suboptimal for that same person using a different gear configuration.

Two things to keep in mind:

• Without some sort of quick-release mechanism, weight pockets positioned on the tank cambands aren't readily ditchable, particularly if you are wearing a "standard" drysuit or thick wetsuit.
• Depending on the tank(s) and amount of required weight, positioning 100% of your lead weight in camband pockets might make you more prone to "turtling." YMMV.

Know that you can choose to position two weight pockets on the cambands in a few different configurations (2 on top, 2 on bottom, 1 on top & 1 on bottom).
Common: If you are trying to correct head-up/feet-down trim issues, then putting more weight on the upper camband might make sense. Try both pockets on top.
Less common: If you are trying to correct head-down/feet-up trim issues, then putting more weight on the lower camband makes more sense. Try both pockets on bottom.

In my setup, I have some ditchable weight positioned at my hips with a weight harness. If I put both weight pockets with the rest of my lead weight on the top camband, it promotes head-down/feet-up trim. If I put both weight pockets loaded with the rest of my lead weight on the bottom camband, it promotes head-up/feet-down trim. In either case, I can compensate for the trim issues with body positioning and bubble placement inside my drysuit...but I find it annoying and uncomfortable to deal with that throughout an entire dive. That's why I settled on putting one weight pocket on the top camband and the other on the bottom. Each weight pocket is snugged up close to the STA, so it doesn't throw off right-left balance. Eh. At least that's what works for me.

Figure out what works for you.

You mentioned that you used 20 lbs. of lead weight when diving in CA. I'm going to assume that that weight requirement was with a conventional jacket BCD (usually 2-4 lbs. positively buoyant), an AL80 tank, and a 7mm wetsuit. Given the same exposure suit and tank combo, once you switch over to a SS BP (5 lbs. negatively buoyant), you might only need 12 lbs. of lead weight. (As a newer diver, you really should have some ditchable weight positioned at your waist, so some of that should be on a weight belt/harness.) At first, you can try putting all of the weight at your waist, which will probably result in head-up/feet-down trim (like 99% of the newbies out there). Then, in small increments, experiment with shifting small amounts of weight to weight pockets positioned on the cambands. Try all 3 weight pocket-camband configurations I mentioned above.

Oh, and by the way, make sure that you do a proper weight check with your new BP/W before you spend lots of time optimizing trim. The correct order of operations is: (1) determine weight requirement, then (2) experiment with the placement of the weight.

Have fun out there...