Help on drysuit weight systems

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Tonefet

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Need some advice on drysuit weight systems.

I have aways since starting to dive, dived in semidry/wetsuits but now as most of my diving in the UK decided to move to a Drysuit. The question i need answering is can you use weight belts with dry suits or do you use a weight harness?

Thanks in advance
 
you can use a weight belt-many do.

depends on your shape really.

most end up with v-weights on the backplate or a thicker backplate.

never tried a harness so cant comment.
 
you can use whatever you want. Many of us will go to a harness as the weight increase from going wet to dry can be significant, so distributing the load to the shoulders/back is a benefit of the harness. I dive a harness for either wet or dry due to not having enough hip to keep a belt in place, plus with the harness, i can wear it lower, which to me is better for my trim and comfort. YMMV!
 
I went to a DUI harness after getting my dry suit. I never really liked weight belts.
 
I had a DUI weight harness and hated it. Switched to a weight belt and have been using one since.

Since I dive dry and don't want to loose my weight belt, I do trap the weight belt under the crotch strap of my BP/W.

This is where back plates and wings shine in that there is no extra fluff and they are negative to take away from any added weight you would need to sink with a traditional BC. Stainless plates are my favorite for cold water diving.
 
A big factor in weight is the type of drysuit and it's undergarment. In a shell style suit it is the undergarment that is most buoyant. Obviously a neoprene or crushed neoprene suit will have buoyancy along with the undergarment. So, point being, to reduce weight required due to buoyancy consider the characteristics of the undergarment and see if a quality, less buoyant but warm under garment will work. Combine this with smart distribution of weight (backplate, steel tanks, v weights etc) and you may find you do not require a weight belt (with a properly balanced rig ditchable weight pouches can be small and added to your set up).
 
I found diving dry increased my buoyancy control and trim issues significantly. I don't have steel tanks and since I travel a lot, a steel BP is not an option,thus I have to deal with 30+lbs of lead in cold water The DUI weight harness allows me to adjust up/down to fix the trim issues. I think its a nice to have option when you have to deal with lots of ballast.
 
Thanks for all the advice, think im going to dive with a weight belt first as i think its a cheaper option to switch to if i dont get along with my first option.
 
I recently started diving dry and found that the integrated weights within my BC were too high up and caused my feet to lift while in the water.

The solution which I found was the DUI weight harness. It is worth every penny I paid and can't imagine diving dry without it. The harness helps with transporting the large amounts of weight synonymous with drysuit diving. It also solved my feet issue and the adjustable height can help you dial in your trim.

I never considered a weight belt mainly because they are awkward to walk around with out of the water and the hassle of spreading the weights evenly got annoying. I also don't have the hips needed to hold the belt and often found it slipping off me when I got in the water.

Any option is good, but I prefer the weight harness. It's comfort and adjustability is unmatched by any other weight system.
 
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