New diver having integrated weight problem

I completed my open water dive in the first two days of this month, and last Saturday I dove at Dutch Springs, PA for my first real dive outside of the certification course. I didn't have my own BCD so I rented one from a dive shop. The BCD seemed well maintained and it didn't look ripped or stretched at all. I don't remember the brand or model, but it did have an integrated weight system. I packed in 11 pounds on each side and began diving.

On my second dive of the day, I was swimming facing down at a slight angle and the weights slipped out, but didn't get detached. This continued for several minutes, they would either slip out completely and be hanging by the clip, or come partially out and I had to wrestle them back in.

On the third dive of the day, I was exploring a helicopter at 55 feet down when I was having serious problems keeping the weights in. They would slip out when I was swimming parallel. I kept wrestling with the weight system and wasted quite a bit of air doing so. Then, when I least expected it, the left weight slipped out and became detached, sinking all the way to the quarry floor. I started to ascend way too fast, and after I dumped all my air and was able to grab onto the line, my computer made me take a deco stop for 8 minutes. Luckily we had a third diver in the group who was able to descend and get the weight back. I was at 500 psi at this point and my buddy didn't want me to keep breathing out of the tank (breathing under 100 or 200 psi isn't just dangerous but it's also expensive because it's a rental tank). So I had to breathe from his alternate air source until we were able to ascend safely.

For this to happen on my very first dive was frustrating and disheartening, and I wasted so much time and effort focusing on the weights instead of enjoying the dive. I made sure the dive shop was aware of the problem, but I want to know if this is a common occurrence with rental BCDs? I'm almost terrified to dive again because of what happened with my weights, because I'm worried this will happen again unless I use an old-fashioned weight belt.

Assuming this was just a problem with a cheap rental BCD, I was thinking about buying my own, an economically priced back-inflate BCD: Mares Pegasus W/ Mrs Plus BCD @ Divers-Supply.com

Do you think this BCD will have any problems with the weight system slipping out again? Has this happened to anyone else? How did you fix it?

Some weight pockets have this problem especially if they are long and flimsy. An easy fix is to get those real thin flexible cutting boards from a retail store like Target. Cut out a long piece that will fit into the weight pocket to give it rigidity. This will keep it from folding in on itself and coming out of it's holster. You can recommend this to the shop and I'm sure they'll obliged if they get enough complaints.

I think it would be best to wait before buying your BC. Give yourself a chance to try different models, styles, and brands.
The Mares weight pockets have a wide range of reviews; the most notable argument being that they're unreliable. Some claim that they unclip out too easily and can fall out on their own during a dive (especially if they're fully loaded and rubbing against kelp or the environment). Others swear there's no issue at all.

I'm with the former argument, don't think they're reliable and I have several first hand experiences that back my claims. Clip's securing device is too small and thin IMO. Since the clip is so thin it's also hard to holster and clip in when fully loaded, both for your buddy and by yourself.

For a current fix, put some weight on a weight belt. That way if you lose a pocket you would be less likely to have a rapid ascent to the surface.

I have never had a problem with weights slipping out from my Zeagle Tech. Very satisfied with it...
However... what really made me post was a slight bit of curiosity about your 8min of deco. Did you keep in mind to check your bottomtime and depth? What kind of computer were you using?

If you are going to buy an integrated weight system, look closely at how Zeagle designed theirs. Its a rip cord that is almost impossible to false release (although it is also a pain to re-thread). I not saying theirs is the only good integrated weight system, but I think they have set a standard for a fool proof release system.

Before you do spend the $500 or so on an integrated system, consider a BP/W with a weight harness or belt. For cold water diving like in NJ you are going to be handling a good amount of lead and this is a nice system that keeps the weight close to you body and had a reputation for rock solid reliability.

Thanks for the tips, I'm still new to diving so I don't know much about the backplate / wing setup yet, but I'll read up on it. I've been hearing from multiple people that Zeagle makes nice BCDs too. And about the 8 minute stop, I had about 6 minutes left at the bottom if I can remember correctly. Because I had about 700 psi left I was about one or two minutes from ascending anyway when the weight fell out. The computer was a rented one, integrated with the gauges. I don't know if the shop resets them after other divers use them for dives the previous day, but it did seem wacky, especially when it was telling me on my first dive at 20 feet that I only had 10 minutes of bottom time. That's another reason I'd strongly prefer getting my own computer rather than renting them from shops... I'd feel much more comfortable knowing I was the only one diving with it and I was able to learn every little mode it had.

The problem with integrated weight systems is that they are trying to do two opposed things at the same time -- they are trying to hold weights securely, and yet let them go easily. Nothing does both things equally well.

That said, the integrated weight systems in the ScubaPro BCs that we use when we are doing shop OW classes do not seem to drop the weight pouches very often -- or at least, we haven't had it happen yet. Typically, in our cold water, each pouch is carrying between 10 and 15 pounds. So I would say that the system in the BC you were using is either old and worn, or poorly designed, or both.

I don't know if you are male or female, or what your body shape is. But I will tell you that I use a weight belt by choice. I wear 20 lbs, in the form of two shaped 10lb weights, and I love it. I'm using a rubber freediver's weight belt (at DumpsterDiver's insistence) which works beautifully and is very comfortable to wear. Having this weight belt means that I don't have all my weight on my rig, so if I take it off at the surface, I don't run a risk that it will sink; if I were to have to take it off at depth, I wouldn't have the awkward situation of having a very buoyant self trying to disentangle a negative BC.

Don't discount "old fashioned" weight belts. Sometimes they're the best answer.

For the integrated weight systems that I have used, there's generally an obvious click when you put it in correctly. From what I've read, you may have put the weight pouch in incorrectly.

Check with the shop and ask them to show you how to do it correctly. If you confirm that you did it correctly, then it may be a problem with that specific BC or weight pouch. I find it unlikely, though, that a good shop would have such badly maintained gear, as that's a huge lawsuit waiting to happen.

Either way, you should have ended the dive when you noticed the weight slipping. If you lose weight quickly, it could potentially be even worse than what you experienced; at least you had a line then.

I know the weight limit for the front weight pockets in my BC is 10# each, and they are very stiffly constructed pockets (SP Ladyhawk.) You might want to look up the limit for the BC you were using, the amount of weight you had in there might have been part of the problem.

For cold water diving with more weight, WI BCs often don't have the capacity to hold all the weight needed. You might consider splitting up your weight with some on a belt. Think of the weight on the belt sinking you and your suit, and the weight in the BC sinking your BC and tank. Plus this has the advantage of keeping any one piece of gear from being as heavy. Also, many WI BCs also have rear trim pockets where you could put some non-ditchable weight, don't know if your rental had those.

Probably would have been best to change to a belt for the 3rd dive after having problems on the second. I wouldn't call weight belts "old fashioned" - they're just another solution and lots of people use them.

I'm sure I was inserting the weights correctly. The click was there, and when the weights slipped out initially, the locking mechanism was the only thing keeping it from sinking to the bottom. The pockets surrounding the weight pouches were very large and loose, and now that I gave it some thought, I'm more comfortable saying it was how the BCD was designed. It may have been that 11 pounds in each pocket was too much too.

Yeah I should have ended the dive when I was wrestling the weights in the 2nd dive, and in the beginning of the third dive. Looking back on it, I would have just borrowed an extra weight belt from someone or rented one for the day. On the optimistic side, for my first real dive I figure it's a valuable experience to have had.

Not sure if this is a legitimate fix, but during my open water certification, my instructor didn't have enough weights for me to stay down easily (I'm a 21 year old male, 165 lbs, decent physical shape) but I seem naturally more bouyant than most people. So, my instructor took two ankle weights and attached them around the first stage of the regulator on the tank, and the added weight compensated for the weight missing in my BCD.

In my early days of diving I lost a 10 pound weight out of the pocket. Fortunately, unlike yourself, I was on the surface. Like a dope, I tried to descend 20' to the bottom to get it...... Later I realised I had improperly inserted the pocket so the velcro flap probably opened to release the weight. Since then I have had no worries at all (old Genesis BC). I also use suspenders on my (pouch) belt for additional needed weight. If I am diving in warmer climates in my shortie/body suit, I look forward to just sticking weights in the BC and no belt. But I have had occasion to retrieve fallen weight pockets for students. Maybe I have been lucky with my own setup.
Remember you were dealing with a rental. When you get your own equipment things will change.