Weight systems and weight distribution

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Screwball

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Location
New Zealand
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So long story short, went for my first post-OW dive in my new VoyagerPac equipped with the 16lb weight pocket system (2x 8lb pockets) mounted horizontally. Chose those pockets because I thought it would be good to have all my weight clean and 'streamlined' on my BCD belt with dump handles easily accessible. Quickly found that I couldn't get down with 16lbs (rookie mistake) and that I need closer to 25lbs, which from a quick search seems roughly similar to other divers like me (5mm 2-piece wetsuit, saltwater, one AL80, 190lbs). After posting in the DiveRite section about putting more weight in the pockets (spoiler alert: dumb idea) or going for the the 32lb system instead, a few guys told me that I shouldn't have all my weight in one 'weight system' anyway, to prevent an uncontrollable ascent if you lose one of them. Which makes perfect sense when you think about it but it's the first I've been told of this philosophy. So how should my weights be configured then? I was thinking about having one ditchable (mounted vertical) and one fixed pocket on the left and right BCD waist straps, with about 4lbs in each ditchable and 8.5lbs in each fixed. Or should I be using a weightbelt and pockets? Or some other combination? Which would I dump first in an emergency? Forgive my rambling but I'm kinda bamboozled!
 
how about just add some fixed pockets to your weight belt that you allready have,, you dont need to dump all your weight, just enough to be buoyant, at the surface if you get in trouble,, or at depth, but you really dont want to do that,, i would be mainly concerned about being able to get buoyant at the surface,, so you could have to pocket that are fixed and the two you can dump and just dump those two in an emergency and check that out on the surface to see if you can be buoyant if you dump them,,, 0ther than that, idk,, i have weitght pockets in my bcd and ive been putting it all there but im going to start spreading it out some in pockets and some on a belt, especially now that im going to a drysuit,, and need more weight, but like i said , you dont need to dump it all, just enough, and you could just buy a couple more add on pockets to add to what you got

---------- Post added December 24th, 2014 at 04:10 AM ----------

what do you have , a jacket bcd, or a backplate and wing,, if jacket,, i dont think i would mount anything on it , uless it has intigrated pockets,, backplate and wing you can proubably do it. if its a jacket then put it on weight belt, with your ditchable and non ditchable pocket,, if you had to, you could dump the whole belt,, or just the ditchable ones,, or if the jacket has integrated pockets put part in it, part on belt, just spread it out,, you can somtimes put some pockets on your tank band, if it helps your trim in the water.
 
Just get a tradition, old school weight belt with quick release. I put 12 lbs in my BCD and 12 lbs on my belt and then add 3lbs (1 or 2 of them) to the trim pouches on the back of my BCD to fine tune my buoyancy, depending on my wetsuit configuration. It is better to have some weight farther down your body (on your hips) so that you swim horizontal. A friend of mine kept trying stuff more weight into his BCD to get negative and I started to worry the Velcro on the pockets were going to burst like a cheap bra on Kim Kardashian... Somethings are not meant to be.

You'll still have plenty of ditch options, 6lb, 12lb, 18lb or 24lb. The likelihood of needing to ditch at depth is really not a good idea, because the risk of injury on an uncontrolled buoyant accent is probably worse than most of the other perils you will face. Remember that at the bottom you are going to have to ditch a lot of weight to make yourself buoyant and when your wetsuit re-expands on they way up, you are going to pop out of the water like a Polaris missile.
 
First, do a balanced rig calculation to ensure you've got the right amount of weight. Then, if you need more than your pouches, you can add a couple pockets to your cam bands or waist belt, bungee 2lbs to your shoulder straps....lots of options. Remember that where you put the weights will affect your trim so get out and trial dive.


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Your inquiry is causing me to think about moving a couple of weights off my old-school weight belt and into my BC side pockets. Polaris missles are good in the space program, not nearly so much in a dive ascent ;-)
 
Everyone has their own "preference." Screwball should focus on distributing weight so that he has proper trim, and can access most of it to ditch if necessary, or hand up to the boat before exiting the water.
DivemasterDennis
 
Your inquiry is causing me to think about moving a couple of weights off my old-school weight belt and into my BC side pockets. Polaris missles are good in the space program, not nearly so much in a dive ascent ;-)

By "BC side pockets" are you talking about the zip up pockets on a traditional jacket style BCD? If you are, these aren't designed to hold weights. Putting weights in these pockets will wear out the pockets. If they are hard weights they will quickly wear a hole in your BCD.
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like the combination of pockets and weight belt (rather than having both ditchable and fixed on the BCD) is the most practical option based on the fact you can hand it up after a dive. I notice there are two styles of belt, the 'comfo' belt with weights in pockets, and the old-school where weights are just threaded straight on. Is there any practical difference between them?

First, do a balanced rig calculation to ensure you've got the right amount of weight. Then, if you need more than your pouches, you can add a couple pockets to your cam bands or waist belt, bungee 2lbs to your shoulder straps....lots of options. Remember that where you put the weights will affect your trim so get out and trial dive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks decompression, a quick search on that term has found a few comprehensive articles on how to achieve a balanced rig. Another very smart concept I hadn't heard of! I will certainly be trying this out.
 
Thanks for the replies. Sounds like the combination of pockets and weight belt (rather than having both ditchable and fixed on the BCD) is the most practical option based on the fact you can hand it up after a dive. I notice there are two styles of belt, the 'comfo' belt with weights in pockets, and the old-school where weights are just threaded straight on. Is there any practical difference between them?



Thanks decompression, a quick search on that term has found a few comprehensive articles on how to achieve a balanced rig. Another very smart concept I hadn't heard of! I will certainly be trying this out.


There is another option as well. An elastic rubber weightbelt. These are very common with freedivers and are gaining some following within the scuba community as people are introduced to them. We think they provide a lot of advantages over the traditional nylon belt and also the nylon belts with "soft" lead shot bags.

Non-elastic belts tend to spin and shift position and may require adjustment at depth to accommodate the loosening of the belt associated with wetsuit compression. An elastic rubber belt eliminates this issue.

FYI:

Freedive Weight Belt | MAKO Spearguns

this video shows how well it works..

[video=youtube_share;XwA8DL6-Ya0]http://youtu.be/XwA8DL6-Ya0[/video]
 
I would start with a couple of inexpensive weight pockets that can be mounted on the tank strap(s).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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