Removing and Replacing BC underwater with weight pouches

[The Kraken]

When I did this for my d/m I was wearing a 7mm and already understood the inherent buoyancy issues with which I would have to overcome, hence, I wore a weight belt.

I think this exercise is more of a problem solving task than anything else.

There may occur some remote, arcane time when one must remove one's BC, but I'm sure it's extremely infrequent.

Safe dives . . . . .
. . . safer ascents

the K

 

[archer1960]

When I did this for my d/m I was wearing a 7mm and already understood the inherent buoyancy issues with which I would have to overcome, hence, I wore a weight belt.

I think this exercise is more of a problem solving task than anything else.

There may occur some remote, arcane time when one must remove one's BC, but I'm sure it's extremely infrequent.

Safe dives . . . . .
. . . safer ascents

the K

It's not all that infrequent. When I was in Coz with a group last year, the DM had a leak from his 1st stage, and wanted to take a look at it during a dive. He was in mid-water (not on the bottom) at ~50ft, and just slipped the BC off, fiddled with things, and put it back on again.

 

[dmaziuk]

Y'all realize he is using a weight integrated BC? Nobody (I have ever seen) uses a weight belt with a weight integration BC.

I have. Because I could hitch the belt higher than the pockets. And then I bought a trim pouch.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

When I did this for my d/m I was wearing a 7mm and already understood the inherent buoyancy issues with which I would have to overcome, hence, I wore a weight belt.

I think this exercise is more of a problem solving task than anything else.

There may occur some remote, arcane time when one must remove one's BC, but I'm sure it's extremely infrequent.

Safe dives . . . . .
. . . safer ascents

the K

I think it is not! I think it is an incredibly important skill and I would be extremely nervous if I was not confident that I could not do it cleanly. I can ditch my scuba unit in 3-5 seconds and this is essential to me.

It is incredible to me that this board has so many safety Nazi's.. I was banned for a long time for describing a dive I did without a depth gauge, yet person after person talks about this skill as a superfluous, stupid human trick that is of no real value. I refused to dive a standard BP/W harness with no releases and no slides, simply because I must be able to remove my scuba unit easily and quickly, on the boat, on the surface and underwater.

How about catching lobster? Who here has not removed the tank, jammed it under the ledge, taken a couple good hits from the reg and then spit the reg and crawled deep under the ledge holding their breath to get a lobster? I mean that is pretty common right?

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

It is incredible to me that this board has so many safety Nazi's..

Wait a minute - you can say safety Nazi and I get busted for saying Nanny State? What gives?

 

[uncfnp]

The problem with a belt is that the dive shops tend to have old ones with bad teeth and I've lost a few of them or that they sit uncomfortably.

Do you have to wear the belts from the dive shop? I always thought I would hate a weight belt but I use a rubber belt like the one from Mako and I can honestly say that I never even know its there.

 

[Nemrod]

I have. Because I could hitch the belt higher than the pockets. And then I bought a trim pouch.

Many weight integrated BCs are designed to place the weight in the correct locations and have thick cumberbunds with large pocket envelopes to install the weight pouches into. As well, they are priced above non-integrated units. Therefore while certainly some have done it, my point is that most people who go to the expense to purchase a BC specifically designed to carry weight pouches are unlikely to use a belt instead that is going to ride right under the weight cumberbund.

The problem with weight belts on a lot of people, well, simply they are pear shaped and have no butt, just a big gut, so where does the belt go that it does not fall off? I put it down on my hips and you probably do as well, but not everybody has hips, that can be seen anyways. And, I personally hate weight belts, getting a loaded belt on over my harness is a PITA and I am not of the generation of divers that wears the belt under the harness.

I did two doff and dons and a swim with rig off using my wing/bp with weight integration last summer for my solo class, but I occasionally practice them just for fun. On the second dive where we planned yet another doff and don, I switched to a belt, just to demonstrate both methods. Yeah, it can be done, both on the bottom and mid-water but distributing weight between a belt and the rig or simply just using a belt is so much easier.

N

 

[Frosty]

Bella-A little secret re the gear swap for DM .You need to have the exact same setup as your buddy. When you think about it the reason becomes odvious. By exact same I mean same weight and weighting method.
Now regarding removing WI gear. I dive WI and I'm doing my DM course.Gear removal/replacement WI is doable but a bit more challenging than with a belt. To get back into my gear I use the arms crossed/spin method so it slides down into place.

 

[Diver0001]

Can you explain this please? You didn't mention which agency you're talking about, but I'm currently doing a PADI DM class. We're being taught to demo all the skills while negative at the bottom. It felt weird to me at first going back to the "pinned to the bottom" style skills for this class, after having worked so much on good buoyancy and trim. Are you saying that there are newer standards than what I am being taught, that require OW students to perform their skills while hovering?

The standards for Open Water have recently been changed world wide and there is a strong focus to performing the course and teaching the skills while neutrally buoyant (which is not always equivalent to hovering). What you're being taught is old-school and no longer relevant to doing demos in Open Water if you want to teach the new standards.

We're in a transition period and it's not a surprise to hear that some people are still teaching DM's like this. It's the way things were done for many years and some instructors are going to need time to learn new tricks (assuming they can).

R..

---------- Post added June 20th, 2015 at 04:29 PM ----------

Is it? Based on what I've seen recently in Monterey and in Hawaii last week, instructors pinned to the bottom demoing skills seems quite alive and well.

Yes it is. As I said above, the vanguard are already teaching the new standards the way in which they were intended but a great many instructors are struggling to catch up.

R..

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

How about catching lobster? Who here has not removed the tank, jammed it under the ledge, taken a couple good hits from the reg and then spit the reg and crawled deep under the ledge holding their breath to get a lobster? I mean that is pretty common right?

In Southern California they use a 15' or 25' hookah hose and take off their rig, which for most of them consists of nothing more than a plastic back pack or one of my Freedom Plate packs both with no wing. They doff the rig by flipping it up over their heads, they set the rig down next to the cave entrance and go in on hookah to grab bugs. When they come out they don the rig back on Mike Nelson style then wind up all the extra hose and put it around their neck, then go look for another cave, crack, crevice, or wherever else they see antennas poking out of. And guess what, no integrated weights, weight belt all the way.
And...they do all this in 50's to low 60's water in a 7mm.