Ziggys_Friend once bubbled...
I'm getting an ACB ASAP.
...Apologies for stepping in here, but if I can offer just a tidbit... Slap me if you want me to shut up. You didn't ask my opinion.
Like you, I'm also a newbie. Even if I wasn't a newbie, I'd still profess to be one. There's always someone with more experience, more skills, and more expertise on the board. WW is probably one of them... He's been diving a long time and is respected for his expertise. Certainly he looks at us both as newbies, Ziggys_Friend, and rightly so.
Firstly, relative to weights... I, too, hate weight belts, for exactly the same reason you listed above. Some people on this board (UP in particular) have very authentic points about why not to have your weights integrated into your bp/wings (or other buoyancy device). They claim that keeping them separate is the way to go. That debate is pertinent here, but for the sake of trying to keep my notoriously long posts to a minimum, I'll save that debate for another time.
ACB systems are gently discussed in the DIR-F manual, and they are not necessarily frowned upon. However, I've observed that many people try to avoid ACB systems because they add to the bulk of the rig and prevent the addition of more useful tools such as a canister light or Halcyon "hard pocket." They also force you to "tuck" the long hose, which some people prefer to hooking under a light or pocket - I personally am not one of those people.
That said, if faced with the choice of diving with a weight belt or an ACB system, I'm in the same boat with you... I'd choose an ACB system, 'cause I hate weight belts (at least while wearing a scuba rig of some sort... I prefer to wear one when freediving. Then again, I also wear a snorkel when I freedive, too, but that's another story.)
However, there is a third option which seems to be the most popular with experienced divers, but requires a much more "in depth" approach to proper weighting and trim. No doubt it was addressed in your recent DIR-F course, and so you should be very familiar with it.
Imagine this... You purchase your ACB system, and install it on your rig. From that point on, you'll have four "modes" that your ACB will be in... One for salt water with a single tank, one for salt with doubles, and again for fresh with a single, and fresh with doubles. After some diving in all four circumstances, you will, no doubt, end up with a very good working knowlege of what, exactly, you need in terms of weight before setting foot in the water.
And what I see is that people then dial in their bp/wing system such that they need little to no ditchable with singles/fresh, and simply add the required weight through the use of STA's, channel weights, p-weights, light cannisters, and the like. When each of these are planned properly, you can easily mathematically figure when and how much ditchable weight you need (if at all, depending on what you're comfortable swimming up and whether or not you have redundant buoyancy in a drysuit. Redundant first stages either on a single or a manifold solves many problems too.)
I guess what I'm saying is that as per the discussions which no doubt happened on the Friday night of your DIR-F class, there are ways to solve the weighting problem that simultaneously get rid of the weight belt, avoid the purchase of expensive and bulky ACB systems, and still keep you safe. Some people (UP included) still dive with a little weight on a weight belt (or some other ditchable item) but since the weight is so minimal, the giant, obtrusive weight belt is reduced to a managable size.
Furthermore, if that weight belt is still desired (I know I would want to avoid it or minimize it personally) then it may be placed either underneath the crotchstrap or over the crotchstrap, depending on whether you're diving in a drysuit or a wetsuit.
I'm assuming that you're diving wet if your preference is to keep the belt over the crotchstrap.
My point is that there are other cheaper, simpler, more streamlined, and more DIR ways to do this besides either ACB's or weight belts.
...So with all due respect, and from newbie to newbie, I would recommend keeping your weight belt, and "dialing in" your bp/wing with the right amount of weight (not to mention minimizing the amount of weight you need anyway) so that this hatred for the weight belt is no longer an issue.
What I see from most DIR divers who have gone down this path before is that if they purchase the ACB system, they quickly end up continuing to "dial in" the weight of their bp/wing anyway, and the ACB system quickly becomes devalued.
And as soon as that happens, they don't feel that the extra bulk is worth it anyway.
Of course, that's just my $.02, which you didn't ask for anyway.
