Disadvantages of not having any weight to ditch?

[Mayor]

IMHO....If you can swim the rig up in the event of a total failure then it fine. At that point you can ditch it. If i recall most people can handle between 6lbs and 10lbs. Anything over that you start running into problems. Like any sport this is just another skill to practice. If your wing has no air in it for most of the dive it sounds like you have found a place many want to go.

 

[Garrobo]

If you want to become more buoyant and you have no weight to ditch to acheive it how about just putting some air in your BC? Duh.

 

[ptyx]

Despite and AL plate and a drysuit, I'm in the same situation when I dive doubles. I don't loose sleep over it.

With a wetsuit however, you'd be removing one source of redundancy and have to account for loss of buoyancy at depth due to suit compression. Personally, I'd chicken out of it.

(Lift bags are a fine idea, but I wouldn't bet on one on a no bottom dive).

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

I have a balanced (singles) rig and don't use ditchable weight. I know I can swim my rig to the surface in case of BC failure, so I feel comfortable not having additional ballast (it's all on my plate). Doubles are another matter. I'm horribly overweighted when I strap those suckers onto my back. Although the sensation isn't so marked in rental Al80s, my steel 100s are something else. I rely on an SMB as a source of redundant lift in open water. It's the DAN SMB, and I think it has 30 lb of lift...that's 12 lb more than my little wing, so it's all I need. Ultimately, I know a drysuit is on the cards for added security when diving doubles...as much as I loathe the idea of wearing Depends undergarments, or experiencing the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya She-Pee, it's got to be worth it for the redundant buoyancy alone.

 

[ptyx]

"Basic scuba discussion". Damn, I need to pay attention.

If we're assuming a single tank of normal size (not one of those ginormous HP130), and reasonable depths, then even a wetsuit should be ok in case of catastrophic BC failure.

 

[TSandM]

Well, if everything possible goes sideways, the one thing you would like to be able to do is float. If your dive gear is all of your ballast, the only way you can make yourself irrevocably buoyant is to ditch it -- which means ditching whatever is left of your gas supply.

If you are sufficiently experienced to remain calm in the event of everything going pear-shaped, you may have enough poise to tread water and inflate a lift bag. Or you may have an equally experienced and attentive buddy, who can assist you with this, or with remaining buoyant. But you have added stress to a situation which, with newer or less frequent divers, really needs to be defused.

I think the decision to dive with no ditchable weight at all should not be taken lightly. That said, I do it -- but I also do 180 or so dives a year.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Thanks TSandM - Lets hear it for practice and practical experience! Dive, dive, dive!

 

[DevonDiver]

I think it's impossible to give a definitive verdict, based on the info supplied and via the internet.

Here's a few checkpoints:

1) If your BCD failed, could you easily ascend to the surface by finning?
2) If your BCD failed, do you have a contigency plan for a bouyant ascent?
3) If your BCD failed, could you float on the surface for an extended time?

 

[HowardE]

Also.. If you're diving with a downline / upline / anchor or mooring line... You could climb it.

 

[dkktsunami]

Assuming diver is using an aluminum tank, is weighted properly, and wearing a wet suit, I see no problem diving without ditchable weights. The diver should be able to swim to the surface with no trouble, and then ditch the rig. Two simultaneous failures would have to occur to cause any problem - out of gas and bc failure. The wet suit will provide buoyancy at the surface.

In 10 years of diving (1600+ dives) I have never seen an instance of bc failure but I have seen many, many weight belts accidentally dropped, on one particular dive three rained down on me. I am thinking that the risk of a new diver losing weight during the dive and having an out-of-control ascent exceeds that of a double failure of equipment.