Dropping a weight pocket on a line—dumb idea?

[aquacat8]

My wing is like rilly rilly old ( “rilly” said in airhead valley girl voice) and I’ve thought about what I might do if it failed at depth when I’m wearing 7mil and over a hard bottom so not a total emergency but hard to swim up, and I thought maybe I could attach my reel to a pocket, drop it, and use it as an ascent line so I don’t rocket in the shallows, can stay down on a safety stop, and there or at the surface, haul it back up... is this a crazy thought?

 

[taimen]

Compared to replacing your wing with a new reliable $199 wing, yes I would say it is a crazy thought.

DGX Gears Single Tank Wing

 

[Lorenzoid]

If you're properly weighted, I don't think you would "rocket" even with a newer 7mm. You can also help slow your ascent by remaining horizontal--flaring your body.

Also, unless you're asking as a solo diver, you should have a buddy available to help.

 

[kelemvor]

If you end up buying a new wing, I'd recommend ensuring you get one that has a replaceable bladder. That way, next time you have a concern it's not a huge deal to get it taken care of properly. I replaced the bladder in my diverite rec exp wing in 2015 and it cost $100 with overnight shipping.

I think attaching a weight to a reel and all that would be far too time consuming in your proposed situation.

 

[Vicko]

The buoyancy you get from dropping that weight might be too much but yeah that's something I would do if I had to climb out but not for climbing down (remember that all the weights you drop increase your buoyancy). You can also use the bouye as a lift bag in case of really needing it.

 

[northernone]

My wing is like rilly rilly old ( “rilly” said in airhead valley girl voice) and I’ve thought about what I might do if it failed at depth when I’m wearing 7mil and over a hard bottom so not a total emergency but hard to swim up, and I thought maybe I could attach my reel to a pocket, drop it, and use it as an ascent line so I don’t rocket in the shallows, can stay down on a safety stop, and there or at the surface, haul it back up... is this a crazy thought?

Sounds like a good plan, if needed. I've heard it done successfully. However, if you have reason to think your equipment near failure it might be prurient to replace it.

For catastrophic bcd failure it is more common solution (your planning so self rescue, not expecting a buddy) is to carry a redundant bcd. That's often a lift bag, a smb or second wing.

Whichever method you are comfortable with, it's nice to have practiced it enough that you know you can count on it to safely make it home. Peace of mind during an actual equipment failure is very helpful.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[aquacat8]

It did have a replaceable bladder, and I had a replacement, but it got lost in the move and now they are no longer available.

 

[aquacat8]

An extra wing sounds like too much to carry, but thanks for mentioning an SMB as a lift, wasn’t thinking of it that way. I bet I could swim my rig up anyway, but I’m not sure. I am loathe to drop weights, but swimming extra, that would be something to play with... with a spare weight belt... I wonder how much extra weight can a diver swim up?

 

[kelemvor]

I wonder how much extra weight can a diver swim up?

It's less than you think, I'll bet. I had a conversation along these lines a few years ago on this site. Then I went out and tried to swim up with no air in my bcd and stay at the surface. Depending on how much weight you've got, you might get to the surface or not. If you do, are you out of breath? When winded you use lots of air and probably start building up CO2 in your bloodstream. That can quickly lead to panic as you'll get the feeling that your regulator isn't giving you enough air even though it is. After you get to the surface, how long can you stay there? If you've got a pool, try just treading water with whatever lead you carry on a dive. It was harder than I expected it would be.

 

[aquacat8]

It's less than you think, I'll bet. I had a conversation along these lines a few years ago on this site. Then I went out and tried to swim up with no air in my bcd and stay at the surface. Depending on how much weight you've got, you might get to the surface or not. If you do, are you out of breath? When winded you use lots of air and probably start building up CO2 in your bloodstream. That can quickly lead to panic as you'll get the feeling that your regulator isn't giving you enough air even though it is. After you get to the surface, how long can you stay there? If you've got a pool, try just treading water with whatever lead you carry on a dive. It was harder than I expected it would be.

Interesting... I wonder how the old pre BC guys did it, I think I remember them mentioning picking up rocks at the end of dives so they probably went light.