Home grown fix to Mares Jubilee?

[lavachickie]

My husband and I are new divers, and each bought a basic gear setup. The LDS gave him a good deal (or so it seemed, what do we know? ) on a Mares Jubilee that a distributor going out had pulled out of storage. He loves it, except for one thing: upon giant stride entries, the impact seems to flex the rails that the weight pockets slide into, causing one of them to (more often than not) pop off. They hang by the little red nipple until he can scramble them back on during descent.

The LDS would likely take it back, but he loves it. So I thought I'd make a simple velcro wrap that is attached to the back of the belt area (it's a back inflate, so no issues there) centered near the center of the rail that simply reaches over and under the belt to velcro together over the back 2/3rds of the pack. It will simply hold it against the rails, and shouldn't affect removability (you still just punch the lever and pull foward).

Two questions:

1) Is there something I'm missing that makes this a bad idea?

2) Where do I get the Duroskin Cordura type material?

Here is a pic of the BD belt; the weight pocket has been detached and flipped face down. You're seeing the two sides that slide together.

And now when it's "normal."

 

[divad]

Do they slide down the tracks until the little red button snaps to hold them on, but slide up and off because the little red button fails to hold upon impact? Do you really believe you should have jury-rig something to compensate for a faulty design? IIWM, I'd lose the little red button and everything attached to, or related to, the little red button.
But yeah, you could probably rig a little velcro thingy to help it work. Or drill some holes for SS bolt snaps.


"MARES just add velcro, ciao bella"..............It has a ring to it.



Oh, I almost forgot....................................................

 

[scubafanatic]

....OMG ! .....I dove for a few days with a dive bud on a livebaord Aug 08 who had that same BC/weight system......had the exact same problem.......that weight system was the craziest Rube Goldberg crap azz design I've seen in a long time.....on half the dives, after doing our giant strides off the boat, we'd meet on the bottom and I'd have to help him reinstall the weights that plopped off the BC on impact with the water !

...I honestly don't know if you can salvage that design....if you tamper with it, the dealer certainly won't take it back. BTW, I design/build most of my own dive gear, because I'm very particular about my gear being the best quality/best design......and honestly I'm smarter than most scuba gear designers/manufacturers and think of clever/unique solutions they haven't thought of....that being said, I won't say it easy, sometimes I have to mess with/ponder/test different ideas to see what really works/makes the most sense....being a reasonably experienced diver and certified over 8 yrs ago.....I have a pretty good clue about what works...and what doesn't work by diving in the 'real world', including deep/night/severe current/advanced dive conditions....and my concern, being the new diver you are, you might not have the depth of experience/knowledge to be modifying that weight system.......and I'm prepared to suffer the consequences if I somehow screw up my gear...but are you prepared to do the same if you modify it and then something bad happens to hubby ?

...if you do choose to modify, after you're done, have hubby do pool testing...including giant strides off the side....practicing releasing weights...etc.......UNDERWATER so you can do a reality check......also stock up on replacement pockets, so you do have some spares available where you're out in the middle of nowhere and need a replacement.

...I'll honestly say I wouldn't wish that weight system on my worst enemy......it completely sucks! ...so I wish you well in turning a sow's ear into a silk purse..........

 

[lavachickie]

Some good points made. He did decide last night to take it back; figured why go to the extra effort to fix it, when that would likely void any warrenty coverage for the item. So he's going to the LDS today to return it and see what he might like instead. He definitely likes that style (back inflate w/ minimal harness heft). The shop had a Dive Rite that was pretty sharp.

I have a huge poodle vest, but hoping to reach a certain personal goal that will allow me to buy something more streamlined before our Keys trip in December.

 

[mrdohc]

Some good points made. He did decide last night to take it back; figured why go to the extra effort to fix it, when that would likely void any warrenty coverage for the item. So he's going to the LDS today to return it and see what he might like instead. He definitely likes that style (back inflate w/ minimal harness heft). The shop had a Dive Rite that was pretty sharp.

I have a huge poodle vest, but hoping to reach a certain personal goal that will allow me to buy something more streamlined before our Keys trip in December.

good move:cool3:... how much weight does he carry? that could be "too much weight" for the weight pocket issue. in fact i have the same bc, i don't have the same issue. if he likes back inflated, there are many to choose out there. if you are recreation diver, i would consider may be a scubapro knighthawk, or a cressi back jac. they are similar design. if you travel a lot to the warm weather, consider the new aqualung zuma. if you are newer, recreational diver, i won't look at dive rite, oms or any harness type as a start. my 2 cents

 

[divad]

i wou.