Mares MRS Plus Weight Pouch Dropping Root Cause

[KomdoDiver]

I was going to buy a Mares Dragon MRS Plus BCD. I tried a Mares BCD on when I was diving last and it felt really comfortable but after reading about these problems with the weight pockets I am not so sure. Also you never know when you are going to have to dump your weights, if the weights are concealed in pockets I would think it would be a nightmare trying to release them in an emergency. Would an option be to use the mares BCD an just use a normal weight belt or probably best to maybe look at another manufacturer of BCD'S.

 

[bl6394]

I bought the Mares Prestige BCD when I was an OW diver. Dropped weights twice. Moved to a BP/W and never looked back.

 

[bwwht]

Thank you so much for this post!!! Just grabbed my Dragon BCD and my MRS Plus system was exactly like the pictures you described (with strap 2 not secured). It took a while to get it in there but I feel much safer now. Thanks again because I love this BCD but I was always worried about the MRS Plus system. Thanks again for this post, amazing!!!

 

[soonerwink]

So this is why I keep finding Mares weight pouches when diving. I found one at the Blue Hole in New Mexico last summer, and one on the Lulu off of Gulf Shores AL. The one on the Lulu was empty, I guess some one took the weights and left the weight pouch.

 

[Locus]

My girlfriend and I tried this fix on her Mares pouches as they have been falling out. The straps weren't arranged even close to this configuration. One of the pouches is still so loose it dropped out and fell on her foot before we even did our buddy checks during todays diving.

I'm unimpressed with the quality level of this BCD. Personally I would like to see her get her money back for it as this is a serious problem, but she's liked it up until now so I think she's going to try switch out the problematic pocket first.

---------- Post added August 6th, 2013 at 07:52 AM ----------

I was going to buy a Mares Dragon MRS Plus BCD. I tried a Mares BCD on when I was diving last and it felt really comfortable but after reading about these problems with the weight pockets I am not so sure. Also you never know when you are going to have to dump your weights, if the weights are concealed in pockets I would think it would be a nightmare trying to release them in an emergency. Would an option be to use the mares BCD an just use a normal weight belt or probably best to maybe look at another manufacturer of BCD'S.

The weights aren't in pockets, they are in pouches that slide into slots between the zippered side pockets and the diver. The pouches clip on to the bcd, and if you need to dump weight, a stiff tug on the handles will unclip them and let them drop out of their slots. This can be done very quickly in an emergency, so at first glance they are a logical safety feature. The problem is that they sometimes come unclipped too easily and by accident, leaving the diver suddenly and surprisingly buoyant whether they are at the surface or 100ft below. Expensive pouches and weights get lost, or worst case scenario the diver is suddenly in danger of a swift ride to the surface, followed by another ride (in an ambulance) to the nearest decompression chamber.

I'm sure there are many people who will use this bcd (or bcd's with similar ditchable weight systems) and never have a problem, but after seeing the difficulties my girlfriend has had with hers in the short time she's owned it, I would never purchase one.

You could just leave the weight slots empty and wear all of your lead on a belt, but if you're diving cold water in a dry suit and you need a lot of ballast then a belt can concentrate the weight uncomfortably. I used 30lbs of lead on a belt for some of my first dives and I wouldn't recommend it. Anyway, you would be leaving unused a feature that no doubt added to the cost of the bcd. In my opinion it makes more sense just to invest in a different style of bcd. I'm shopping for a backplate and wing setup, but for the time being I use steel tanks, put non-ditchable weight in the pockets of my jacket bcd, and wear the rest on a weight belt that I can release in an emergency. Take my advice with a grain of salt though; I'm a beginner myself.

 

[sphyrnidus]

I had a Mares BCD and lost a pocket on three separate occasions. Once while I was watching my SO completing her DM (I just noticed I was lopsided and couldn't stay down, so I hang on to a part of a wreck, till she had finished) and one when I just jumped in the water and couldn't get t down. SO retrieved that with her search and rescue After the second one I went to the DS and they told me there had been an update and I got new ones from Mares. So what happened next: diving on a wreck in Egypt (Giannis D) last April a surge grabbed me while swimming by a port hole and set me aside and on to the railing of the ship. I felt the weight releasing it self and saw it going down and landing some 10 ft below me. So I grabbed the ship and worked my way down. I retrieved it, but as I had an expensive camera in my hand, I couldn't let go of obviously, I had a predicament. SO was behind me, and had no idea what my dilemma was. So I turned around and held the pocket in front of her and she put it back. I liked the idea of integrated weights, but after this last situation I went for a wing and bp.

By the way I wonder why people mention the ditching of weights in an emergency. I have trouble thinking of what they might mean. What emergency does you want to ditch your weights down below??

 

[Locus]

By the way I wonder why people mention the ditching of weights in an emergency. I have trouble thinking of what they might mean. What emergency does you want to ditch your weights down below??

It is my understanding that ditching weight is a useful measure in the event of a bcd failure.

When diving cold water a fair bit of lead is carried to offset a buoyant exposure suit, so if a diver is at depth and suffers such a failure, weight can be dropped so that he can still swim his gear back to the surface rather than being stuck on the bottom or pulled farther down.

Similarly, if a bcd failure occurs at the surface then weight can be dropped in order for the diver to remain afloat. Additionally, as a last resort in the event of an extreme out-of-air emergency, weight can be dumped to facilitate an uncontrolled buoyant emergency ascent.

 

[sphyrnidus]

@Locus, of course a dry suit needs some more lead than a wet. I live in the colder climate zone and have been diving at water temperatures of 0 C. If a BCD fails (I never encountered anyone who had this happening) you can still inflate the dry suit. If you carry so much weight that you can't swim against it, you are either not fit to dive or seriously overweighted. I started diving when BCD's were yet to be invented, almost 50 years ago. We didn't sink either
Now in summer (7 mm suit) I dive with only the 5 kg backplate. As I do a lot of shore diving and some interesting critters live in the shallows, I spend a lot of time in 1-2 m of water at the end of a dive, tank nearly empty and still I stay down.
Most people carry way to much lead with them. I think that in classes much more time should be spend on buoyancy.
Furthermore in my opinion an out of air situation shouldn't happen and still an uncontrolled ascent is hardly ever necessary, be it with a buddy or solo (redundancy).
In my 2500 dives and working as a DM (before the Padi days) I have yet to encounter someone who had to release his weights.
The only people, who like you to take of your weights, are the guys that need to hoist your tank in to a Zodiac after a dive

 

[Locus]

\ If a BCD fails (I never encountered anyone who had this happening) you can still inflate the dry suit.

Here is a recent example from the Near Misses and Lessons Learned forum of a diver losing the use of his BC at depth. He was diving wet, so the redundant buoyancy of a drysuit was not an available solution for him.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/462406-bcd-failure-100-feet.html

In this case, it happened while he was at the bottom and had plenty of gas, so a weight dump was not necessary, but what if he had been swimming along a wall that continued for another 300' below him when his BC gave out and he went negative? Shedding weight quickly can be handy.

\ Most people carry way to much lead with them. I think that in classes much more time should be spend on buoyancy.

I'm inclined to agree. During my OW drysuit course everybody was overweighted to prevent runaway ascents, and little focus was placed on fine tuning buoyancy control. Specialty classes are available for that, for an added fee of course.

\ Furthermore in my opinion an out of air situation shouldn't happen and still an uncontrolled ascent is hardly ever necessary, be it with a buddy or solo (redundancy).

You obviously have a great deal more scuba experience than I do, and I honestly respect that, but I am compelled to point out that by this logic we should dispense with secondary regs, long hoses, and pony bottles, because out of air situations shouldn't happen, and sharing air in a true OOA emergency is hardly ever necessary.

With proper weighting, planning, and gear maintenance, the chances of equipment failure are minimized, but everything fails eventually. It never hurts to have a backup option available in case of an unforeseen complication. I wear a quick release weight belt and I don't expect that I will ever have to drop it. But I like that I can.

 

[sphyrnidus]

Of course you are right, I was just exaggerating. I tried to say something about redundancy, these are preparations that help mitigate the consequences of failure and stupidity. That said: to be honest, this thread you point to, is about an accident waiting to happen.
Here is a guy, diving solo, in murky waters, at greater depth, without redundant buoyancy (although he had an SMB, he didn't use). The thing about solo diving, which I don't do because I like to dive with my SO): it's about redundancy. You have to bring along everything your buddy would supply otherwise.

I dive with a backplate of 5 kg when in my 7 mm suit and no weight to shed. I can stay down at the end of a dive, even at 1-2 m depth with an empty (steel tank). When I'm using my dry suit, of course I ad some 4 kg, but still whit an empty BCD/bladder you should always be able to swim upwards, if not you're overweighted. I'm glad this guy is still with us, but there were more issues than were considered in the thread...