stretchthepenn
Contributor
Okay, hive mind...I had trouble maintaining stable trim during today's dives due to weight-placement issues. Thus, I've got questions about the optimal ways to carry extra weight during sidemount diving.
First, let me describe the gear and the context:
The supa-dupa-fluffy undergarment succeeded admirably at banishing the cold, but the thing is super-buoyant, and instead of carrying 6# of lead in my HOG waist pouches, I had to load myself up with 20# of lead, most of which I had to carry in the 6-pocket weight-plate. All that weight on my back, in turn, led to instability. Basically, if I relaxed, I turned turtle.
In retrospect, I needed to better-distribute the lead and transfer as much as possible from the weight-plate into the waist pouches. Even so, I think I might've still had problems.
My question to y'all, then, is about weighting locations and methods. Where and how can one safely and effectively carry more than a token amount of extra weight while sidemounting? (I also have a Hollis 100D BCD, if any of your solutions will apply to that model.)
First, let me describe the gear and the context:
- Hollis 75 BCD
- 6-pocket weight-plate
- 2 x HOG quick-dump waist pouches (the small size)
- 20# lead, distributed over all 8 pockets
- 2 x PST HP120 steel tanks
- 400-gram DUI undergarment
- Whites bilaminate drysuit
The supa-dupa-fluffy undergarment succeeded admirably at banishing the cold, but the thing is super-buoyant, and instead of carrying 6# of lead in my HOG waist pouches, I had to load myself up with 20# of lead, most of which I had to carry in the 6-pocket weight-plate. All that weight on my back, in turn, led to instability. Basically, if I relaxed, I turned turtle.
In retrospect, I needed to better-distribute the lead and transfer as much as possible from the weight-plate into the waist pouches. Even so, I think I might've still had problems.
My question to y'all, then, is about weighting locations and methods. Where and how can one safely and effectively carry more than a token amount of extra weight while sidemounting? (I also have a Hollis 100D BCD, if any of your solutions will apply to that model.)