Last night, we had to put all our gear on in the water. We deflated our bcs floated them with the tanks attached and left our gauges on the side of the pool as a tether. We jumped into the pool, then put our weight belts on, then got into our bcs in the water. Then, our masks with snorkel. The hassle with the weight belt was that by the time I got it tight enough to hold it up, the weights were very hard to move around the belt. If the belt is lose enough to move the weights, then it droops to point where the weights dig into my hip bones and hurt. I finally backed up to the side of the pool and held it there with my back until I got it fastened. I was totally off balance until one of the assistant instructors moved the weights around again. I would never use that weight belt during a real dive I had to pay for. Even if I were to use a weight belt, I would probably buy a neoprene one. I don't see the point in teaching someone to use equipment they never plan to use when they are certified and not teaching them to use the equipment they do plan to use when certified.
The SSI manual emphasizies comfort, but the student equipment is not comfortable. None of the women in the class like the back inflated BCs or the weight belts. All 3 of us were talking about buying a jacket BC last night. I don't know if this is an issue with women divers or a coincidence.
My instructor told me I looked very comfortable in the water. He said he could look at my facial expression and my eyes and know that I would have not problems mastering my skills. I suppose I will get used to the weight belt and if I have to wear the thing. I am going to try to sink myself with less weight next time.
I don't see how anyone could find a hard plastic belt with weights threaded through it to remotely resemble comfort. It seems to me that someone should come up with a better way of attaching weights to your body and that way should be incorporated into the training.
Just my 2 cents on basic weight belts.