Uncontrolled ascent!! - Loss of a Weight Insert for Mares Prestige BCD pocket

[Dom Perignon]

Would like Zak O'Hara to check my thread below and give his view:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...rs-plus-weight-pouch-dropping-root-cause.html

To anybody facing this same issue I recommend checking Don Quixote's tie wrap solution in the thread above. Worked for me!

 

[flots am]

Would like Zak O'Hara to check my thread below and give his view:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...rs-plus-weight-pouch-dropping-root-cause.html

"Root Cause"???

The weight pocket is apparently retained with a few pieces of folded over webbing. There isn't even a buckle.

If that's all that was retaining my weights, I'd stay on the boat.

flots.

 

[dschott]

I just picked up this lovely fitting bcd, and I am curious if all these instances of weight drop are from the bucket coming unlatched or the webbing pulling out? Mine came improperly webbed with only 2 of the three loops through the slots. As they are new, it looks virtually impossible to slip out. But with wear and water, I can see how it may. Simple solution is the ziptie method mentioned. And, as many have stated, don't rely on the integrated weights for 100% of your weighting system. Cold water divers will have to use a weight belt with it anyways, since the integrated (minus trim slots) only hold 26lbs. I take 45lbs minimum in pacific saltwater and double 7mm neoprene.

Anyways, are there issues of the buckles unlatching or just the webbing coming undone?

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I just picked up this lovely fitting bcd, and I am curious if all these instances of weight drop are from the bucket coming latched or the webbing pulling out? Mine came improperly webbed with only 2 of the three loops through the slots. As they are new, it looks virtually impossible to slip out. But with wear and water, I can see of it may. Simple solution is the ziptie method mentioned. And, as many have stated, don't rely on the integrated weights for 100% of your weighting system. Cold water divers will have to use a weight belt with it anyways, since the integrated (minus trim slots) only hold 26lbs. I take 45lbs minimum in pacific saltwater and double 7mm neoprene.

Anyways, are there issues of the buckles delatching or just the webbing coming undone?

I have seen both happen. The de-latching can be users error and/or overloaded cargo pockets.

Dropping 12lbs suck regardless of how much lead you carry, you are still going up.

BTW At the risk of sounding rude, 45lbs is pretty heavy for even 7MM J+J on a big guy and I noticed your a new diver. It is typical for new divers to be over weighted by instructors in a hurry. You might want to do a good weight check, its not unusual for divers to be able to reduce their lead, makes gearing up a lot easier.

 

[Don Quixote]

I just picked up this lovely fitting bcd, and I am curious if all these instances of weight drop are from the bucket coming unlatched or the webbing pulling out? Mine came improperly webbed with only 2 of the three loops through the slots. As they are new, it looks virtually impossible to slip out. But with wear and water, I can see how it may. Simple solution is the ziptie method mentioned. And, as many have stated, don't rely on the integrated weights for 100% of your weighting system. Cold water divers will have to use a weight belt with it anyways, since the integrated (minus trim slots) only hold 26lbs. I take 45lbs minimum in pacific saltwater and double 7mm neoprene.

Anyways, are there issues of the buckles unlatching or just the webbing coming undone?

If not properly assembled the pouch will slip out out of the BCD pocket, tugging the release which can cause it to unlatch. If the buckle is not properly latched in the first place, it will fall out almost as soon as you stand up. So, I made it a point to check that the weight pouches are properly latched before every dive. Anyway, I did not experience any pouch drop-out since fixing the loops and it has been like over 30 dives now. I am using the small pouch rated at 6Kg (13.2lb). From testing, it is nearly impossible to unlatch the buckle without pulling the release.

 

[Apexbullet]

I have a Mares Pegasus that I was reasonably happy with - bought it approximately 2 years ago and no problems until this last fiasco. I was diving a liveaboard and had 5 kg of weight on each side of the integrated pockets. When I entered the water I noticed that I could not get down properly and had to return to the boat and examine what had transpired. Well not only had I lost one of the integrated chambers, but all the plastic rivets that held the locking mechanism to the vest were broken. I was forced to do the liveaboard with a weight belt for the rest of my dives. This BCD had approximately 30 dives on it -- needless to say I was less than impressed. If someone on this board has an actual contact for Mares I would be very interested in sharing the pictures of the failure point and seeing what can be done in the way of a repair to this relatively new BCD. I am just thankful I was not at depth when this happened - it could have been a bad situation. I looked all over the Mares site for contact information and finally found this board -- so at least I can vent a bit about this situation. As it stands right now I am missing an integrated pocket, but I did manage to find the riveted plastic holder that attaches the pocket to the vest.

Again - if anyone has any contact information for Mares (IE an email address would be nice, please forward it my way. I am not very pleased at the moment with this product).

Thank You
Steve

 

[Apexbullet]

I thought I should post a quick update to my last post, about my integrated weight system rivets coming undone.

My BC was several months past warranty and I bought it through Leisure Pro. Mares agreed to repair the damage to my weight system; today I received the repaired BC. I am very pleased with Mares response to the damage to my BC and their prompt response at repairing the damage. I have a lot of respect for a company that takes care of their customers and stands behind their products. I didn't deal with Mares directly - I dealt with the sales person at Leisure Pro - but ultimately it was Mares that decided to honour a warranty that had past by a few months.

Thank You Mares -- I will continue to you purchase your products in the future and to see a company give that kind of customer service is rare in these days.

So -- Thank you again -- great job!
Steve

 

[DarkAbyss]

I've had just under 200 dives with my old Mares Dragon AT before I began diving with a BP/W. I have never lost a weight pocket during a dive, but two of my buddies did recently. The first incident happened at about 22m/70ft after a deeper dive when one of my buddy's weight pockets fell out for an unknown reason. Luckily, both my second buddy and I reacted fast. He grabbed the first buddy and held him down while I retrieved the weight pocket from a few feet under us. The second incident happened just a few days ago. Two buddies, one of them lost his weight pocket about 30 mins into the dive and did an uncontrolled ascent. Both weight pockets were inspected as a result of this, and one of them got replaced as the locking mechanism was partially failing. There is an obvious "click" when inserted an locked properly. That being mentioned, I was very happy with my Dragon AT.

 

[ferris213]

My wife and I both own Mares BCDs with the MRS weight system. I no longer use mine but this thread prompted me to check the weight pockets we have.

Of the four pouches, none of them we threaded with all three tabs going through the slots, and one of them had only one tab (No 1 in the diagram in post 42) threaded. I have had one pouch drop out but that was at the surface following a giant stride entry.

It took a surprising amount of effort to get them all threaded correctly but the buckles are now MUCH more stable on the weight pouches.

Perhaps I missed it but has there been any response at all from Mares to either of these threads? It seems odd that they would be ignoring this issue.