weight belt failure

[nimoh]

In retrospect, I agree with you the belt had too much weight in it and I will follow the advice of you and others to spread around my weight. Per my original post, I was diving with a full body 5mm wetsuit with gloves and hood. For my physical size, I am 5'8, 190lbs. I am not a gym rat, but I run 8 minute miles.

Thanks,

Joe

I am quite sure you are very over-weighted. I am 6'0 210lbs and in a 5mm wetsuit I would wear about 3kg of weight (on top of my 2.5kg backplate). However, if you are going to start reducing the weight you are carrying, I suggest you do it gradually.

Also, while not sure what my actual time would be for running a mile, it would definitely be more than 8 minutes

 

[XJJoe01]

So which part of the belt broke? Is it webbing get tear apart? every unlikely with 14kg. buckle broke?

I also agree that 14kG (30lb) for 5mm suit seems on the high side. Beside redistribute the weight, maybe also do weight check once more to confirm if you need that much.

I think you are right about the weight and I will do a weight check before I go diving again. The belt broke where the pouch was sewed to the belt and the buckle was still attached to it. I am hoping the camera caught it. If it did, I will post it. Maybe in the heat of the moment, something simple went wrong with the belt, but it fell to the bottom. Next time I go diving at the same spot, I am hopping to find it and recover some of the weights since here, they charge 5 Euros for each kg of standard weight.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[iluvtheocean]

i would definately start with a proper weight check. I'm 6'5" at about 260# right now and using a 3mm full w/ steel tank only need 16-20lbs of lead (this was from the last weight check) so that would have maxed out at about what 9kg?- new weight check maybe less i hope. I'm using a weight belt with soft weights myself but have some in the trim & the integrated pockets. if you're going to end up with a backplate - aluminum or steel depending on the results of the weight check.
but like it's been said - after you know how much.... spread it out

 

[James R]

I think the rest of your post has been covered pretty well.

I think I had way too much weight weight, but that is a different topic. I have found a salt water pool and will take almost empty tank and do the weight check. According to the calculators, I should be around 25lbs.

The calculators don't work for everyone! According to them I should use 18lbs in salt water with a 3mm wetsuit & AL80 tank... I use no weight at all with my SS backplate, and 2 or 3lbs with an AL plate. Just because the calc says you need XX lbs, treat it as a guideline not gospel.

 

[XJJoe01]

Here is a crummy screen shot of the weight belt after the failure:

To the left of the buckle is where it used to be connect to the rest of the belt and where the weight pouch was sewed to it.

Joe

 

[Akimbo]

I still don't understand. How did the second “traditional” weightbelt break? Did the webbing fail or did the buckle? If it was the buckle, did it fail by opening or did it physically break? Was the buckle plastic of metal?

I have seen a lot of cam buckles accidently open but never even heard of 2" webbing parting.

 

[Golo]

Was that a new or used belt? And do you know which one it actually was (how many pockets)? There are some that have a max capacity of only 20lbs.

To throw in another number, I am 5'9", about 170lbs, and with a 5mm suit, hood and gloves I use 5 kg of weight (including backplate) when diving a 12L Al-tank.

 

[XJJoe01]

I still don't understand. How did the second “traditional” weightbelt break? Did the webbing fail or did the buckle? If it was the buckle, did it fail by opening or did it physically break? Was the buckle plastic of metal?

I have seen a lot of cam buckles accidentally open but never even heard of 2" webbing parting.

This weight belt wasn't the normal 2" web belt....I bought this belt that had pouches for the weights that zipped in from the place I did my certification with on the advice from the owner. I just bought a 2" web belt with a steel buckle along with new weight a few hours ago as a replacement weight system.

The buckle itself didn't fail or open up.

Joe

 

[Akimbo]

…Since then, I bought a new heavy duty traditional weight belt and new weights, since on the surface, the belt broke again and sank, but is there anything we should have done differently?...

It reads like the second belt also failed.

 

[CT-Rich]

yeah, looks like you got taken by the "I know this is a little more money..." school of thought. Some dive shops will load new divers up with gear that is more money but not better performance. Not that he is necessarily a bad shop, but the original belt probably cost $35 plus the weight pouches versus the $10 for the new weight belt and buckle. If you recover the belt, I would take it back and ask for a refund. You may not get one if you have gotten some use out of it or exceeded it limits, but it is worth asking. loosing that much weight at 30 fsw could be a good way to get really hurt. the greatest pressure changes occur the last 10 meter and if you were over weighted, your BCD would have inflated to double the volume on the way up, making dumping enough air a challenge for anyone. Even without air in your BCD you would float like a cork without the belt.

---------- Post added January 20th, 2014 at 05:48 PM ----------

It reads like the second belt also failed.

I think he meant that he tried to get the belt back on for the surface swim to shore and that it fell completely apart and he lost it.

---------- Post added January 20th, 2014 at 05:54 PM ----------

I am 6'7" and 215 lb I use 28 lb with a full wetsuit and hood. I will be dropping a couple this season because of changes to my rig, but I have a lot of surface area.... . I know this is pretty spot on for me since I couldn't stay down at the end of a dive when I borrowed an AL 80. I love steel just for that....