weights: hard/soft--belt/pouches

[Jason B]

What do you guys use for weights (when needed), a standard weight belt with hard weights or weight belt with pouches and soft weights. Is it okay to slide hard weights (2 lbs per side) to your backplate harness waist belt?
Thanks for any insight guys (and gals),

Jason

 

[cool_hardware52]

What do you guys use for weights (when needed), a standard weight belt with hard weights or weight belt with pouches and soft weights. Is it okay to slide hard weights (2 lbs per side) to your backplate harness waist belt?
Thanks for any insight guys (and gals),

Jason

Jason,

Much about weighting is personal preference, but I can tell what I do. I found that weights on the waist belt of the BP harness was a problem. It uses space on the belt, and made in water donning more difficult for me.

I do add weight to my plate, 5lbs, so my plate + weights is about 11 lbs.

I use a Xscuba weight belt with soft weights in the four pouches. I like the idea that I can remove just one soft weight at a time should I ever need to, although I never have.

I found that the soft weights allow me to snug the belt up pretty tight without it becoming uncomfortable.

Regards,



Tobin

 

[SDAnderson]

What do you guys use for weights (when needed), a standard weight belt with hard weights or weight belt with pouches and soft weights. Is it okay to slide hard weights (2 lbs per side) to your backplate harness waist belt?
Thanks for any insight guys (and gals),

Jason

Weights should be separated so that the diver and his rig, collectively and independently, are just barely negative at the end of a dive. Additionally, they should be distributed in a manner to promote neutral trim, both roll and pitch. Finally, ditchable weight should be easy to reach, immediately apparent to a rescue diver/buddy and in small amounts that losing them won't mean a polaris missile shot to the surface.

When I use a weightbelt I prefer ones with pockets so that I can remove one weight at a time, should the need arise. I normally use blocks, mostly because they grow like hangers in the dark and because the lead shot weights make a mess as they dry in the back of the truck.

I tried putting weights on the waist strap and didn't like it - they were in the way and made the rig too heavy, not to mention they flopped around and put a lot of stress on the strap where it laced through the backplate. If you need weight on the rig, try a channel weight or heavier plate.

Hope this helps.

 

[bcsean]

7lb plate, 5lb sta, 10lbs on waist belt. 2 bullets per side. Not uncomfortable and trims out well.

 

[OneBrightGator]

I use a soft weight belt when needed, I found that adding two trim pockets to my top cam band and spreading the weight out between those and the belt trimmed me out horizontally and also made for less ditchable weight so that in the unlikely event I do ditch I'm not rocketing to the surface.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I use the XS Scuba weight belt with pouches, and soft weights. I also use a backplate. I have plates that provide 2, 5, 6, 9, and 11 lb buoyancy ... plus three different size cylinders for singles ... plus doubles. So I can move weights around in the belt to suit the rig I'm wearing at any given time.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ShakaZulu]

I use the XS Scuba weight belt with pouches, and soft weights. I also use a backplate. I have plates that provide 2, 5, 6, 9, and 11 lb buoyancy ... plus three different size cylinders for singles ... plus doubles. So I can move weights around in the belt to suit the rig I'm wearing at any given time.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Wow, how do you keep track of all those configurations?

I dive a BP/W with the XS Scuba soft weight belt. Due to the 6lbs BP, I only need between 10-14 LBS for steel/aluminum setups ( I know, I think I can still drop some, still new at this setup). The reduced weight makes the weight belt ok to handle.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Wow, how do you keep track of all those configurations?

Muscle memory ...

I haven't been diving the doubles rig much since September, due to a torn rotator cuff ... but the other rigs all get dived fairly regularly.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Atticus]

With double PST80's, a 6lb plate, and an HID light in fresh water my answer is "What weight?"

When I do carry a belt it's soft weights in a zipper belt similar to what others have mentioned. I found that putting lead on the webbing for the BP has the following problems:

1. It makes carrying the plate/wing around harder
2. My webbing tore slightly due to the weight hanging from it
3. It's easy to lose the weights when doing inwater donning (keepers would help here)
4. That's where my light goes (or alternatively, that's where I clip my sling bottles).

I used to use a 7lb "soft v weight" but found that it was a pain when going from fresh to salt water.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I use a homemade nine pound V-weight on my six pound backplate. With my drysuit and steel tanks it is just enough to allow me to be neutral throughout the dive with very little air in my wing. My only ditchable weight is my two pound canister light, but if I can't ascend without ditching two pounds then something is seriously wrong. I always have three sources of lift; drysuit, liftbag and wing. I try to carry the bare minimum amount of weight needed to be neutral at ten feet with 300 psi. Any more than that and I would have to compensate for it by adding air to my wing. If I don't need it, I don't take it with me.