When do you put the weight belt on?

[Goodtime Adventures]

I think it all comes down to how the gear has changed. As a rule of thumb I get students to put weight belts on 1st if using standards belt set up - much easier than fighting to get in on after once wearing a bunch of heavy gear. And as some of the others have said, modern BCs should not impede ditching - as long as divers ensure the belt itself is not beneath the cummerbund of the BC. Students using integrated set up can put theirs on last, as it makes no difference and reduces stand time in heavy gear.

 

[buddhasummer]

First. In my early days there was more than once when I initially forgot so got into the habit of donning first. Muscle memory and all that.

 

[Nemrod]

It goes on last, at least in the earlier times, pre-BC. Weights were not really ever advocated to be dropped while submerged (dry suit stuff aside). Pre-BC if a diver were to get into trouble it was usually on the surface and weights were dropped to establish positive buoyancy when on the surface. N

 

[spectrum]

If I'm wearing enough lead for it to really matter I use my DUI W&T harness. Don it first and there is no compromise in ditchability of 50% or 100% of the weight placed there.

 

[CGE925]

When I dive with a BP/W and crotch strap, I rarely find myself in the position of having to wear a weight belt as well, but when I do, I put the weight belt on first, and I do it because I want the crotch strap to interfere with the falling belt.

What?

I figure that it will take a really serious emergency to make me drop my weights, and that will be an extremely rare event. If it does happen, the extra couple of seconds required for me to free the weight belt from the crotch strap is not going to make a whole lot of difference. In short, it is extremely unlikely that I will need to do it, and the consequences of having it under the crotch strap aren't all that great.

On the other hand, it is very possible that the weight belt buckle can come open accidentally, especially if I am trying to work my way through close quarters. I had a weight belt buckle come open on a dive, fortunately at the very start of the dive, when I was a beginning diver, and those weights were never recovered. When I teach students the giant stride entry in the pool and one of them forgets to put the left hand on the buckle, the odds are that belt is coming off and dropping to the bottom of the pool. If my weight belt comes open accidentally, I like the idea that the crotch strap will keep it from falling off and sending me on an unplanned trip to the surface. In short, it is more likely that the weight belt will come open accidentally, and the consequences of losing those weights can be serious.

Thus, I play the odds and put it on first.

This is all very timely for my current situation, as I am about to finish up my OW dives next week, after returning to diving from a long hiatus, and I am facing this very same issue. When I did my OW and AOW in the horse collar days, the weight belt was last on/first off. Fast forward to the present day, and my rig, which is a Halcyon BP/W and drysuit, requires a ton of weight, especially if I'm forced to use my thickest undergarment. I originally tried to integrate all weight into the BC, but needing 4 lbs of trim weight on the top cam band and 10 lbs in the ACP weight pockets, a SS BP and STA weight plus a few extra lbs here and there, I soon found that the assembled BC weighed in at somewhere between 900 and 1000 lbs. No way I could don it myself, I could barely carry it, and it needed a very big buddy to be able to lift it. So, I decided to try and separate out the extra weight needed for cold water ops by going back to the weight belt and thinning out the BC to make it more manageable, hence my question:

In the final OW dives next week, I'll have to demo both weight belt and BC removal and installation. I didn't have any issues in the pool dives as I was MUCH lighter and didn't need the WB. From in-home practice without a tank, it seems that either WB on first or BC on first make the two exercises somewhat mutually exclusive. If the WB goes on first, the crotch strap fouls it, making the "emergency" ditching of the WB somewhat problematic as was noted above. The only way around it I could see would be to undo the WB, then undo the BC waist strap to dump the crotch strap, which should allow the WB to release easily. If the WB goes on last, then it fouls up the BC removal. How do you instructors out there handle this type of situation/equipment configuration? The only way I could see, and I don't want to do it, is to ask the instructor to let me do the two exercises on two different dives, with an equipment swap in between. WB on last for the WB ditching, and BC on last for the BC removal and installation. The only other practical alternative I could see would be to ditch the crotch strap for these dives, as it seems to the main problem area. For those expert in the use of a BP/W, how problematic would it be to dive my Infinity without the crotch strap? I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, but any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Splitting up the weight between a weight belt and the BC makes sense, especially if you are in cold water and need a lot of ballast. For cold water, many people eventually buy steel tanks and some also use steel backplates, which does make the Tank/BC rig very heavy, but reduces the amount of lead.

I configure my crotch strap with a fastex plastic clip on the front so I can unfasted with just a pinch. But to be honest, I learned the old school manner and I do not like having the weightbelt trapped. I avoid a crotch strap in warm water when I don't need a lot of air in the BC.

One thing that may improve your comfort is the use of an elastic rubber belt,(like freedivers use)..Even though most scuba shops do not sell rubber belts, I highly recommend you try one.

You need to be thinking about how you are going to actually dive (and deal with potential problems) rather than being overly worried about a certification dive.

 

[CGE925]

Splitting up the weight between a weight belt and the BC makes sense, especially if you are in cold water and need a lot of ballast. For cold water, many people eventually buy steel tanks and some also use steel backplates, which does make the Tank/BC rig very heavy, but reduces the amount of lead.

I configure my crotch strap with a fastex plastic clip on the front so I can unfasted with just a pinch. But to be honest, I learned the old school manner and I do not like having the weightbelt trapped. I avoid a crotch strap in warm water when I don't need a lot of air in the BC.

One thing that may improve your comfort is the use of an elastic rubber belt,(like freedivers use)..Even though most scuba shops do not sell rubber belts, I highly recommend you try one.

You need to be thinking about how you are going to actually dive (and deal with potential problems) rather than being overly worried about a certification dive.

Thanks very much. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not obsessing about the cert dive, it's been a very comfortable and easy transition back. My aim is on the long term rigging of my overall setup. I just don't want to look like a knob in front of the instructor when it comes time for what should otherwise be a very easy skills demo, and I get all hung up in strapping. ;o) I'm also finding the drysuit, with the big fat SiTech Dry Gloves, to be a bit of a mobility-inhibitor.

I love the idea of a QR crotch strap, thanks for that, I'll have to see if I can work one up with all the spare hardware I have lying around. Worst case, if I can't rig something up in time, I will go with putting the WB on last. I'll practice with the setup some more until I can do the skills somewhat easily

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

If I'm wearing enough lead for it to really matter I use my DUI W&T harness. Don it first and there is no compromise in ditchability of 50% or 100% of the weight placed there.

Bingo. If you carry a full complement of ballast for cold water (30lbs or so), there is no reason to choose between the lesser of 2 evils. The harness satisfies both, plus partial dump and they are much more reliable at retaining weights than many integrated BCDs. Plus the weights don't slide off your butt (a real issue for rotund divers). For warm water diving with 10-12lbs, its not worth arguing about.

 

[kr2y5]

One thing that may improve your comfort is the use of an elastic rubber belt,(like freedivers use).

I would also recommend the Mako freedive belt, very comfortable, it will not acccidentally open, but easy to take off...

 

[Dr Dog]

I do not understand why anyone would want ditchable weight. So an uncontrolled trip to the surface is what you are looking for?
How you would find yourself in a situation where shooting to the surface is beyond me... A weight belt with an easy release is just asking for trouble.

You know where my weight is? Always attached to my backplate. I stay in control and use my equipment properly and I will never require to dump my weight. The only time it makes sense is on a recovery, when you are sending a body to the surface.