Why no weight pockets with doubles?

[irycio]

Hi!

I'm starting to dive with doubles. Not moving pas rec at the moment, but having enjoyed the experience during fundies, I think I may as well practice valve drills once in a while, and save half of the trips for gas fills .

The question is: why somehow nobody seems to use weight pockets with doubles, and instead non-ditchable weights dominate?
I currently dive a bp/w with a single tank and alu plate. With steel doubles, and the same plate, I need 2kg (4 lbs) of lead. During the course i had them as a V-weight.
Accordingly, if I just bought a steel plate, I could dive without any weights at all.

Why does it however seem uncommon to use pockets with twins? Since I already have them anyway, it would seem easiest (or cheapest) solution. The only issue I see is mounting a cannister for the lamp, but then I do not really use nor intend to need in a foreseeable future to get one anyway.

Is there anything I'm missing? If not, would you anyway suggest getting a steel plate and not have any ditchable weights (arguably, 1 kilo in a pocket kind feels funny)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[tbone1004]

Ditchable weights are not part of the DIR philosophy of diving a balanced rig
In addition, the weight pockets are taking up prime real estate where things need to go, i.e. canister light on the right, stage bottles and SPG on the left

You can do whatever you want, but as said above, if you dive within the paradigm of a balanced rig then you don't need them in the first place

 

[swimlikethefish]

I couldn't have agreed more with the above statement. I will caveat to say this is how you begin falling down the rabbit hole. What I mean by that is, you will realize the benefits of proper weight distribution. You will ultimately end up with multiple plates, tanks, and misc gear. Forever matching your setup to the environments you dive in. Lighter steel or aluminum doubles for freshwater. Heavier plates and tanks for saltwater. In a never ending saga to have setups for each environment so you aren't wasting time swapping equipment for different dives. What you just realized is the beginning of the never ending chase to have a perfectly balanced rig for each dive you make. You will realize that changes in undergarments under your drysuit will also have an impact to the amount of weight. You might start with adding or removing v-weights, but you will soon get tired of doing that and start making dedicated setups.

Im not saying you have to do any of that. But this is typically the start of what will soon become an addiction to seek perfection. It's how I ended up with all the gear I own today. You end up with cold/warm water setups, salt/fresh water setups, tanks with a dedicated mix, the list never ends.

 

[OTF]

Doubles procedures were developed from technical or decompression diving where accidentally losing a weight is quite dangerous. If you end up in an unlikely scenario where you need to ditch weight (wing and drysuit torn pinning you to the bottom, or needing more buoyancy at the surface in an emergency) it's probably survivable to fuss with a crotch strap and inconvenient belt for a minute to ditch your lead. But having a rec style weight pocket catch on something and unexpectedly fall out (not uncommon) could rocket you through your deco ceiling and bend you quick. Or at least make for some very unpleasant downward-kicking hangtime.

That said, I personally wouldn't want to dive with ALL my weight bolted to the backplate and totally impossible for me or a rescuer to remove in the water without tools. A rubber freediving-style weight belt under the crotch strap seems to work well. If it falls off accidentally the crotch strap catches it. But it's still ditchable if you somehow need to.

 

[seeker242]

The question is: why somehow nobody seems to use weight pockets with doubles, and instead non-ditchable weights dominate?

Because if you are diving steel doubles, you should be diving a drysuit, which is the redundant buoyancy, so you would not have to ditch weight to become positive to begin with.

 

[irycio]

Because if you are diving steel doubles, you should be diving a drysuit, which is the redundant buoyancy, so you would not have to ditch weight to become positive to begin with.

Wouldn't have the slightest intention of entering the water here without a drysuit

 

[PfcAJ]

Ditchable weights are not part of the DIR philosophy of diving a balanced rig
In addition, the weight pockets are taking up prime real estate where things need to go, i.e. canister light on the right, stage bottles and SPG on the left

You can do whatever you want, but as said above, if you dive within the paradigm of a balanced rig then you don't need them in the first place

They’re part of DIR balanced rig if you need them. Some people do.

 

[tbone1004]

They’re part of DIR balanced rig if you need them. Some people do.

when would you use ditchable weights? just for surface use when you don't want to ditch the entire rig correct? Also, and just to clarify, when I see/hear ditchable weights I think of the recreational term for it of ditching at the bottom. Ditching while already at the surface is different, so may have just been a verbiage issue.

 

[ChuckP]

Ditchable weights are not part of the DIR philosophy of diving a balanced rig
In addition, the weight pockets are taking up prime real estate where things need to go, i.e. canister light on the right, stage bottles and SPG on the left

You can do whatever you want, but as said above, if you dive within the paradigm of a balanced rig then you don't need them in the first place

I agree and understand but how do you really balance a rig when one day you carry a single 40, the next day you carry two 72's? Today you're wet, tomorrow your dry?? There's just so many dang variables. Couldn't balanced just be pretty dang close for the way you normally dive and within reason for those other dives?

 

[ChuckP]

Because if you are diving steel doubles, you should be diving a drysuit, which is the redundant buoyancy, so you would not have to ditch weight to become positive to begin with.

That's just so untrue.........