Not having dumpable weights on BPW

[JLRO22]

I am super close on clicking order on my BPW set up. But I'm starting to get skeptical on the weight set up.
I'm a small diver 5'2 and only 115 lbs. I dive temperate waters in California with a 7mm suit, 5/3 hood, 7mm boots etc. This is my current 'possible buy' list in terms of main weighting:

Backplates​

• Halcyon - Small Stainless Steel Backplate; 4.05 lbs
• Dive Rite - Short Stainless Steel XT Backplate; 5.41 lbs

STAs​

• Dive Rite - STA; 0.81lbs
• Halcyon - STA; 2.4 lbs
• Halcyon - STA w/ weight; 7.55 lbs

With my dive program, I have access to AL80s or Steel 85, 80, 100s but usually opt for a steel more often times than not. Its a bad day if I have to use an AL80 or there's no steels left and I need more air than what's in an 85.
Anyway my dilemma is what is correct configuration without it being dangerous of having too much non-dumpable weight on my body? Since I dive steels usually, if I run a set up that's heavy (DR plate w/ any of the STAs), I would barely have to put anything on a belt. And if I need to do an emergency ascent and I dump, I'll be dumping basically nothing and need to instead kick like hell. Yeah that means I'll means I'm probably overweighted, but is running 7 or even 12 lbs + a steel over kill for such a small diver. Is it safe to run all your weight on your back?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

FWIW, every single technical diver I know out here uses a weight belt...

That being said, on shorter people, it does introduce the possibility of cluttering the waist area, and if the rig is balanced, it's balanced. I still prefer weight belts, and that's after trying all the tricks outlined in this thread.

A lot of people run goofball stuff like rigs with no ditchable weight and fail to consider things like suit compression at depth. That 7mm is going to be thin as paper at 100fsw, and as such, not provide the lift it gave you at the surface. That's what gets so many people into trouble out here.

As lot of people do goofball things like put all their weight on their rigs because they read that crap on here, but they don't fully understand what "balanced rig" means. They go in with the old knowledge of how they were weighted in their OW class which in todays terms is usually about 10# too much. This is what's scary.
They need to do their homework first before they get brainwashed by a bunch of koolaiders talking about no ditchable weight.
Absolute madness!!!

 

[MB NZ]

They need to do their homework first before they get brainwashed by a bunch of koolaiders talking about no ditchable weight.

Lots of experienced divers like to dive without ditchable weight. Like me, they've probably worked it out for themselves without drinking the koolaid (is there a non-ditchable weight koolaid?). There is no need to be offensive. I don't care how you or anybody else dives, but I'm happy to share my experience. As I said in Post #4, the choice is yours.

 

[steinbil]

Ditchable weights are like snorkels, you may want them or not want them and whatever works for you is OK.

More like:
Ditchable weights are like snorkels, useless/dangerous under water.

Yes, I use a weight belt, for convenience, under the harness, never to be dropped at depth...

 

[Scared Silly]

What happens when you try to ditch a weight belt when wearing a harness with a crotch strap? Does it get hung up? That's my assumption, but I never tried.

If wearing a weight belt with backplate and crotch strap it is last thing put on, and the first thing taken off. That is SOP anything else is fubar.

 

[Tigerpaw]

Backplates while great for their simplicity, weight options are to some degree limited.

Manufacturers are actually getting better at it. Fantom Dive Systems have stainless steel backplates in 6, 10 and 15 pounds!

 

[Scared Silly]

Manufacturers are actually getting better at it. Fantom Dive Systems have stainless steel backplates in 6, 10 and 15 pounds!

Weight options, not in weight of the backplate but in the ability to add/remove weight as needed including weight that can be ditched. The latter being the topic a hand.

 

[dmaziuk]

What if they need to stay on top of the surface unassisted to await picking up?

The wing will keep enough of an air bubble when vertical, unless Mike Nelson cut a hole in its top with his BFK, or your corrugated hose fittings are a over a decade past their replace-by date. That includes the big flat wing-side rubber washer -- ask me how I know.

 

[Nemrod]

The wing will keep enough of an air bubble when vertical, unless Mike Nelson cut a hole in its top with his BFK, or your corrugated hose fittings are a over a decade past their replace-by date. That includes the big flat wing-side rubber washer -- ask me how I know.

Of the wing or BC failures I have seen and I have seen a few most are not the result of being stabbed by a BFK but are usually because the inflator goes wonky or the corrugated hose fitting on the wing, the one that is bonded to the bag or RF welded to the bag to which the hose fitting is screwed on to rips, tears, or debonds from the bag. Most of those are in the top of the wing or BC so you may or may not be able to keep a bubble up top. I do not think we can assume that a torn bladder would be restricted to only the lower portion of the bag.

Eric, there is no freaking way I will ever return to wearing a weight belt in wamer water. A cold water rig, okay, maybe, drysuit, I have a harness though my drysuit went to dust a decade ago. I am configured so that some of my weight is quick release, enough to get bouyant. The amount of QR weight available depends upon what exposure gear I have, near naked with just a rash guard and swimsuit/shorts in Cozumel, that place you are not going to go to , I need about 4 pounds of weight, maybe six if I have on a neoprene shorts and top or even as much as eight pounds in a light 3/2 suit. I generally do carry a sausage and in a few cases there might be two. If I need to stay atop the water waiting pickup or whatever might be the case, I can inflate the sausage to either augment my wing or supplant the wing if failed (unlikely) and it did not conveniently keep a bubble up top. This is not the DIR/GUE or tech forum so we cannot expect that every answer will be from such perspective, dry suits and heavy neoprene are not a norm for diving.

 

[TostitoBandito]

I personally don't put a ton of importance in ditchable weight. If you're weighted at least somewhat close to properly, there just aren't really many realistic scenarios where you'd ever want to ditch a substantial percentage of your weight (and risk an uncontrolled ascent). I get why it's been historically taught that you need to be able to ditch most/all weight, and there's no reason not to configure yourself that way if you easily can, but I also think it's partly a relic from the days before modern BCD's when all divers were overweighted and negative at depth. And it's obviously not as easy to do in certain configurations.

For the OP diving in cold water they almost certainly have a substantial wing probably with 40+ lb of lift. The first scenario to come to mind where you might need to ditch is if your wing gets punctured or you otherwise can't add buoyancy to it, at depth. But in that scenario, unless you are extremely deep with a lot of compressible wetsuit or other gear on, you should still be able to fin upwards without too much effort even if you're a few pounds negative. The other scenario is a severe downcurrent, and in that case I'd be extremely hesitant to ditch weights except as a last resort after being unable to escape the current by swimming perpendicular to it in any direction (again because uncontrolled ascent from very deep potentially, which could be fatal).

That said, I do dive with around 50% ditchable weight (usually 6lb or so). But that's mostly because it's easy for me to do so as a recreational diver diving a transpac/wing mostly in warm water. I've dove with plenty of folks using steel backplates and heavier rigs similar to the OP who require a minimal amount of lead, and at that point it really doesn't matter a whole lot whether you can ditch your couple of pounds or not.

Anyways, just my thoughts.