I wanted to find out if there are more divers like me and my dive buddy, on this forum who were taught and still practice the habit of putting most of their weights in the front of their BC. I have asked around to some instructors and dive masters in my area and most agree that this is the best way to use a quick weight ditch system.
I posted earlier on an incident that occurred last weekend :What would you do or has this happened to you with your weights!
I posted earlier on an incident that occurred last weekend :What would you do or has this happened to you with your weights!
I was diving this morning at La Jolla Shores CA and my dive buddy"s integrated weight (velcro secured) fell out. Thank God we were heading back towards shore and this happened at 20 feet. All I know is, I took a look at my gauge for a second and when I turned to look for my buddy she was gone. She said when her weight fell out she immediately shot up like a rocket!!! She at least remembered to breathe and not hold her breath and were pretty shallow. It brought something to my attention that this could have happened at our 75 foot depth that we were earlier. That is why I wanted to ask for any thoughts or experiences this topic, on what to do if this should occur especially below 30 feet.
I received a lot of good advice. The main message from everyone was the importance of proper weight distribution. They did make a lot of sense: on how this would lessen the affect when losing an integrated weight. By having more weights distributed in different areas, when one falls off it won't affect you as much and will not cause you to ascend so quickly. Distributing the weights in different areas allows you to be better balanced as well.
My dilemma is: I want to do something to help divers out their who are convinced in loading most their weights in the front pocket ( of BC) still think it's a good practice. Tell me why you still think this is still good, especially after reading this post.
If you are still not convinced on weight distribution, tell me if you think someone should make a quick release leash, tether or something that could help retrieve the weight in the event of an inadvertent release of the weights. If you think that this is a good idea let me know. I don't care who makes this, I just think those choosing to use their weights the way I was ( and my dive buddy), are risking an accident. Sometimes it's hard to change peoples mind on how they do things especially when they are experienced and have been doing things in a certain way without incident for a while, but it just takes one time to get you to realize how dangerous it can be. It could happen to yourself or someone you know lets try and address this all the way. That is why I thought, if I can't convince them to distribute their weights perhaps I can help them by providing some type of safety measure to their integrated weight system.
Tell me what you think.
I received a lot of good advice. The main message from everyone was the importance of proper weight distribution. They did make a lot of sense: on how this would lessen the affect when losing an integrated weight. By having more weights distributed in different areas, when one falls off it won't affect you as much and will not cause you to ascend so quickly. Distributing the weights in different areas allows you to be better balanced as well.
My dilemma is: I want to do something to help divers out their who are convinced in loading most their weights in the front pocket ( of BC) still think it's a good practice. Tell me why you still think this is still good, especially after reading this post.
If you are still not convinced on weight distribution, tell me if you think someone should make a quick release leash, tether or something that could help retrieve the weight in the event of an inadvertent release of the weights. If you think that this is a good idea let me know. I don't care who makes this, I just think those choosing to use their weights the way I was ( and my dive buddy), are risking an accident. Sometimes it's hard to change peoples mind on how they do things especially when they are experienced and have been doing things in a certain way without incident for a while, but it just takes one time to get you to realize how dangerous it can be. It could happen to yourself or someone you know lets try and address this all the way. That is why I thought, if I can't convince them to distribute their weights perhaps I can help them by providing some type of safety measure to their integrated weight system.
Tell me what you think.
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