Diving without releasable weight

[johndiver999]

Yes, it can be unclipped. Question is, how easily can it be unclipped in an emergency? A bag full of scallops is several kilos negatively buoyant. Have you - or others who seem to be ok with attatching it to themself - actually tried to unclip and ditch one? How easy is that in an emergency? How probable is it that you remember it? After all, it isn't a skill which is taught at basic level and re-rained at higher levels.

It's a completely unnecessary risk factor.

Clipping it off allows your hands to be free, to do things, to work a scooter, to use other gear, to not loose it in a current.

I clip a bag to my waist strap, but if ditching is really a major concern, then it could be clipped to a weight belt with a quick release, I suppose.

Clipping anything off that is negative does add to the complexity and could present some dangers, but the diver would need to balance the inconvenience of having their arm fully occupied and some might argue that the exertion of holding a heavy bag, might be undesirable from a decompression standpoint.

On ascent, I would prefer a heavy bag clipped off compared to hand carrying, due simply to the potential consequences of dropping the bag accidentally and floating up too fast in shallow water. A lift bag is probably best, but if you compare hand carry versus clipped off, I would probably go with a clip.

I’m not saying hand carrying is necessarily to be avoided, but there may be more than one way to dive without making huge concessions to safety.

 

[BlueTrin]

You guys are making me really hungry with all this talk about lobsters and scallops.

 

[scubadada]

No big deal, this thread was about single tank diving in warm water

 

[Storker]

Clipping anything off that is negative does add to the complexity and could present some dangers, but the diver would need to balance the inconvenience of having their arm fully occupied and some might argue that the exertion of holding a heavy bag, might be undesirable from a decompression standpoint.

Come back when you know about fatalities caused by not clipping off the bag.

In my waters, there have been several fatalities which most probably were caused by a catch bag not being ditched.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I've been in situations where a buddy should have ditched and didn't. Both ended well, but water was inhaled and it could have been worse.

I've not seen this combination before, but in rescue exercises and a couple of dives that, uh, "didn't follow the intended plan" I could create the following scenario:

An issue with your buddy requires surfacing with buddy 700 m from shore in an isolated location. They have some kind of problem so you want to get them to shore quickly. Given the distance, I'd strip gear after ditching weights. The more typical the weight system, the easier it is to take it off. If the distance were shorter, I might ditch weights only.

 

[Steelyeyes]

I've been in situations where a buddy should have ditched and didn't. Both ended well, but water was inhaled and it could have been worse.

I've not seen this combination before, but in rescue exercises and a couple of dives that, uh, "didn't follow the intended plan" I could create the following scenario:

An issue with your buddy requires surfacing with buddy 700 m from shore in an isolated location. They have some kind of problem so you want to get them to shore quickly. Given the distance, I'd strip gear after ditching weights. The more typical the weight system, the easier it is to take it off. If the distance we're shorter, I might ditch weights only.

In our rescue the diver had been separated from the rest of us by surging current. He'd impacted some lava with his head and knee. He made it to the surface while the rest of us regrouped looked for him and then followed the plan and terminated the dive.

Once on the surface we located him after some searching. By then he was OOA, on his snorkel, and drifting away in a serious current. Luckily there were two rescuers to share the duty of getting him back to shore. Having ditchable weights was a great help.

 

[Storker]

Having ditchable weights was a great help.

It's another tool in the toolbox.

I definitely understand that if you owe a significant amount of deco, the risk of inadvertently losing some weight and not being able to hold the necessary deco stops should be balanced against the utility of being able to ditch at the surface. But for the majority of us who don't owe a lot of deco, the calculation is pretty simple. Little to lose and potentially a life to gain.

 

[АлександрД]

I think I just solved my problem. It looks like these pockets may be able to be attached so that they are oriented upside down. So in that respect, they are just like the scubapro weight pockets i mentioned above. Voila! Ditchable weights!
Back side:

@Scubada

I use same way for attaching pockets on my DIY SM harness - upside down

When you need to release weights - just open pockets (press buckle and open velcro on the pocket flap) and weight will be dropped down.
Very simple and robust system - you will never loose all your weights in one moment. And safe enough - it takes 1-2 sec per pocket to drop the weight.
P.S. I had never drop the weights underwater. but tested.

vs the much more compact, non-releasable 5lb pocket:

so - it is easy releasable weight pocket! just turn it upside down

 

[johndiver999]

Come back when you know about fatalities caused by not clipping off the bag.

In my waters, there have been several fatalities which most probably were caused by a catch bag not being ditched.

That is troubling to hear; so they failed to ditch heavy bags of scallops and drown, I assume?

Did they also fail to drop a quick release weightbelt? Ot did they have non-releasable ballast?

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Sort of an aside, but back in the late 60's I was taught that from a full to nearly empty steel 72 tank there was about a 5 lb bouyancy swing. To weight myself properly to be neutral (no BC mind you), I was taught to weight myself with a full tank so I'd be light at the end of the dive because it was just assumed I'd have game in my bag and that weight would offset the increased tank bouyancy at the end of the dive. Never was sure if that was exactly the way it worked but I stayed pretty neutral throughout a dive and everyone I knew followed that approach.