Weightbelts, why does everyone hate them so much?

[johndiver999]

Certainly a weight belt which is overlain by a crotch strap is safer than carrying a bunch of non-ditchable lead.

I do the same as Eric, but I have 3 potential means to drop a weight belt in an emergency.

• Open the weight belt buckle, grab the end of the belt and yank it around until it is in front of me and clear and drop it.
• I also have a quick release on the front of my crotch strap consisting of a fastex buckle which allows me to release the crotch strap if needed AND it allows fine tuning of the crotch strap tension, while wearing the rig.
• Third, I can unbuckle my waist strap, the crotch strap loop will fall off the open strap end of the belt and this will cause the crotch strap to fall away and no longer retain the weight belt. I never understand why some people advocate for putting the crotch loop behind the buckle where it will not simply slide off when the waist strap is opened.

A crotch strap DOES hinder the dropping of the belt in an instant, but it also provides a secondary retention system should it accidentally pop open.

A huge majority of recreational divers do not use a crotch strap, so this aspect is only relevant for a minority of divers.

As for the challenges of trim, wearing a weight belt does not necessarily preclude a diver from placing some fixed lead on a cam strap or the front of the harness or even attaching some weight around the valve neck.
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[AfterDark]

Certainly a weight belt which is overlain by a crotch strap is safer than carrying a bunch of non-ditchable lead.

I do the same as Eric, but I have 3 potential means to drop a weight belt in an emergency.

• Open the weight belt buckle, grab the end of the belt and yank it around until it is in front of me and clear and drop it.
• I also have a quick release on the front of my crotch strap consisting of a fastex buckle which allows me to release the crotch strap if needed AND it allows fine tuning of the crotch strap tension, while wearing the rig.
• Third, I can unbuckle my waist strap, the crotch strap loop will fall off the open strap end of the belt and this will cause the crotch strap to fall away and no longer retain the weight belt. I never understand why some people advocate for putting the crotch loop behind the buckle where it will not simply slide off when the waist strap is opened.

A crotch strap DOES hinder the dropping of the belt in an instant, but it also provides a secondary retention system should it accidentally pop open.

A huge majority of recreational divers do not use a crotch strap, so this aspect is only relevant for a minority of divers.

As for the challenges of trim, wearing a weight belt does not necessarily preclude a diver from placing some fixed lead on a cam strap or the front of the harness or even attaching some weight around the valve neck.
I

IMO that is why a lot of divers have trouble with trim I can't figure out why. Without a properly adjusted crouch strap the rig changes position when air is added or released from the BCD. A crouch strap IMO is standard equipment.

 

[Steve_C]

Having been initially certified using a belt (1985-86), I've actually never used a weight-integrated BCD. My concern, and arguably unsubstantiated, with pockets is having to reach to my sides to fumble with each latching mechanism (and yes, I realize most are velcro) where with my belt, all I have to do is reach down to my waist and find one buckle.

On the other hand, my wife (dive buddy) has never used anything other than an integrated BCD, and she is just fine with it.

I'm figuring to each their own.

With my pockets each has a latch. Just pull it.

 

[MichaelMc]

One way to eliminate any snags when passing the crotch strap below the weight belt:
- Have no snag points except the loops double thickness, i.e., no D-rings/tri-glides.
- Have the loop double thickness bump on the side facing your wetsuit not facing the weight belt.
- Join to the plate with triglade after the join point (the plate slot) by using the tri-glide as a stopper knot.
- Secure the loose end to prevent it all sliding out of the plate slot, such as by taping to the plate just past the tri-glide.

With the neon webbing being the weight belt.

Maybe everyone does this recreationally and I just missed it, but I've seen the excess run back down the crotch strap with a tri-glide somewhere on the butt. Depending on how you secure the end it seems as secure as running it back down the strap. I can wiggle the tri-glide through the slot if I angle it so one end goes in first, so securing the end is important to prevent that.

Eliminating the back tri-glide only matters if your plate and weight belt are very close. If they are not, there is little point in that part. Though having the rear tri-glide below the belt will make R/R anoying, like where the slight bend is in the crotch strap above.

Also, I find it easier to thread the crotch strap under the weigh belt if you:
- Pass the BC belt end between you and the weight belt to below it,
- Thread the BC belt end through the crotch loop,
- Pass the BC belt end between you and the weight belt to back above it,
- Buckle it and cinch the crotch strap upward to either under the weigh belt or a bit above it.
As opposed to trying to do all that between the weight belt and you or just above it.

Any other ideas?

 

[ibj40]

With my pockets each has a latch. Just pull it.

As I said, "To each their own".

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I feel like weight belt under crotch strap sends an inconsistent message in recreational diving. In rescue the rule on reaching the surface is get them buoyant by removing weights/weight belt first, then and only then remove their buoyancy device and gear. I recall doing the reverse caused a death recently. Plus we teach 'ditch their weight belt' not 'remove any impeding strap (that also holds their BC on) and then ditch their weight belt'. Caves and deco obligations add higher consequences of accidental weight loss.

It’s not something amateurs should consider, It’s an advanced configuration. The weightbelt must be under the crotch strap if one decides to remove their rig underwater at depth. If a person is uncomfortable with the idea of having a weighbelt under the crotch strap and having to undoing two things to dump a belt then skip it altogether or run the belt on top. Or like has been mentioned, put a squeeze clip on the front of the crotch strap, (sorry if I gave any purists heartburn).
Personally I don’t think it’s a big deal.

 

[Larryjd1]

All this talk of weight ditching makes me hope I'm not below somebody when their lead bomb is coming down!

 

[Rickk]

I love my integrated weight BCD.

If I dive cold fresh water, I need to much weight for a belt to be comfortable. I have used a harness that allows me to carry the weight on my shoulder but now diving warm water the integrated system is better, A significant amount of my weight is in fixed trim pockets so I only have a couple kg as dump-able weights but it will make me positive and up I go.

 

[MichaelMc]

It’s not something amateurs should consider, It’s an advanced configuration. The weightbelt must be under the crotch strap if one decides to remove their rig underwater at depth

I disagree that the weight belt must be under the crotch strap to remove (and replace) at depth. Removing a non-D-ring encumbered crotch strap from under the weight belt is easy at depth. It just slides out. A D-ring encumbered one is a pain but still straight forward. Rethreading is either mildly annoying for the clean one or a pain in the ass for the D-ring one. To be clear, I do not unfasten the weight belt. All in a 20/10 wetsuit. How it would be in a dry suit I don't know.

My weight ditch concern is not about the diver removing their own weight belt. But rather for the random rescuer doing their very simple steps on the surface of 1) ditch weights/belt, 2) only then remove BC. It is confusing to tell my students, or a random person on the pier, 'weights then BC' but for me you should partially remove my BC, then ditch weights, then fully remove BC. Yes, yes, I know we teach ditch weights before removing BC, but if you rescue me, do it half in reverse. Hard to justify for me around students or new divers. For me. Recreationally. When I can R/R just fine with crotch strap under.

 

[Bob DBF]

It is confusing to tell my students 'weights then BC' but for me you should partially remove my BC, then ditch weights, then fully remove BC.

If it is my buddy I tell them before we splash how I’m rigged and what needs to be done, also I find out what I need to know about their rig.

In rescue I was taught to check for the unknown victim’s configuration because the weights need to be removed before the BC, as there is lmore than one way to attach weights. Also I am not, in an actual rescue, constrained by removing gear intact as one is in a class.