Advice on Weight Belt and Knife for snorkeling and scuba

[Dean-K]

Hello,
I am about to start snorkeling + underwater fishing and scuba diving in the midterranian sea (Israel). After all the equipment threads it's time to finish with a weight belt and a knife.

After some research, here are my thoughts:
Weight belt:
I read that rubber belt will remain in place when you dive, while a fabric will dance around your waist (I experienced it during the course). Also, the buckle has to be easily released.

Knife:
I will be fishing underwater, near the shore where there might be fishermen. I thought to purchase a sharp edge (to help a struggling fish) stainless steel knife with a sheath to attach on the leg. I think a blackened knife will rust less, plus it should be expendable in case I loose it.

Again, any thoughts or advice you give are appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Eezycut Trilobite line cutter and/or shears. Knife on leg isn't the best. Better to have up on bcd shoulder. If you become entangled can be quite difficult to reach your leg.

 

[Dean-K]

Eezycut Trilobite line cutter and/or shears. Knife on leg isn't the best. Better to have up on bcd shoulder. If you become entangled can be quite difficult to reach your leg.

Is there a way to attatch it to your shoulder without a BCD?

 

[Rich Keller]

The rubber weight belt stays in place better for people wearing thick wetsuits that compress the deeper you go down. This should not be much of a problem for you snorkeling though so either type will work fine for your needs. The belt buckle should be set so that it can be released with your right hand and all other buckles should be left hand release so there is no confusion in an emergency.

If you are going to wear the knife on your leg it should be on your thigh so that the handle is positioned where your hand would normally come to rest against your leg, not on the calf. If you want to go with a cheaper knife you could modify a folding lock blade knife so that it can be clipped to a D ring on your belt or harness.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Eezycut Trilobite line cutter and/or shears. Knife on leg isn't the best. Better to have up on bcd shoulder. If you become entangled can be quite difficult to reach your leg.

The OP says "he will be fishing underwater" and snorkeling and you suggest an EZ cut on the BC? How does he scramble the brain of a struggling fish with those tools?

 

[chillyinCanada]

Dumpster, he said he was concerned about fishing line entanglement, not fish brain scrambling.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Dumpster, he said he was concerned about fishing line entanglement, not fish brain scrambling.

I am about to start snorkeling + underwater fishing and scuba diving in the midterranian sea (Israel). After all the equipment threads it's time to finish with a weight belt and a knife.

After some research, here are my thoughts:
Weight belt:
I read that rubber belt will remain in place when you dive, while a fabric will dance around your waist (I experienced it during the course). Also, the buckle has to be easily released.

Knife:
I will be fishing underwater, near the shore where there might be fishermen. I thought to purchase a sharp edge (to help a struggling fish) stainless steel knife with a sheath to attach on the leg. I think a blackened knife will rust less, plus it should be expendable in case I loose it.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Dumpster, he said he was concerned about fishing line entanglement, not fish brain scrambling.

The OP actually did say "help a struggling fish", which means a knife. Sheathing the knife after use is the issue I had had, for the actual cutting almost anything works. That drove me to folding knifes. I don't spearfish anymore, so shears are dirt cheap and safe to use. Sooner or later, you will loose the cutting implement, so something cheap is good.

 

[chillyinCanada]

My mistake. Apologies to all.

 

[Glenn08]

You didn't mention what (or if) BC you are using. Most BC's now only have a low pressure inflate and would be not much more than a decoration while snorkeling. An older BC with a CO-2 cartridge could give you some lift instead of dropping your weight belt. I use my Fenzy while snorkeling. The air bottle gives plenty of lift if needed, and is re-fillable from a scuba tank, so I have no hesitation about using it.