Ankle weight extensions?

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hollywood703

Contributor
Messages
313
Reaction score
13
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
# of dives
50 - 99
I have some ankle weights that I have noticed with my drysuit that they are quite tight....I would like to make...or buy pending cost some small extensions...anyone done this? or know of who might make such an item...Im not sure of the brand right off hand.......but will look.

Just looked at them, they appear to be generic brand....
 
I used to make my own.

Take a bicycle inner tube and cut and appropriate length

Run a piece of strong cord or 400 lb monofilament through it.

Tie off one end of the tube with string or a safety wire (like a sausage).

Pour lead shot into the inner tube (I usually could find an old beat up lead shot packet that was starting to spill lead everywhere (to canabilize).

Seal the other end of tube with wire/string.

Attach to each end of the central cord, male and female fastex clips (these should NOT be stolen from the grocery store shopping cart).

Then for the final touch, wrap the inner tube in duct tape. I wore ankle weights like this for hundreds and hundreds of working dives and had no problems. Occasionally the duct tape needs anther layer, but they are very strong. Small ones are useful to put around the tank valve to help with trim when you have a lot of wetsuit on.
 
I already have the weights....I just need to extend the length about 2 inches.....Im wondering if someone has done this....thanks
 
Find out who makes the clips and get another set, then head to an outdoors store near you that has climbing gear. Get your two clips and the webbing you need for your extension and vola, sew it up.You can add a tri glide to adjust the webbing.
Allen
 
Just looked at them, they appear to be generic brand....
REI or any similar outdoor store has really good selections of nylon webbing in the outdoor rock climbing section, and usually has a good selection of buckles available for repairing outdoor gear. They're often found nearby, or with the backpacks... Take a weight with you if you want to assess for fit, or just consider cutting off the clip that's there and replacing it with a bit of strap and a new set of fastex buckles. They're about $1.50 or $2 a pair in the size you would need with ankle weights.

You can pretty easily sew two layers of nylon webbing on any decent (Singer, Bernina, Viking, Husqvarna, etc -- just not your $99 Wal-Mart special) brand of home sewing machine, usually three layers on superior grade ones, and anything thicker more or less requires an industrial machine or use of a hand awl. Use thick upholstery thread - not cotton, but nylon - ask the saleslady for upholstery thread from Gutterman or Coats & Clark - and the appropriate needle, which is usually a denim needle in a 100 or 110 size for that thread.

I tend to sew a straight stitch "X in a box" pattern on the end of the webbing, then bar-tack over the ends of the stitching (use a buttonhole stitch) to lock the pieces together... I think the anal-rentitiveness in securing the webbing comes from dealing with my parachute/skydiving gear...or the rebreather counterlung tie-downs, which I made in the same way. Either one failing is a serious problem, unlike losing an ankle weight... :)

What you want to do here should take you no more than about 15 minutes when you're gathered the supplies.

That all said - if you're using ankle weights -- wouldn't it be easier to figure out why your trim is so off that you need them in the first place? Correct trim in your gear should relegate the ankle weights to permanent status in the "swamp bucket" in the corner of the garage...
 
Now might be a good time to find a better solution to your trim problem than ankle weights. Just a thought...
 
Its not a trim problem, i use them as an alternative to gaiters. My drysuit is set up for cold water diving with heavy thermals, when im not using the heavy thermals, there is airspace in the legs. 2 lbs of weight taken out of my Chest area and spread out through my body and cuts off the airflow to my feet. Short of buying a drysuit for warm water time, (not a feasible solution) I like the ankle weights. thanks
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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