DUI weight harness won’t slip and it’s pretty comfy. I never wore a regular weight belt.
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DUI weight harness won’t slip and it’s pretty comfy. I never wore a regular weight belt.
tmassey
Contributor
I *detest* weight belts. They *never* stay where they should.
At this point in my diving, I *rarely* have ditchable weight. I'm negative even with zero weight even with a drysuit, so there can be nothing to ditch! However, before I learned how to *actually* dive a drysuit, I *did* have extra weight, and I used the same type of DUI harness that @Marie13 is mentioning.
From a comfortably holding weight perspective, the thing is *great*. At one point I had 20 pounds in the thing, 10 on each side. Carrying it around was no problem at all, in or out of the water. The harness gave great stability and support, and yet it still had 'pull this in emergency' dumps. Very nice setup.
The biggest disadvantage is that, even if you only have a couple of pounds in it, the thing is bulky. It can interfere with your BC/BP waist strap, and the big pockets are still big even when it's empty. If you've only got to have a few pounds, I'm not sure that the comfort and convenience is worth the bulk -- especially because a 5-pound weight belt is less annoying than a bigger weight belt, too.
One other thing: if you forget to put this thing on, you are going to have to take *everything* else off to put it on. No slipping it on like a forgotten weight belt...
And one last thing: don't start making big weight-management decisions right now. Sure, if you have the money, buying the DUI harness isn't that expensive, and you can likely resell it later; however, ideally, you will be also improving your technique such that you will use less weight. In my case, I started out using 20 pounds of lead with my drysuit: I used to use 6 with my wetsuit, and no one seemed to think that this was that unusual. But then I started *really* working on my technique and my buoyancy. I was able to get it down to 10 pounds and I was pretty pleased -- in fact, I thought that I was done.
Nope: later after taking Fundies and making some other improvements, I was able to get down to zero extra weight (in steel doubles). What changed? Two things: first, I had to get to the point where I was *absolutely* *flat* in the water, and therefore my fins were not pushing me upward -- which most people do, and which causes most people to think they're "light" when in reality they're actually just finning themselves upward and using the extra weight to counteract that. And second, even then, because of having spent so much time overweighted in my diving career it took me at least 50+ dives to truly learn and understand what neutral felt like.
Anyway, enough off-topic pontificating. If you are trying to carry near-double-digit pounds of lead, the DUI harness is really nice, if a bit bulky.
At this point in my diving, I *rarely* have ditchable weight. I'm negative even with zero weight even with a drysuit, so there can be nothing to ditch! However, before I learned how to *actually* dive a drysuit, I *did* have extra weight, and I used the same type of DUI harness that @Marie13 is mentioning.
From a comfortably holding weight perspective, the thing is *great*. At one point I had 20 pounds in the thing, 10 on each side. Carrying it around was no problem at all, in or out of the water. The harness gave great stability and support, and yet it still had 'pull this in emergency' dumps. Very nice setup.
The biggest disadvantage is that, even if you only have a couple of pounds in it, the thing is bulky. It can interfere with your BC/BP waist strap, and the big pockets are still big even when it's empty. If you've only got to have a few pounds, I'm not sure that the comfort and convenience is worth the bulk -- especially because a 5-pound weight belt is less annoying than a bigger weight belt, too.
One other thing: if you forget to put this thing on, you are going to have to take *everything* else off to put it on. No slipping it on like a forgotten weight belt...
And one last thing: don't start making big weight-management decisions right now. Sure, if you have the money, buying the DUI harness isn't that expensive, and you can likely resell it later; however, ideally, you will be also improving your technique such that you will use less weight. In my case, I started out using 20 pounds of lead with my drysuit: I used to use 6 with my wetsuit, and no one seemed to think that this was that unusual. But then I started *really* working on my technique and my buoyancy. I was able to get it down to 10 pounds and I was pretty pleased -- in fact, I thought that I was done.
Nope: later after taking Fundies and making some other improvements, I was able to get down to zero extra weight (in steel doubles). What changed? Two things: first, I had to get to the point where I was *absolutely* *flat* in the water, and therefore my fins were not pushing me upward -- which most people do, and which causes most people to think they're "light" when in reality they're actually just finning themselves upward and using the extra weight to counteract that. And second, even then, because of having spent so much time overweighted in my diving career it took me at least 50+ dives to truly learn and understand what neutral felt like.
Anyway, enough off-topic pontificating. If you are trying to carry near-double-digit pounds of lead, the DUI harness is really nice, if a bit bulky.
There are two pocket sizes on the DUI weight harness. One holds 20 lbs total and the other holds 40 lbs total. So the smaller will be less bulky. The shoulder straps are also adjustable so you can vary the height of the belt so it doesn’t interfere with BP harness.
For weighting, trim pockets on the tank band is one place to put it. There are various weight pockets available that can go on the waist belt of the BPW. Some of them would provide a ditchable option.
If you switch over to steel tanks, that will also help by moving some weight into the tank.
Or.... you could got to double steel 100's and then you won't need any extra weight.
If you switch over to steel tanks, that will also help by moving some weight into the tank.
Or.... you could got to double steel 100's and then you won't need any extra weight.
Bob DBF
Contributor
When one puts a belt on standing up it will sag and not get tight, the more weight, the larger the sag. Bending at 90 degrees helps. As soon as one is in the water horizontal, re-tighten the belt, later and/or deeper, should it loosen, tighten it again. As you learn what it takes, tightening at the surface should do it.
A rubber belt works well, but it still has to be tight enough at the surface, or it will still loosen at depth. It's just a learning curve, and you haven't been on it too long.
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I have had all sorts of integrated weight pockets to BP/W
Dive Rite/OMS/HOG/xDeep/ and by far the easiest ones to use is the Zeagles. they work great. then just get two trim larger pockets for your cam bands and you should be good to go
Dive Rite/OMS/HOG/xDeep/ and by far the easiest ones to use is the Zeagles. they work great. then just get two trim larger pockets for your cam bands and you should be good to go
Zeagle 20 lb Zip Touch Weight System
OP
Desertlifter
Registered
They lined up perfectly with my wife's SS and Al HOG backplate and on my SS Dive Rite I lined up the top hole and the bottom hole I used a SS carabiner...On my OMS plate the holes lined up perfectly. They are so easy to use and they are stable. In a box I have the Dive Rite ones, HOG ones, OMS ones and the xDeep medium and small...I do have an xDeep Zen and Ghost. It looks silly but I use the XL pockets with them as it is way easier to load the inner weight pouch holder (they don't have a firm backing which in my mind is a huge mistake on the inner weight bearing pockets) into the pockets with the XL ones. The Zeagle you can just drop the weights in from the top or use the yellow inner pocket holders that I think are extra...It works just great for us on those other BP/W set ups we have
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