Chute 3 or Excursion??

[amajamar]

I currently have an Oceanic Chute 2. I like it, but the weight pockets are really difficult to deal with without help. (Especially since I also wear some weight on a belt)

I can get a Chute 3 or an Excursion, either seems like it would function better as far as the weight pockets are concerned.

Anybody with experience with either or both models?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bolantej]

have you tried putting the pockets in before you don your bc? I guess if you're gearing up on the beach that could be hard, but usually works best for me. my buddy has that bc, and I think it's a pain even when helping someone who is geared up to put in their weight pockets.

 

[Mayor]

I love my chute 3 and all the d-rings and pockets. I dive with two guys who use the Excursion and they like it. They have also told me a few time that they like my chute 3 better. More pockets and d-rings but a little larger then the Excursion in the some areas. The weight pockets are large and easy to put on and take off but the each pocket is broken into two so large weights will not fit. Soft 5lbs just fit in. Not a big deal for me because I run a large steel tank.

 

[cardog]

I've had my Excursion for about 18 months now. It's been a great Bc and loading the weight is pretty easy ( unless you have two fives in each side).

 

[amajamar]

So, I guess that the Chute 3 and Excursion have the same wide, two sided weight pockets as the Chute 2.

Are the Chute 3 pockets the same as the Chute 2 pockets except for the buckle? (long and wide, seperated in the middle, velcro halfway inside?)

I have been only using about 7# per side as I use a weight belt with 16#. I don't think that I could get 30# in a Chute! I suppose that I could put 6# in the rear trim and 12# (4 x 3# bags) per dumpable pocket, but I know that I couldn't slide them in and lock them in the Chute 2. Maybe with the external buckle of the Chute 3 I could get them in?

I really don't mind a weight belt, I'm diving with a 7mm wetsuit and full exposure protection so I like to have some weight on a belt just in case I ever have to remove the unit underwater.

 

[cardog]

The Excursion doesn't have the divider in the middle. It's just hard to buckle with two fives in it.

 

[Mayor]

Sounds like it's the same pockets. That's the one thing I do not like about the BC. The rear pockets will hold 5lbs each and as long as you use 3lbs or 4lbs you can fill the ditch pockets up. Also look into some ankle weights. That might help. As said before a steel tank will make most of the problems go away.

 

[amajamar]

Sounds like it's the same pockets. That's the one thing I do not like about the BC. The rear pockets will hold 5lbs each and as long as you use 3lbs or 4lbs you can fill the ditch pockets up. Also look into some ankle weights. That might help. As said before a steel tank will make most of the problems go away.

How much weight could I take off going with a steel tank? I have an AL 80 now.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

How much weight could I take off going with a steel tank? I have an AL 80 now.

It depends upon which steel tank. Going from an AL80 to a Worthington X7-100, I was able to drop 6-7 lbs. You are carrying 3-4 lbs to cover the buoyancy of an AL80 at the end of a dive. A steel tank will be anywhere from neutral to 2-3 lbs negative (same as negative as 7.5 lbs empty!) at the end of the dive, depending up which specific steel you're talking about ... LP or HP, capacity (80, 100, 95, 119, 130). Here is a good site to get the buoyancy data on various tanks: TECHDIVINGLIMITED.COM

To get a rough idea, take 4 lbs and add to that the buoyancy of the steel tank when nearly empty. That will give you a rough idea of how much weight to drop. From there you'll need to dive the tank in a safe dive environment to fine tune your weighting.

 

[Mayor]

I do not have any AL spec in front of me I will have to dig it up but I do have OMS steel tank spec sheet. HP100 weight is 34.3lbs and in the water it is -8.41lbs full. When empty it is -0.50.

What size person are you? What wet suit are you diving in 3mm, 5mm, etc? Do you plan to dive alot or just one or two weeks a year?