Ditchable Weight

[SkimFisher]

I hear a lot about "ditchable weight" and it always gets me wondering. I carry no ditchable weight - bc I don't need to. I dive steel 98's with 3lbs of trim weight in a 5mil. With the 3lbs I am slightly overweighted, but it helps me to trim out perfectly horizontal being that I am leg heavy. I'm blessed in the fact that I am a natural sinker. The fact that I have no ditchable weight doesn't really bother me, but I run across a lot of divers that seem very hesitant to carry no ditchable weight.

So I pose the following questions:

Do you consider it to be a necessity that a certain percentage of the lead you carry be ditchable?

WHY do you feel this way?

I get the impression that in some cases it's one of those "bc it makes me feel safer" mentalities without much thought really being put into it. Kind of like carrying a pony bottle (doh! I said it!). :shocked2:

Now obviously, those of you that need a lot of lead don't really have a choice. So this question doesn't really apply to you, though you may feel free to participate. I'm looking to those that dive BP's/doubles/or just don't need a lot of lead.

 

[Blackwood]

Do you consider it to be a necessity that a certain percentage of the lead you carry be ditchable?

WHY do you feel this way?

If I can achieve flotation on the surface without ditching weight, I don't consider ditchable weight a necessity.

I generally dive in a drysuit, which can provide redundant buoyancy. Wet, I may consider moving weight around (which would involve using an aluminum backplate rather than steel and adding a belt to make up the difference) to make some ditchable if diving with buddies who don't have the presence of mind to cut me out of my rig if it becomes necessary. Then again, who's to say they'd ditch the weight?

 

[iztok]

Can you achieve sufficient flotation on the surface if your wing fails? If you can then no need for ditchable weights. Your other option would be to ditch the rig. If you dive dry, you have backup. If you have double bladder as well.

 

[elmer fudd]

I like having ditchable weight, but I don't want it to be too easily ditchable. Diving dry in cold water, I end up carrying a lot of lead and the idea of a rapid uncontrolled ascent scares me more than a loss of buoyancy.

The way I see it, I should be able to ditch enough weight that in an emergency I could make myself buoyant, but not so much that that buoyancy would be uncontrolled.

I've recently switched from a BCD to a BPW and I have been experimenting with my weights. I spent a couple of hours yesterday adapting the tank weight pouches from my Zeagle Ranger to fit on the harness and the sides of my BP, so at this point I have two weight pouches with emergency releases near my hips. I've got 12 lbs in each one. On my right hip, I've got eight of that set to drop if I pull the release. The remaining 4 is attached to a strap with a plastic quick connect clip. On my left hip I've got 4 pounds set to drop if I pull the release and the remaining 8 is clipped in.

The idea here is that in an emergency I could quickly dump either 4 or 8 lbs to achieve a little positive buoyancy. If that's not enough, I can pull the other side and release a bit more. If I'm on the surface and in a world of hurt, I could dump the remaining weight just by pinching the quick connects. If any of this weight were to accidentally get dumped however, it shouldn't be enough to rocket me to the surface and send me to the chamber.

I'm still experimenting with this and I'm planning on diving tomorrow, so I should have a better idea then of how it works out.

 

[fdog]

In the last two years I've been trying to pay back to the sport by mentoring.

One of the things I cover is ditchable weight; I let folks explore this by swimming up 10 pound, 20 pound and 30 pound weight belts while in the pool. This rolls over nicely into a discussion about balanced rigs.

I think I have pretty strong legs and use paddle fins. I can swim up 30 pounds, but only in a short burst; after about 15' to 20' of vertical my legs are done. 20 pounds, I can swim from any depth, albeit with a whopping RMV; and 10 pounds are not trivial, but, a nuisance and easily managed.

I've seen that folks with less "legs" tend to top out at 20 pounds. Divers using split fins occasionally top out at 10 pounds, purely because of the thrust limit of the fins.

Regardless, it's a good number to really know about yourself.


All the best, James

 

[H2O 70]

Diving an HP100 with SS PB and 3mm wetsuit in salt water, I'm maybe heavy by a pound at the end of the dive. I could switch to an AL plate so I could wear a couple of pounds to ditch, but why. I should be able to swim up a couple of pounds. In event of a failed BC I do carry a lift bag or SMB. If worse came to worse, I could use this on the surface for support.

My one fear, which I haven't had to deal with yet, for real, is what would happen at depth if I had to doff and don my rig under water. Having a few pounds on me would be nice. Again, I can swim myself down.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

I hear a lot about "ditchable weight" and it always gets me wondering. I carry no ditchable weight - bc I don't need to. I dive steel 98's with 3lbs of trim weight in a 5mil. With the 3lbs I am slightly overweighted, but it helps me to trim out perfectly horizontal being that I am leg heavy. I'm blessed in the fact that I am a natural sinker. The fact that I have no ditchable weight doesn't really bother me, but I run across a lot of divers that seem very hesitant to carry no ditchable weight.

So I pose the following questions:

Do you consider it to be a necessity that a certain percentage of the lead you carry be ditchable?

WHY do you feel this way?

I get the impression that in some cases it's one of those "bc it makes me feel safer" mentalities without much thought really being put into it. Kind of like carrying a pony bottle (doh! I said it!). :shocked2:

Now obviously, those of you that need a lot of lead don't really have a choice. So this question doesn't really apply to you, though you may feel free to participate. I'm looking to those that dive BP's/doubles/or just don't need a lot of lead.

I guess my question, to counter yours, is why are you so dead set against it? If it is secured and a diver can maintain trim and proper buoyancy, why is it such a issue? I feel a little like you are starting with the assumption that only inexperienced divers, or divers that are diving with less skill need to strap a little weight to their waist.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

In the last two years I've been trying to pay back to the sport by mentoring.

One of the things I cover is ditchable weight; I let folks explore this by swimming up 10 pound, 20 pound and 30 pound weight belts while in the pool. This rolls over nicely into a discussion about balanced rigs.

I think I have pretty strong legs and use paddle fins. I can swim up 30 pounds, but only in a short burst; after about 15' to 20' of vertical my legs are done. 20 pounds, I can swim from any depth, albeit with a whopping RMV; and 10 pounds are not trivial, but, a nuisance and easily managed.

I've seen that folks with less "legs" tend to top out at 20 pounds. Divers using split fins occasionally top out at 10 pounds, purely because of the thrust limit of the fins.

Regardless, it's a good number to really know about yourself.


All the best, James

You are assuming your performance here would be equivalent in a high stress situation. I don't think my, or many other performances, wouldn't suffer at all from a stressful situation. Not to belittle your abilities in a controlled situation, but do you think maybe you should down estimate for stress in an emergency situation?

 

[eelnoraa]

Assume no diver error, ditchablt weight applies to wing/BC bladder failure. Other than that, I don't see reason dropping weight. But wing failure is a possiblity, slim chance, but possible.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

Assume no diver error, ditchablt weight applies to wing/BC bladder failure. Other than that, I don't see reason dropping weight. But wing failure is a possiblity, slim chance, but possible.

What about a complete dry suit flood (think massive failure). I know it rarely happens, but If I was in my dry suit and diving, I would want to be able to ditch some weight if my suit flooded.