DIY Weight "harness"/"vest"?

[segraves1]

* Before I start, I run "non-ditchable" weight and I'm not here to argue the pros/cons/etc of it. I have researched both sides of the argument and this is MY personal comfort. *

* Also, standard weight belts are NOT a possible solution. My hips are pretty much identical size to my waist so even if I had a "comfortable" one (have yet to find), weight belts tend to slip off me (unless I tighten it till it HURTS). In addition they load my lower back (I have kind of a "bad back") and I hurt for days after. *


So onto the problem:

I'm currently diving an aluminum BP/hog harness with a "spine weight" (cast a lead block that bolts into the "spine") and then hanging the rest of my weight off the BP in two pouches (mounted to the plate under the wing). I have been working to find a better way of "mounting" the weight into my "system" so I have been investigating different options (the system works very well trimmed out, it's just troublesome to adjust the weight).

Today on the way home from diving, I had a little "light bulb" click on that IF for some reason I wanted to remove my BP/harness underwater, having ALL my weight "integrated" would make this pretty much impossible.

So now I'm looking at a different approach. HOW can I rig up some kind of "harness" or "vest" that I could wear independent of my BP/harness and thereby pre-weight myself to offset my wetsuit buoyancy?

I see a couple of commercial "harness systems" online but I have no experience with them (plus $150 for something I can rig up myself seems unnecessary). What about some kind of "vest" that has "pockets"?

Thanks guys :glad:

 

[Teamcasa]

Try:
Omer Mimetic Weight Vest: Spearfishing Gear

 

[segraves1]

that's perfect!

 

[Teamcasa]

I aim to please!

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I built a weight harness, it can be done very inexpensively (ie less that $50) or really expensively.

I essentially took a weight belt and set grommets (Stainless steel is best) every 3 inches or so. I made two non adjustable shoulder straps also out of 1 inch webbing with a grommet in each end. quicklinks attach the shoulder straps to the waist strap. you can slide on hard weights or use something like the halcyon or golem dump pockets or some xs non-dump pockets or...

there used to be a pic in my profile, otherwise if you interested I might be able to swing another picture out.

its really very simple, the hardest pat and most expensive part was finding and setting the SS grommets which came from Mcmaster Carr. I spent big bucks on the pockets for mine as I bought a used BCD on ebay for $200 to cannibalize for the scubapro X-tek pocket system and a pair of tank bands. I turned around later and sold what was left for like $130 so it was a good deal I would say. you can get brass grommets and all the tools necessary for very inexpensive at most hardware stores too if brass will work for you.

T

 

[Jorgy]

If Teamcasa has provided the right solution for you then please disregard my post......

How much weight are we talking about?

For both my single tank BP/W rigs I have four XS Scuba weight pouches from LP........$8 bucks each.........

XS Scuba Single Tank Weight Pocket

Both my rigs have 2 tank straps and I have hip D-rings on both my left and right side.......

So I have two of the pouches on the waist strap right up against the plate, held in-place by the D-rings and I have two pouches on opposite sides of the top tank strap.

With these four pouches I can easily carry up to 20 lbs......and get perfect trim.....

The weight never moves, is out of the way, I can ditch the waist mounted weight if needed.......

Total cost $32 bucks................

Hope this helps.......M

 

[Jorgy]

Opps.......

Missed the part in your OP about being able to fully remove you BP/W.......

So never mind.........

Hey at least it adds to my post count.......

M

 

[UncleTDBear]

If you've already got a weight belt, they do sell suspenders for them. I forget where I bought mine, but they shouldn't be to hard to find.


edit: Just looked it up at Leisure Pro; $20 for suspenders

 

[DIWdiver]

I have the DUI harness system (the lighter one, not the heavy duty) and I LOVE it. Many of my buddies use the heavy duty, and they seem to like it as well. I had back problems after diving with a standard weight belt, and don't any more as it can be set to ride on my hips instead of my waist.

An added advantage is that the weights are ditchable, and much easier to change in the velcro-sealed pockets than they are on a WB. Mine has 4 pockets, each of which will hold a 5 lb shot weight or 6-8 lbs of block weights depending on combinations. I think the pockets on the HD harness are bigger.

That said, the suspenders sound like a good option if you don't need them to be ditchable.

You may also want a crotch strap to keep the belt down on your hips instead of riding up to the waist. I'm not sure why, but that didn't prove necessary for me. I thought it would be.

D

 

[segraves1]

Update:

The "weight vest" idea didn't pan out. I attempted to make one but during construction, it just became too difficult to deal with/implement. At this point I moved to plan B and made a weight harness. I used the leftover 2" webbing from rigging my BP to make a simple weight belt, then ran a "Y-ed" 2" harness to carry the load on my shoulders.

Results from test at the lake:

Works like a dream! When I dive now, I pre-weight myself (no gear, just exposure suits and harness) with the weight harness to get "about" neutral. With the "extra weight" removed from my BP/wing, it will just start to sink by itself fully deflated. The combined result is that fully geared up on the surface, I deflate my wing, flip over, then "kick" down to get off the surface (perhaps 1lb buoyant). Once at depth I'm able to maintain a minimal bubble in my wing and balance feels near ideal. I may yet need to add a few lbs to deal with the Al80s going empty but as of yet I have never been able to get below 1500psi (my buddies always hit <1000 before I hit 1700psh).


new question:
Where can I get some 1000 denier cordura? I need to make some heavy/sturdy weight pockets for my weight harness and this seems to be the material "commercial pockets" are made of.


Thanks for the help everyone.