Do you physically release your buddy's weights during the buddy check?

[Storker]

About a month ago I wrote about how a simple training dive made me realize how minor changes in gear configuration may cause serious problems in an emergency.

Last weekend I had another epiphany. We were four persons from my club going for a dive at our club's training site, and we had agreed to do a couple of drills at the end of the dive. After surfacing and paddling into the shallows, we proceeded to drill removal of buddy's weights on the surface. Now, this should be a very relevant emergency exercise, as there was a fatality in Norway last summer where the victim was able to surface, but lost consciousness, and since his buddy wasn't able¹ to drop his weights or otherwise secure positive buoyancy, the victim sank and drowned.

Now, we had gone through weight release during the buddy check, and I was fairly certain that I knew how to release my buddy's weights. Note that this guy wasn't my regular buddy - I know I can release his weights - but another guy in the club who I had been diving with earlier. His BCD had a slightly different system for securing the weight pockets than my regular buddy's BCD has. Anyway, in about 1.5m water, he was lying still in the water as we had agreed, I inflated his BCD and proceeded to release his weights. Or, rather, I tried. And tried. And tried. And was not able to unlock the mechanism. It was a scary discovery. In a real emergency, with complete loss of buoyancy, I might have been in the same situation as the poor guy who last summer saw his buddy sink slowly toward his death.

I think that the next time I'm buddied up with another person than my regular buddy, I'll check that I really can release his weights before we splash.



¹ There's more to the story, but those details aren't really relevant here.

 

[TSandM]

It's been my experience that some jacket BCs, when fully inflated, make it quite difficult to release the weight pockets. To me, it's a design flaw, especially since the most likely time you are going to be pulling someone's weights is on the surface, where you also want to make them as buoyant as possible. Of course, one could argue that, if the BC can be fully inflated, there is no need to drop the weights . . . but in an emergency, I want to render that person absolutely positive, so that no error on the part of anyone can result in them sinking.

That said, I would never include pulling weights as part of a pre-dive check. At least in cold water, where the weights involved are significant, it is often very difficult to replace weights once they have been pulled and while the diver is wearing his gear. However, I do agree that it's a good idea for everyone to test his weight system, to find out if it works well!

 

[Gachnar]

I check to make sure I understand the release system, but as TS&M points out, with the heavier weights I don't physically release them. For myself, I always travel with my BCD weights pulled out, so I clip them in as part of my gear prep. It doesn't guarantee they will properly release, but there is no 100% guarantee as something could always fail the next time. But understanding how your buddy's release system works is something everyone needs.

If for some reason someone's weights won't release in the case of a wing failure (a rather unlikely double failure) options would include ditching weight yourself to provide more positive buoyancy to your buddy or getting them out of their rig if it's negative (IE ditch the whole rig). Which reminds me, checking how their releases work is another important part, as I've seen at least two release systems that look almost identical (annoying).

 

[drinksfromtap]

My BC is a back-inflate with a "ripcord" style release. The release works well, and I test it myself from time to time, but it's a PITA to re-thread the release cord (looks like weed whacker line). Having a buddy do a weight release on this would require me to take the BC off and re-thread it myself, or have said buddy re-thread it for me (which would be awkward), so it's not that feasible to do a pre-dive weight drop. That said, after reading this I'm going to start being much more conscientious about asking a new buddy to show me exactly how to release his or her weights. I've seen some integrated weights where it would be fairly simple to partially disengage the mechanism without physically pulling them all the way out.

 

[Storker]

I would never include pulling weights as part of a pre-dive check. At least in cold water, where the weights involved are significant, it is often very difficult to replace weights once they have been pulled and while the diver is wearing his gear.

Yes, I know the hassle of stuffing weight pockets with 5+ kg of lead in each back into the BCD after it's been donned. All too well. However, pulling the weights wasn't the problem in my case. It was unlocking the mechanism securing the pockets in the BCD.

However, I do agree that it's a good idea for everyone to test his weight system, to find out if it works well!

And that can be done by releasing the quick releases, but not actually pulling the pockets out of the BCD. At least if your BCD has a quick release system instead of ripcords or velcro fasteners. Pulling the pockets out of the BCD shouldn't be too much of a problem after the QRs has been released. I guess.

I don't think I'll routinely pull my buddy's weights out of his BCD during the next buddy checks, but the experience was... interesting. And food for thought.

 

[Tigerman]

Some systems just "roll the weights out" as soon as you've unclipped the clips though..

 

[DivemasterDennis]

If I am diving with a "new buddy" I will, on shore, or on the boat, during a buddy check remove and replace a weight pocket on them and have them do one of mine. If they are a fairly new diver, and new to diving with me, I also will suggest we each do one of our pockets- just so I can see and they can see how adept at it we each are, in case a pocket falls out and needs replacement during the dive. Of course, the final check includes being sure each divers weight pockets have been properly re-secured. I am a guy whose buddy check happens BEFORE we enter the water.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Dennis has it! I drill into my students heads from day one that part of the buddy check, especially with a new buddy or someone diving integrated weights to pull the damn things out on the surface before you get into the water and put them back in.

During classes it is also noted that if you cannot get a pocket out of a fully inflated BC and put it back in, there is too much weight in the pocket. The person has not been taught how to properly distribute their weights between the pockets and a belt or harness. Anyone with ten pounds in a BC pocket I would rather not get in the water with if they also do not have a belt on.

It means they likely have ten in the other one and maybe some in trim pockets. So if something comes loose they are losing between 30% and 50% of their ballast. That means a rocket ride to the surface if one comes loose or falls out. Screw that.

By the number of recent threads on this very subject it is becoming all too clear that proper weighting (which includes distribution of those weights) is a foreign concept in many classes and obviously beyond the skill level of some instructors.

 

[TSandM]

Our buddy checks for shore diving take place where it is tolerable to do them. In summer, packing yourself into two inches or more of insulating and then standing in the sun to do checks just doesn't work very well, so we do them in waist-deep water. In the winter, where we're hoarding thermal units, we do them on land. Either way, with some of the jackets, replacing weight pouches with 15 pounds of lead in them on a diver who is wearing his gear can be a major PITA. I think this is one place where things are REALLY different between cold and warm water divers.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

We do a lot of cold water diving here and I don't know what kind of BC pouch can hold 15 lbs. Anyone shoving that much weight in a pouch is asking for trouble.

I don't know what brand BC pouch is rated for that much weight even. When we need to use more than 20 lbs. on a diver, which is quite often, we start using belts/harnesses and putting some weight on them. I can't imagine a new diver even wanting to lift a BC with that much lead in it. And that is from experience as a new drysuit diver when I didn't know any better.

My rule is no more than 8 lbs. in integrated pouches. Most are rated to ten but I don't like getting that close to the rating.