Dropped weight belt - how to react

[DiverBuoy]

Diver0001 once bubbled...
And don't forget at 35 metres you have a bit of air in your BCD that you could (given the parameters of the scenario) inhale and then exhale back into the bladder. I've heard it's bad for your health but it's probably not as bad as drowning..... I tried this once for the experiment and was still breathing after almost 5 minutes. That's enough to go to the surface or catch up with your buddy.

Cheers,
R..

When you studied scuba you studied dead air spaces, your exhaled air contains elevated levels of carbon dioxide and less oxygen. You don't have a scrubber in your BC, so don't dare attempt to "rebreath" your air from a closed space - you said you did this for 5 minutes (was it at depth?) you could have passed out!

Now I could see taking one maybe two good breaths off the jacket as you're coming up - but even this would be very risky because you're ascending the whole time. Also during the exchange from your regulator to the LPI - while trying to manage it and purge access water from the oral inflator aspirate on water.

Just be really careful trying to invent new techniques like this and please don't rebreath unscrubbed air. It would be like tying a plastic bag over your head and breathing till you passed out.

 

[Diver0001]

DiverBuoy once bubbled...


When you studied scuba you studied dead air spaces, your exhaled air contains elevated levels of carbon dioxide and less oxygen. You don't have a scrubber in your BC, so don't dare attempt to "rebreath" your air from a closed space - you said you did this for 5 minutes (was it at depth?) you could have passed out!

Now I could see taking one maybe two good breaths off the jacket as you're coming up - but even this would be very risky because you're ascending the whole time. Also during the exchange from your regulator to the LPI - while trying to manage it and purge access water from the oral inflator aspirate on water.

Just be really careful trying to invent new techniques like this and please don't rebreath unscrubbed air. It would be like tying a plastic bag over your head and breathing till you passed out.

I should be more specific. I definitely wouldn't advocate breathing off the jacket. I was just thinking about what you might do in the scenario the guy sketched. I experimented with breathing on the BCD at home once, not while diving. I took the opportunity to do it when I bought a new BCD.

R..

 

[Welshman]

Conor

1. I think you did the right thing.

2. Go and do Rescue Diver. I've just finished it and I learnt a lot.

Regards

 

[alan prince]

I read with interest about people feeling confident of diving down to receive their lost weight belts,I hope no one tries this in a dry suite because if they are unsuccesful on their first attempt they will probably be on the surface before they can invert and dump any air,also finning upside down in a dry suite makes the air rise to your feet and can force your foot partway out of your boot,this causes your fin strap to crimp your boot stopping you pushing your foot back in.

 

[DiverBuoy]

alan prince once bubbled...
I read with interest about people feeling confident of diving down to receive their lost weight belts,I hope no one tries this in a dry suite because if they are unsuccesful on their first attempt they will probably be on the surface before they can invert and dump any air,also finning upside down in a dry suite makes the air rise to your feet and can force your foot partway out of your boot,this causes your fin strap to crimp your boot stopping you pushing your foot back in.

Standard Dry Suit procedure is tuck and role back then flare. Of course other factors apply but you should be able to "un"-invert yourself WAY before you get to the surface. As to whether or not one personally has the skills or knowledge on how to avoid the buoyant ascent in a dry suit ... that is another story.

 

[Ninja Diver]

You did the right thing, you had the right mind set. I too agree with Dive Partner 1. I've seen MANY MORE weights fall out of integrated BC's than I have seen belts come off. The other advantage to a weight belt system is that you can feel it starting to get lose, you can feel it start slipping off your waist.
When a weight pocket from an integrated weight system falls out.... It's goes quick. Just as it did in your example.
I think Mares makes great gear, but they have a consistent issue with weight pockets coming out.

 

[Thalassamania]

There is no one "best" reaction, there are a lot of variables. If outcome is the measure of success ... you did very, very well.

 

[fisheater]

I'm pretty sure that in the nearly 8 years since he posted, the OP has figured out that he did well.

 

[fisheater]

I'm pretty sure that in the nearly 8 years since he posted, the OP has figured out that he did well.

 

[Thalassamania]

Gotta remember to check those dates.