Drysuit diving and considering weight belt

[Stoo]

Ditch the BC with pockets. Replace it with a BP/W. Spring for a stainless BP. The DUI harness is awesome if you need a lot of weight. If you aren't diving with a steel tank, start.

I dive doubles up here 100% of the time. It's partly because it adds a bunch of weight to my buoyancy "system". Especially buoyant friends incorporate a V-weight between tanks...

 

[Marie13]

Ditch the BC with pockets. Replace it with a BP/W. Spring for a stainless BP. The DUI harness is awesome if you need a lot of weight. If you aren't diving with a steel tank, start.

I dive doubles up here 100% of the time. It's partly because it adds a bunch of weight to my buoyancy "system". Especially buoyant friends incorporate a V-weight between tanks...

I’m one of the especially buoyant people. Halcyon V weight with 5 lbs between tanks. I cut off the bottom pouch because it’s meant for use with longer tanks.

 

[Storker]

Especially buoyant friends incorporate a V-weight between tanks...

A V-weight is rather common around here. Some use them, some don't. But I live in the county of rec twins, everything from d6 to d12.

IMNSHO every diver should have a conscious attitude towards ditchable/non-ditchable weight. Me, I prefer that some of my weight is ditchable, others will disagree. Just make sure that your decision about what's best for you is knowledge-based, not based on whatever someone else says is da sh!t. A V-weight is very much not ditchable.

 

[Marie13]

@Storker

Combine that V weight with the DUI weight harness.l, which is what I’ve done.

 

[Stoo]

A V-weight is very much not ditchable.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that the V-weight is the only weight. Just part of an overall system.

I have heard some argue that "all my diving is decompression diving, so if I ditch weight and rocket to the surface, I'll get bent".

To quote Dr. George Harpur, "We can fix bent, we can't fix dead."

 

[Storker]

Combine that V weight with the DUI weight harness.l, which is what I’ve done.

I dive a single rig. A V weight isn't appropriate for that (although there are permanent weights which fit in the groove of a BP, no matter if you're diving twins or are attaching a single tank adapter to your BP). Quite a few of my clubmates dive some kind of a twin rig, like I said anything from a D6 to a D12. Some of them use a V weight, some of them don't. As long as I'm fairly certain that their decision is knowledge-based, I won't tell them what to do.

 

[Marie13]

I go back and forth between single and doubles. I just move the same backplate. For singles, I have a loaner STA that a friend poured lead into. Whole thing weighs 10lbs. Add a bit of weight in trim pockets and the rest goes into weight harness.

The weight harness is making it easier to go between single and doubles.

 

[CT-Rich]

Ditch the BC with pockets. Replace it with a BP/W. Spring for a stainless BP. The DUI harness is awesome if you need a lot of weight. If you aren't diving with a steel tank, start.

I dive doubles up here 100% of the time. It's partly because it adds a bunch of weight to my buoyancy "system". Especially buoyant friends incorporate a V-weight between tanks...

Wow, you going to chip in on all this new gear?

 

[DBPacific]

My buddy in Maine has the DiveRite 32 lb system filled with soft weights along with 4 lbs total of ankle weights and I think an additional 4lb on his tank band via a detachable weight pocket. He finds that set-up comfortable, but lugging all the weights is a bit annoying since they aren't all in a single system.

 

[DBPacific]

You primarily dive in FL, yes? The amount of weight some of us need to dive dry in cold water, even with steel tanks and a steel BP, is too much to put on your rig or is just uncomfortable to deal with on the rig. Not having overstuffed, heavy weight pockets to deal with on my harness waist belt makes getting geared up so much easier. My harness belt isn’t flopping around like it did with the loaded weight pockets on it.

How does putting on the harness work? Do you put it on first and then your BCD/tank?