farmer johns

[k ellis]

Ok Here it is. I went diving last weekend when the air temperature was in the upper 30s lower 40s and wore a 7m farmer John. I was quiet skeptical at first as the water temp was a little cool and the air much worse. After I dove I noticed I was totally at peace in the water as it was a pleasant 51 degrees and the suit provided way more protection then I anticipated. I struggled with the weight issue since this was out of my normal and discovered I needed more weight then the BCD was rated for.

In this event is it advisable to use both a weight belt and integrated? I am open for suggestions......

 

[Teamcasa]

Like I said in another post, for me the line is about 20 lbs. If you need more lead than that, you should use a weight belt. However, using a weight belt and weight pockets can sometimes be a little cumbersome.

If buying a hard backplate and hog system or a soft backplate and harness system is not in the offing then you can split the weight between your weight pockets and a weight belt. That will allow you more flexibility.

 

[rstofer]

There's nothing wrong with splitting the weight between a harness and a BC. Just make sure the BC will float by itself with the most negative tank you plan to use. A steel HP 100 is about 10.5# negative, the regulator about 2# negative and, if the BC provides 38# of lift, you can only use 17.5# of integrated weights. So, pick a number below 17.5#.

Put the rest in a harness. Basically, you can put as much in the harness as you like subject to keeping your head fully above the water while wearing a wetsuit.

With this scheme of dividing the weight, you can get rigged while in the water. Just toss the gear in the water (attached to tag lines, of course), jump in, don the weight harness and then don the BC and you are ready to go.

At depth you will be negative without the BC but with the harness and, when emptied, so will the BC. You can do anything you want on the bottom without things floating away.

A harness will usually have the top of the weight pockets about even with the top of the hip bone. This according to DUI, the manufacturer of the DUI Weight & Trim harnesses of which I like the Classic.

Play with the 'sticky' wing selection spreadsheet over in Equipment -> BCs...

Richard