Having troubles with my weight belt...

[Krtismo]

Hi everyone, I've been having issues with my weight belt sliding up from my waist to my ribs as soon as I dive inverted. I have a nylon weight belt with a stainless steel buckle and about 15lbs of block weight that I need for my 5mm suit.

Is there a way to modify what I have? or is there another option that is cheap and simple? I was looking at rubber belts like this one:

65" Rubber Weight Belt with Wire Buckle

But I'm not sure if it will solve the problem.

Thanks for the help!

-Kurt

 

[Peter_C]

That rubber belt is the exact one I use with lighter weights like you are using. Works perfectly!

Rubber belts are tough enough, as long as they are not cracking. For freediving they are better since they do not slip around, and if you loose your weights it is not really dangerous as you just pop up to the surface where you need to be to breathe.

 

[fdog]

You may find better results with the rubber belt with a conventional buckle:

To get the most out of the rubber belt, wear it low, level with the top of the bony crest of the pelvis. This allows you to perform a full diaphramatic inhalation without experiencing any restriction from the belt. Tightening down so that the rubber is well stretched holds it snugly in place.

The wire buckle is nice, but not as easy to snugly tighten as the conventional buckle is. Also, there's lots of "trying on for size" with the wire buckle, and, the regular buckle is easy to change weights.

Enjoy!


All the best, James

 

[Krtismo]

Thanks for the help guys.

Would the buckle from my current setup work instead of the wire buckle?

Aqua Weight Belt with Stainless Steel Buckle

 

[Peter_C]

I prefer the wire buckle myself since it is a set it and forget it configuration.

 

[Tortuga68]

Eat some cheeseburgers! Problem solved

 

[Akimbo]

You can get a Marseille style rubber belt for $25. The Marseille belt has become very popular among freedivers because it is simple and very reliable, yet easy to dump.

MAKO Spearguns - Freedive Weight Belt

Pursuit Freediving & Spearfishing Gear - Marseilles rubber weight belt

Google Marseille weightbelt and you can read a lot about them. The rubber lets you stretch the belt tight enough that you can keep in low on your hips and the buckle lets you dump it with a single pull, yet tighten it more than is practical with any other buckle.

 

[Arubandi07]

Thanks for the help guys.

Would the buckle from my current setup work instead of the wire buckle?

Aqua Weight Belt with Stainless Steel Buckle

I'm using the rubber belt with that buckle, in order to do so, you will have to reduce, round and smoothen the grabbing edge of the latch, same thing with the slot edges on the base piece. Otherwise you'll end up with damage to the belt.

 

[Krtismo]

Thanks for the help, I think I'm going to try this belt:

Omer Rubber Weight Belt with Plastic Buckle

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Don't do it! The plastic buckle is a piece of crap! Get either the wire bail buckle or the mako belt. You don't want plastic buckle, they won't last, will get cracked, will loosen up with use etc. etc. The other two types of buckles may look strange but they are far superior!