How much ditchable weight is best?

[Curt Bowen]

That is the reason why you should wear a drysuit if you dive with steel doubles....
Steel doubles + wetsuit is not considered DIR

But then again, neither am I LOL

 

[jonnythan]

Curt, I may remind you that not only is this the DIR forum, but the original poster was not talking about double tanks anyway.

Let's stay on topic around here, please.

 

[Reinoud]

But then again, neither am I LOL

Well, I am not the person that should tell you how to dive. Not everybody wants to adhere to all DIR principles. Sometimes that is not a problem. If all your dives are in crystal clear warm water and no deeper than 10 metres, there are more ways to do things safe.

But I hope you do not mean that you know why some things (like the combination steel doubles + wetsuit on deeper dives) are not very safe but use them anyway. Some people call such stubbornness strokery. I think it is just not very clever.

There may be all kinds of arguments to do it. "I don't have a drysuit yet", "All my friends have been doing it for years", "It has never gone wrong". But it just has to go horribly wrong one time to cost you your life...

One of the best things of DIR for me is the focus on safety. A lot of really experienced divers have spent a lot of time to think of a complete system that is well thought out until the tiniest details. I have decided for me to accept what those people know without making the mistakes they have made in the past.

You might consider this funny, but I take my diving very serious. All the time.

 

[Curt Bowen]

Curt, I may remind you that not only is this the DIR forum, but the original poster was not talking about double tanks anyway.

Let's stay on topic around here, please.

Yes, it was not about doubles, It was about being able to ascend without a BCD, no matter the equipment you have on, singles, doubles, or rebreather, plus stages, cameras, reels, lights, etc...

Thanks for the reminder, I will stay off the DIR forums.

Now I'm off to the Dominican Republic for a cave expedition.

 

[VTernovski]

What if your wearing double steel 125's and a stainless backplate?

we don't use these tanks in OW for exactly the same reason, we can't swim them up, unless you can croal out such as cave or or shore diving... if you are 10 miles off the shore - good luck walking.

 

[Far_X]

I just come back from Bonaire where I dove in a 2/3mm full length suit and AL80s. I initially had weight pockets on my harness but they really were a joke so I switched to threading 2x2lb weights on my harness at the kidney area as there was no other option for positioning weights. I felt as if I could have dropped two of these pounds as I had to add air to the wing at 50+ feet but I couldn't figure out how to position the the remaining two pound weight without being lopsided. (I couldn't find anything suitable in the dive shops there.) Does anyone think this was a liability having the weights threaded? I thought about it at the time and concluded that four pound of weight (ignore the ss backplate) would not have made much difference. Now that I am back in the land of dry suits, I have to figure out a whole new weighting system altogether. It had been the first time I had dove with backplate/wing set up and I have my DIR-F course at the end of May.

 

[VTernovski]

I just come back from Bonaire where I dove in a 2/3mm full length suit and AL80s. I initially had weight pockets on my harness but they really were a joke so I switched to threading 2x2lb weights on my harness at the kidney area as there was no other option for positioning weights. I felt as if I could have dropped two of these pounds as I had to add air to the wing at 50+ feet but I couldn't figure out how to position the the remaining two pound weight without being lopsided. (I couldn't find anything suitable in the dive shops there.) Does anyone think this was a liability having the weights threaded? I thought about it at the time and concluded that four pound of weight (ignore the ss backplate) would not have made much difference. Now that I am back in the land of dry suits, I have to figure out a whole new weighting system altogether. It had been the first time I had dove with backplate/wing set up and I have my DIR-F course at the end of May.

4 lb is a small amount of weight, my guess is that you can probably get rid of it by adding a light or a Single Tank Adapter. but that's for convenience just to get rid of that led brick. 4lb is an insignificant amount of weight to worry about ditchable, but again, for convenience, I would rather use it on a regular weight belt instead of on a harness strap.

 

[detroit diver]

I would have to think that you'd be able to swim up the 4 lbs of weight plus any backplate you had. It would certainly be better to have it on a weight belt, but you're not talking about a lot of weight to swim up.

When I dive Florida or the Caribbean, I use a 3 mil shorty, SS BP, and a pound or two in my trim weights with an AL80. No problem swimming up this rig with a full tank.

I just come back from Bonaire where I dove in a 2/3mm full length suit and AL80s. I initially had weight pockets on my harness but they really were a joke so I switched to threading 2x2lb weights on my harness at the kidney area as there was no other option for positioning weights. I felt as if I could have dropped two of these pounds as I had to add air to the wing at 50+ feet but I couldn't figure out how to position the the remaining two pound weight without being lopsided. (I couldn't find anything suitable in the dive shops there.) Does anyone think this was a liability having the weights threaded? I thought about it at the time and concluded that four pound of weight (ignore the ss backplate) would not have made much difference. Now that I am back in the land of dry suits, I have to figure out a whole new weighting system altogether. It had been the first time I had dove with backplate/wing set up and I have my DIR-F course at the end of May.

 

[Jason B]

we don't use these tanks in OW for exactly the same reason, we can't swim them up, unless you can croal out such as cave or or shore diving... if you are 10 miles off the shore - good luck walking.

Crawling out of a cave? Talk about a silt out. Some caves this just isn't going to work in. Why not just carry redundant lift ie. drysuit or lift bag. Also, the 125's aren't quite as negative as the 130's you guys use.

Jason

 

[Albion]

When I dive Florida or the Caribbean, I use a 3 mil shorty, SS BP, and a pound or two in my trim weights with an AL80. No problem swimming up this rig with a full tank.

You must be seriously over weighted, i wear a full 3mm, alum plate, 2 lb of weights and are still neutral with an empty alum 80 at the surface