Integrated weights or weight belt

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Weight belts are so, "Sea Hunt" era

Steel tanks and an integrated weights are the way to go - I dive a Ziegel BC and it works great.

PS I dropped overboard the weight pockets of my wifes BC (don't ask...) with weights of course (she has an Aqualung BC) and she went back to using a belt - I just ordered the pockets; after years of using integrated weights, you just don't want to use a belt anymore.
 
Many of the earliest integrated weight pockets used velcro to hold them in. ScubaPro stopped that pretty quickly and went to a clip because of the problem of the velcro not holding. I myself found two different ScubaPro velco pockets on two different dives on two successive days. You don't want to lose weight at depth.

Some BCD models still use velcro to hold in the pockets. Stay away from those!
 
Thanks for all the comments gentilbeings. My BCD has velcro so will keep an eye on it. Its still pretty new so the weights are holding in fine at the moment. My wife has the ones with clips but I had to file a small amount off the edge of clip as it was very very stiff to undo and we thought this could be a bit dangerous. They now work great.
 
There is nothing wrong with a weight belt and also using the integrated feature of the BC. I tend to prefer my weight belt for about 60 % and the BC for the rest. I'll put 4-6 on the back of the BC near the top for the buoyancy of the aluminum tank and the rest on the belt. Makes it easier to ditch if necessary and also easier to get back on the boat. Better trim in the water too. My belt always needs a little adjustment as I dive deeper.
 
Hi Gang,

My apologies since I obviously didn't state it clearly. What I was referring to was integrated weight pockets on the BC. You still need a BC to dive a dry suit, so if you're using (or considering) a BC with integrated pockets, make sure the weight pockets themselves are large enough to hold the weight you might require to dive a dry suit, which can be substantially more depending on what you're wearing underneath the dry suit (if you're still considering that as a future option).

Hope that clears up what I was getting at. In my case, the Nighthawk BC by ScubaPro has options for normal-sized weight pockets, and oversized weight pockets, so I'm ordering the oversized pockets for my drysuit setup.

Hope this helps make my point more clear.

Regards to all,


-S
 
Weight belt or Harness? It depends on your body shape. If you have a shape that helps hold a weight belt, (like mine) then they work great. If however, your body shape allows the belt to slip down then by all means get a harness.

Weight belt or harness vs integrated weight? It just depends on what is more comfortable for you. I like my weight belt. (ScubaPro soft weight belt) My wife likes her weight integrated. We have the same BCD's.
 
Sorry to drone on, but one more point to clarify...the weight pockets on the Nighthawk BC I'm talking about are ditchable...I assume that the BCs with integrated weight systems you're looking at are the same or similar...

Alright, nuff for now...

-S
 
I, too, have a Zeagle BC and use steel tanks. However I overcame my thoughts how old fashioned weight belts are and now carry most of my lead on a belt. Two most important reasons are that my scuba unit got say too heavy to dead lift from the ground and that there was a tremendous bouyancy difference between me and my BC, such that if I has to ditch and don at depth, I'd be in danger of being separated from my air.

Besides, I LIKE feeling a bit like Mike Nelson when I don my weight belt.


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I use up to 30 Lbs in my ranger and a steel 119 tank with my drysuit. If it makes you uncomfortable having it all in integrated pockets maybe mix it up with some trim pockets or weight belt.
 
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