I've decided on a BP, now what about weights?

[UncleJT]

Ok, I am 99.9% decided on a Halcyon 36lb BP/Wing/Harness setup. Mike Ferrara is a Halcyon dealer, I am going down to see him and his store on Tuesday.

Now my question is, what do I want to do for a weight system?

Make my own weightbelt?
Go with a Halcyon ACB+ or ACB?
ScubaPro weightbelt?

I am 6' 2" tall with a little bit of a gut (firm, not saggy) and weigh 250 pounds. I have no clue yet as to how much weight I will need and where. Diving will be a mixture of warm water tropics and cooler water lakes (Michigan and Indiana).

Thanks as always for your input guys.

- JT

 

[Scubaroo]

I hate weightbelts with a vengeance, so I bought a ACB+ for my Halcyon rig. However, it's a pain to use with soft weights, and if I ever go down that road, I won't be able to mount a canister light on it.

I'm 6'3", 215lb, and I'm wearing 10lb of lead with a 7mm suit (on top of 8lb worth of backplate and STA, plus a dumbell of a LP steel tank). You might want to investigate the original ACB which has more capacity.

 

[UncleJT]

Thanks ben..

I am hoping veterans like Uncle Pug, Wreck Writer, and Roakey will also reply.. I respect their experience tremedously.

- JT

 

[roakey]

Thanks UncleJT, but you'll have to look for others, since I don't dive with ditchable weight except for my canister light...

Roak

 

[WreckWriter]

Originally posted by UncleJT
Thanks ben..

I am hoping veterans like Uncle Pug, Wreck Writer, and Roakey will also reply.. I respect their experience tremedously.

- JT

I appreciate your vote of confidence JT. I don't have a lot of experience with BP/wings yet myself as I am also a recent convert. However, this is a subject I did a lot of study and thinking on.

Give me a couple hours and I'll give you a detailed reply on the conclusions I reached and why. My choice, the ACB, may not be the best choice for you, I'll also give you the reasons why not.

Tom

 

[WreckWriter]

After much consideration I chose the ACB system.

The upsides to this were weight integration, good distribution of weight (weight lies to the front of the body rather than on the back or hips), ease of ditching.

The downsides are that the canister light attachment point moves to the weight pouch and the light loses some stability and hangs "out in the wind" a bit. The left D-ring also moves to the weight pocket. You lose much of the room on your waist strap for knives and other goodies (this would be less so for a larger person). Plus it costs like hell!

This works for me but my diving is probably not like yours will be. For one thing I dive exclusivly on doubles. I don't own a single tank wing. I also don't use a lot of weight. With double aluminum 80s my ditchable is 8 lbs. with steels, none.

If you go ACB, go with regular ACB, not plus. This gives you the light attachment feature if you go that route in the future. Also regular ACB holds more weight. Use hard weight, not soft in ACB, soft doesn't sit well and makes your weight pockets rounded and bulging. Also ask Mike to show you how to properly attach ACB, it's not self evident!

If you go weight belt, go soft, Scubapro is a good one. Soft is easier on your hips.

What you could do is try a weightbelt in the pool first. Wear your suit so you can properly figure out your weight requirements for fresh water. Your instructor will help you out. For salt in same suit you'll need to add 6 lb or so.

When you go see Mike tomorrow be sure ask him his opinion on this. He'll be best able to help as he can see you and test the fit of various systems on your body. There's only so much I can do without having you with me.

Hope I helped.

Tom

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by UncleJT
Thanks ben..

I am hoping veterans like Uncle Pug, Wreck Writer, and Roakey will also reply.. I respect their experience tremedously.

- JT

Well I was going to pass on this thread until I saw your second post...
I am a sucker for personalized pleas.....

I had ACBs as did Shane... we both sold ours after a few months of dives.... there are multiple reasons if you are interested.

When diving singles I use a weight belt... and I really like the one we tested for Heath. I have a lot of different options to use for weight belts including soft belts and hard weights as well as weights of my own design and molding. I always use Heath's belt now. It is comfortable, doesn't slip down, is adjustable weight wise and doesn't interfer with the BP/harness (for me anyway... but then I don't have an excessive amount of weight in it )
http://www.idsewing.com/weight_belt.htm

For doubles I use a small 4# V weight if anything. (Drysuit/double steel 104s)

 

[WreckWriter]

Originally posted by Uncle Pug
I had ACBs as did Shane... we both sold ours after a few months of dives.... there are multiple reasons if you are interested.

When diving singles I use a weight belt... and I really like the one we tested for Heath. I have a lot of different options to use for weight belts including soft belts and hard weights as well as weights of my own design and molding. I always use Heath's belt now. It is comfortable, doesn't slip down, is adjustable weight wise and doesn't interfer with the BP/harness (for me anyway... but then I don't have an excessive amount of weight in it )
http://www.idsewing.com/weight_belt.htm

For doubles I use a small 4# V weight if anything. (Drysuit/double steel 104s)

Yea, the personal pleas work well

OK, as for not using ACBs, I think you are probably using a lot more weight than me since you are in cold water. Do you think you would have still not liked it if you used only a few pounds?

I've looked at the page for those belts, can't really see what's different from others out there. Clue me in?

Tom

 

[Uncle Pug]

Originally posted by WreckWriter
OK, as for not using ACBs, I think you are probably using a lot more weight than me since you are in cold water. Do you think you would have still not liked it if you used only a few pounds?

Like them even less with less... Shane used a couple of pounds in each side.... I used 5# in each side.... (weighted STAs)

They are not a clean & streamlined IMO... they add extra drag and more unnecessary stuff...

But the main reason for using a weight belt IMO is to divide the weight up between the rig and myself. With only the weight of the plate, tank and STA a smaller wing can hold the rig up at the surface and smaller wings equal significantly less drag. Also a 12# weight belt is enough for me to stay down at 20 fsw in my drysuit. If for some reason you decided to take your rig off at 20 fsw which way would it go and which way would you go?

I've looked at the page for those belts, can't really see what's different from others out there. Clue me in?

It isn't that different... but the heavy brailer mesh that Heath makes them out of doesn't slide down (at least on me) and the weight pouches themselves are not like anything else I have seen... they are very slim and do not form a big lump unless you put a bunch of them in the belt. Since I only use 12# ~ 16# it seems very comfortable to me. Heath sent over another same style belt he purchased for me to compare with his... it was cordura, had a zipper along the top and little plastic *d-rings* but I didn't like it as well as his. However I will say that the thing certainly doesn't look as attractive as the nice round curves of the Softside weight belts! But then I have several of those and every time we go out single tank diving I end up taking Heath's belt...

 

[WreckWriter]

Thanks Pug.

Tom