Life saving weight belt

[boffo]

Here is an anecdote that may help to shed some light on the weight belt vs. integrated and/or non-ditchable weights discussion. I was snorkeling to a dive site with a 14 year old diver who was wearing gear that he had rented from a reputable dive operator. Suddenly he began to sink uncontrollably. I looked down and saw air billowing out of a broken BC hose. I quickly surface dove and just barely missed grabbing him before he headed to the bottom. As I struggled to hold onto him, I opened his weight belt and ditched his lead. If I had had to fumble around for Velcro pockets, quick release tabs, or anything else that could not be ditched in one quick move, we might have both drowned.

 

[Cacia]

wow....that must have gotten your attention! Nice save. Personally, I think weight belts are probably the safest. I have always disliked integrated for several reasons. They tend to make the tanks fall over on the boat, they make my gear too heavy and they vary a lot in release styles. Also, I am not comfortable unless the weight is close to my midline and center of gravity.

Could he not fin his way to the surface? Do you think he was overweighted? What did he say? Did his buddy see this?

 

[DiveMaven]

sounds like a close call!!!

I have to say that I like the weight integrated BC's better than weight belts. Since my husband is my buddy, I know his equipment configuration very well, and I find that it's much easier to have the release to his weights on the front of his BC vs on his waist on a belt. When he used to wear a belt, the buckle always ended up under his BC, which required me to really look for it. His new BC has pull handles on the front of his BC, which are always easy for me to find. We also know a woman who caught her arm on her weight belt buckle and popped it, causing her to drop her weights and have an uncontrolled ascent. After 8 hours in a chamber, she was convinced that a weight integrated BC was in her future.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Here is an anecdote that may help to shed some light on the weight belt vs. integrated and/or non-ditchable weights discussion. I was snorkeling to a dive site with a 14 year old diver who was wearing gear that he had rented from a reputable dive operator. Suddenly he began to sink uncontrollably. I looked down and saw air billowing out of a broken BC hose. I quickly surface dove and just barely missed grabbing him before he headed to the bottom. As I struggled to hold onto him, I opened his weight belt and ditched his lead. If I had had to fumble around for Velcro pockets, quick release tabs, or anything else that could not be ditched in one quick move, we might have both drowned.

Good case and point. Weights need to be easily ditchable

 

[craborn]

I spread my weights through both my intergated and my belt for several reasons. The two reasons you just mentioned and also when I am teaching and I take my bcd or weight belt off both my bcd and I stay down.
When I read the original post my first thought was that if the child was proper weighted shouldn't he have been able to swim up, but when something bad happens sometimes we do not or cannot do what we are suppose to do. So glad you were there and able to help him.. Great JOb............Clay

 

[CIBDiving]

I quickly surface dove and just barely missed grabbing him before he headed to the bottom. As I struggled to hold onto him, I looked down and saw air billowing out of a broken BC hose.

So you " just barely missed grabbing him ", before you " struggled to hold onto him", Eh?
Anybody else going to buy into this BS, it's a good troll - particularly for you retro types who haven't a clue yet.

And So if he had of " headed to the bottom" How Deep was that? were was his buddy?
"a 14 year old diver who was wearing gear that he had rented from a reputable dive operator" diving SOLO! an attempt to drag in the anti solo And the anti non geriatrics too. not a bad attemp.

 

[LG Diver]

Here is an anecdote that may help to shed some light on the weight belt vs. integrated and/or non-ditchable weights discussion. I was snorkeling to a dive site with a 14 year old diver who was wearing gear that he had rented from a reputable dive operator. Suddenly he began to sink uncontrollably. I looked down and saw air billowing out of a broken BC hose. I quickly surface dove and just barely missed grabbing him before he headed to the bottom. As I struggled to hold onto him, I opened his weight belt and ditched his lead. If I had had to fumble around for Velcro pockets, quick release tabs, or anything else that could not be ditched in one quick move, we might have both drowned.

I understand what you're saying, but I don't think this anecdote proves that weight belts are safer. I can think of several scenarios where ditching a weight belt would be more complicated and take longer than ditching integrated weights: 1) when a bp/w user wears their weight belt under the crotch strap, as some do, you would have to undo the weight belt, then undo the bp harness buckle, unthread the crotch strap to drop the weight belt. 2) with a bcd with cumberbund if the wearer inadvertently puts teh cumberbund over the weight belt buckle it will take you a long time in a panicked situation to find the weight belt buckle. In both of these situations ditchable integrated weights would be faster to drop. I think the takeaway lesson from your story is to be familiar with your buddy's weights and the ditching process, regardless of what hardware they're wearing. Just my $0.02-worth.

-John

 

[Blackwood]

I understand what you're saying, but I don't think this anecdote proves that weight belts are safer. I can think of several scenarios where ditching a weight belt would be more complicated and take longer than ditching integrated weights: 1) when a bp/w user wears their weight belt under the crotch strap, as some do, you would have to undo the weight belt, then undo the bp harness buckle, unthread the crotch strap to drop the weight belt. 2) with a bcd with cumberbund if the wearer inadvertently puts teh cumberbund over the weight belt buckle it will take you a long time in a panicked situation to find the weight belt buckle. In both of these situations ditchable integrated weights would be faster to drop. I think the takeaway lesson from your story is to be familiar with your buddy's weights and the ditching process, regardless of what hardware they're wearing. Just my $0.02-worth.

-John

There are +s and -s to everything. Personally, I like the weight attached to me rather than my BC. If I have to remove my BC, I stay relatively negative. If all the weight was in my BC, I'd be super-positive which could make whatever I need to do to my rig more difficult in a potential dangerous situation.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

There are +s and -s to everything. Personally, I like the weight attached to me rather than my BC. If I have to remove my BC, I stay relatively negative. If all the weight was in my BC, I'd be super-positive which could make whatever I need to do to my rig more difficult in a potential dangerous situation.

Yeah, I prefer the gear I'm depending on for life-sustaining breathing gas be more positive than I am in case I have to remove it underwater. :05:

Anybody else going to buy into this BS, it's a good troll - particularly for you retro types who haven't a clue yet..... not a bad attemp.

Not to mention the 14-year old was wearing SCUBA, perhaps the urgency wouldn't be there for the "victim".

 

[Soggy]

The problem wasn't the belt, the problem was being exceedingly overweighted. With an 80 cft tank, one should never be more than 6 lbs overweight...an easy amount to swim up. Solve the overweighting problem and the ditchable weight problem goes away.