Lessons Lost integrated weight pouch at depth

[stretchthepenn]

Yep, I am looking at various harness and pocket options. It seems like it would be simpler to use one that strapped on to a waist strap, rather than a separate harness, have you ever used that style? One of my buddies has the DUI system and likes it.

I'm not the person you asked, but I'll chime in anyway. I have a DUI harness, and I find it superior to a weight belt.

You mentioned simplicity; there are two sub-issues about simplicity to address: ease of donning and ease of transport.

Re: ease of donning, a harness is actually easier to don than a standard belt. With a harness, the weight is suspended from your shoulders, so you don't need to bend over and arch your back to keep the belt in place, nor do you need to use your arm strength to support the belt. You just put your arms through, stand up, and fasten the buckle.

Re: ease of transport, the DUI harness folds up pretty darn flat. There's more material to deal with, true, but the shoulder straps pretty much disappear when you fold everything up. The difference between transporting a weight harness and a standard weight belt is negligible.

Plus, there's the comfort angle to consider. The DUI weight harness's shoulder straps fit easily underneath a BCD; you won't notice them at all. Plus, because the weight hangs from your shoulders, the load abovewater feels far more comfortable and natural, and the harness can't slip down the way a belt will.

 

[johndiver999]

Another thing to keep in mind is that rocks are not as dense as lead. Lead is about 11 times heavier than water while limestone, granite etc are only about 2-3 times heavier than water. Hence if you lost say 10lbs (assuming the lost pocket was holding half of your 20lbs ballast weight) the rock you need to grab would be impractically big (in terms of size/volume - not necessarily weight) and require both hands to hold it.
Yes rocks are good if for whatever reason you find yourself somewhat light eg during your SS but only for a few lbs and for short periods of time unless you can somehow store them eg inside pockets.

I think you are incorrect. What size rock does the diver need to carry to offset the loss of 10 lbs of lead???

I did the math, but I am a little rusty on it. I have carried rocks quite a few times when too light. It actually works quite well.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Don't dive with droppable weights?

Then you can't go wrong. No forgetting the weight; no accidental dropping the weights; a lot cheaper to sort out...

^ this!

I haven’t used ditchable weight in years. No risk of loosing weights mid-dive. I dive properly weighted with a balanced rig. I’m barely negative at the end of a dive at 15’. I do always carry redundant buoyancy in two DSMBs in case of an emergency.

IF I were to use ditchable weights, I have a DUI weight harness I’d use. Those pockets are technically ditchable but they’re not coming out accidentally!

There isn’t a BC on the market with ditchable weight pouches that I’d trust.

 

[Bob DBF]

Losing one pouch is at least better than losing a whole weight belt. But probably more common - the ocean floor is probably littered with weight pouches.

Depends on what percentage of your weight is on the belt, I carry less than half on my belt, and since I wear it under my rig and use a crotch strap, it won't just fall off and dissappear.

I've collected over 200# of lead off the bottom, I've only bought ten or fifteen pounds, a little at a time, when I needed a few pounds more and wasn't close to my pile. This doesn't count the pockets and belts I've found and returned.

 

[stepfen]

I think you are incorrect. What size rock does the diver need to carry to offset the loss of 10 lbs of lead???

The stone will need to be about 3-4 times bigger (in volume) than the lost lead (as lead is 3-4 times denser than stone). I am not saying that it is impossible – I am just saying that quite often (like with lost weight pouches or even worst lost weight belts) it is impractical.

Of course quite often divers finds themselves a bit light (especially at SS) and grabbing a stone of course helps. But then we are talking about just a couple of lbs or so - not 10 or 20.

 

[lexvil]

Ditchable lead and cold water go together very well, there was a recall on the AL sure-lost weight system was this the “improved” model?

 

[formernuke]

I lost one of mine in the keys during my safety stop. We are guessing it's at 140 feet.

Definitely made maintaining my stop more interesting.

 

[scubadada]

There isn’t a BC on the market with ditchable weight pouches that I’d trust.

The Scubapro pockets are directly observable, easy to insert, and very secure. Somewhere around 2000 dives, not a single problem.

Hi @wnissen

I dived an Aqua Lung Outlaw for a while. The Surelock pockets were my biggest complaint, among several. I would not dive them again Aqualung Outlaw

 

[mbs]

Ditchable lead and cold water go together very well, there was a recall on the AL sure-lost weight system was this the “improved” model?

I think that recall was on the handles breaking off. Buddy/wife has one of those. However I find that you must insert and hear/feel the click or it will fall out. I tend to double check her's

 

[johndiver999]

The stone will need to be about 3-4 times bigger (in volume) than the lost lead (as lead is 3-4 times denser than stone). I am not saying that it is impossible – I am just saying that quite often (like with lost weight pouches or even worst lost weight belts) it is impractical.

Of course quite often divers finds themselves a bit light (especially at SS) and grabbing a stone of course helps. But then we are talking about just a couple of lbs or so - not 10 or 20.

Well I disagree, it is NOT that hard to hold a rock that has 10 lbs of "weight" to it in the water with one hand. Not optimal, but certainly a very good option, if your choices are non existent.

I don't use weight pockets in my BC's, I use a freedive belt and sometimes a small amount of fixed weight.

The elastic belt is extremely secure and the buckle system should not fail catastrophically, so I think, in general, going with all fixed weights because a diver can not find a ditchable system that is secure is not a good decision; particularly for basic recreationally divers who are wearing a compressible wetsuit of any considerable size or thickness.