New Seaquest i3 Intgrated Weight Pocket Just Fall Out

[fnfalman]

As for switching to a BP/W to avoid this; is the buckle on your weight belt some kind of gaurantee that you will not lose your weights?
Dive Safe.

Nothing is 100% guaranteed, of course. While I can't speak for other BP/W since that I've only used Dive Rite BCs, but the ditchable inner pouches on the Dive Rite integrated weight pouches are secured to the main pouches by the squeeze-to-release fastex buckles in addition to the velcro strips on the flaps. And we can even further assume that Murphy's Laws had applied and everything that could have gone wrong with the equipment had gone wrong (i.e. fastex buckles broken and velcro strips all worn out), the inner pouches still wouldn't fall out unless you swim upside down.

On a jacket BC, when you swim horizontally, the weight pouches point vertically downward. If a lock comes undone, everything falls out. On the Dive Rite rig, when you swim horizontally, the pouches are in the horizontal position, so the weights wouldn't simply fall out due to gravity alone.

I've seen a lady who was swimming and her weight just fell off her jacket BC (don't know what brand and model). She started to rise quickly to the surface. I think that she was too surprised to quickly dump the air out of the BC and spread eagle to add more hydrodynamic drag to help with the rising rate. By the time I swam over, she already on the way up. The only thing I could do was to fetch her weight belt and went up and gave it to her at the surface. I put the pouch back in and she went down to finish her dive.

 

[Birmbear]

I had a weight pocket fall out of my seaquest pro qd, That was a PITA. Now I always give it a good check pre dive.
Either way good luck.

Thanks!

 

[Birmbear]

On a jacket BC, when you swim horizontally, the weight pouches point vertically downward. If a lock comes undone, everything falls out. On the Dive Rite rig, when you swim horizontally, the pouches are in the horizontal position, so the weights wouldn't simply fall out due to gravity alone.

This very likelyhood occurred to me as I started swimming....and reaching out to catch my falling weights. Rat!

__Ric

 

[Birmbear]

I've used my SeaQuest BC on numerous dives without even a hint of any problem with the weight pockets. Are you sure that you did not simply insert them and fail to push the plastic clips securely in? They should clip in with and audible "click".

If you are inserting the weight pouches while you are wearing the bc the bulk of the bc can keep you from seeing and feeling what you are doing. You might try inserting the pouches with the bc off of your body so you can clearly see what you are doing.

Make sure you are not inserting the pouches flipped over. The slight curve of the pouches should conform to the curve of your body. There is not a left or right hand pouch. Either pouch works on either side. But if you get the clip on the body side of the pouch instead of away from the body there is no way it will secure.

A couple of things concern me. You said you were doing a pool dive. You were diving with a new (or at least new to you ) bc. You don't mention a buddy being present or an instructor. Either one could have checked things to see if you were clipped in properly. You surely were not diving alone?!. You can get killed as dead in a pool as you can open water.

I checked your profile and you indicate your certification agency was "Princess Cruises". Princess Cruises certifies no one. Saying your certification agency is Princess Cruises is like me saying my certification agency is the "Rock Quarry". They can have instructors on board that provide you with PADI, NAUI or other certifications. Makes me wonder if you got any sort of instruction other than discover scuba or some sort of resort dive training.

If they were doing their job well you would know who your cert. agency was. Please, please, don't dive beyond your training and get yourself killed.

The title "Certification Agency" is what you see after you answer the question. "who gave you your training?" The fully correct answer would be the Instructor on the Princess Cruises line gave me PADI training. I my C card from that organizaition. And you can be sure I won't do something stupid and get myself (or anyone else) killed. I've been scared in my life, and uncle sugar has put me in enough hairy situations, that I don't go seeking them for myself.

As for the pool diving, that was only an enjoyable evening of underwater pool. I had an entire table full of dive buddies.

Thank you, Master Chief!

__Ric

 

[Down4Adive]

One of my buddies has a seaquest bcd and the weight pockets have fallen out on at least four dives that I know of. He had to replace one pocket and had to go recover another a week after a dive (he had to borrow a pocket and wait for good vis). I don't know how he can stand it. After buying a replacement pocket only a month after buying the bc he is always sure to clip them in properly and they still fall out.

 

[ZzzKing]

A couple of things concern me. You said you were doing a pool dive. You were diving with a new (or at least new to you ) bc. You don't mention a buddy being present or an instructor. Either one could have checked things to see if you were clipped in properly. You surely were not diving alone?!. You can get killed as dead in a pool as you can open water.

I checked your profile and you indicate your certification agency was "Princess Cruises". Princess Cruises certifies no one. Saying your certification agency is Princess Cruises is like me saying my certification agency is the "Rock Quarry". They can have instructors on board that provide you with PADI, NAUI or other certifications. Makes me wonder if you got any sort of instruction other than discover scuba or some sort of resort dive training.

If they were doing their job well you would know who your cert. agency was. Please, please, don't dive beyond your training and get yourself killed.

Thanks Mom.

 

[emtking]

Well, I've got a bit of a problem. I went to do a pool dive the other night. It was the first time I had weights (7# each) in my integrated weight pockets. So I get to the edje of the pool, look over the side, and out plopps my left pocket.

Nothing I tried to make it stay in worked.

Has anyone else had a similar problem.?

Thanks,
__Birm
:love4:

Birmbear,
Was this your own personal equipment, or rented? I bought an Aqualung Pro QD and have also been having problems with the left side. It doesn't matter which weight pocket I use. Each one gives a solid "click" on the right side, but neither EVER seems to give a solid "click" on the left side. Appears to me to be a defect with the plastic on the left side of the BCD. I only have about 10 dives on my gear and 16 dives overall, so am still in the learning curve. Right now, I am happy that I lost my weight on a beach dive and noticed it shortly after reaching barely more than 12 feet. I apparently went too heavy on the wetsuit, and with 20 lbs and my 5 mil suit, I still cannot submerge just by purging my BCD. I have to swim down the first 10 feet then my suit compresses and my bouyancy is perfect with that weight. Since this is the situation, I did not notice that my left weight pocket fell out as soon as we started our surface swim away from the beach. I had trouble getting it to lock in and my dive buddy and I spent about 10 minutes at the truck getting it all squared away. Or at least, what we thought was squared away.
I was curious if you ever got this situation resolved. And if so, what was the answer. I have done a little searching online and you are not the only one to have this problem. I am wondering if it was a bad run at the factory or something like that. I bought my BCD in beginning of October of 2009. Lot#0916 B and Model# 399373
Thanks for any help you might have. I just don't want to be down 100+ feet and have half my weight just fall out.
emtking

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Take it back to where you bought it if the weight pocket won't stay in. Sounds like it's defective and should be replaced (either the pocket or BC).

Weight pockets falling out is one big reason my husband sold his SeaQuest BC and bought a Zeagle Ranger.

IMHO it's not a SeaQuest problem, it's an inherent design flaw of integrated BC's.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

, the inner pouches still wouldn't fall out unless you swim upside down.

On a jacket BC, when you swim horizontally, the weight pouches point vertically downward. If a lock comes undone, everything falls out. On the Dive Rite rig, when you swim horizontally, the pouches are in the horizontal position, so the weights wouldn't simply fall out due to gravity alone.

I like to scuba on my back, sideways and I do it regularly, as well as descending head down (upside down)!

Integrated VEST BC's (jackets have sleeves) do not all load from the center; some load from the outside and in horizontal do not fall out, but they still fall out on occassion when not horizontal.

I cut the integrated pockets off my BI SeaQuest Balance and my VEST SeaQuest is not integrated, for a reason! Never felt under equipped in either.