No weight belt

[Ste Wart]

Wouldnt it be better to use alternative methods other than to drop my weight belt? (Manually inflate BCD, use my buddy). Can you please give some examples where dropping my weight belt would be my only option for survival??

Chapter 3 PADI OW manual. Buoyant emergency ascent.

 

[Mike.D]

Having a crotch strap on my BP/W restricts the removal of my weight belt. Its not overly hard to remove but in an emergency situation where i was stressed out/near panic low on air etc etc i can see this being a problem. Having the weight belt unbuckled but caught in the crotch strap seems more of a problem then its worth if **** hit the fan, hence the question of removing the weight belt completely. So in this scenario would you say the disadvantages of having my weight in my tank band outweigh the possible (but unlikely) entanglement issue with my crotch strap?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Entanglement of the weight belt in the crotch strap is something that makes me nervous. I have added a quick release clip in the front of my crotch strap, so I might more easily and cleanly ditch the belt in an emergency. The possibility/complication of the weightbelt coming un buckled and falling down onto the crotch strap, should be pretty unusual and a minor inconvenience that is easily remedied in most diving situations. If it should fall down, get tangled in the crotch strap and you have a simultaneous complete scuba failure (and loss of buddy) it would be no worse than having no ditchable lead.. right?

 

[Ste Wart]

Having a crotch strap on my BP/W restricts the removal of my weight belt. Its not overly hard to remove but in an emergency situation where i was stressed out/near panic low on air etc etc i can see this being a problem. Having the weight belt unbuckled but caught in the crotch strap seems more of a problem then its worth if **** hit the fan, hence the question of removing the weight belt completely. So in this scenario would you say the disadvantages of having my weight in my tank band outweigh the possible (but unlikely) entanglement issue with my crotch strap?

Weigh up the possibilities. Diving in the UK there is the possibility, however small, that I could suffer a massive drysuit flood. In that instance I may want some amount of ditch-able weight.

In your rig that's not an issue so having no ditch-able weight is not a concern.

I wear my weight belt under my crotch strap. If I had to ditch it and it got caught, as it would, then I would release my waist buckle as well.


And as I dive off RIBs most of the time. If I added the 8kg from my weight belt to my rig, I don't think the other guys would be too happy about pulling my kit back into the boat!

 

[Tom Winters]

I remember when the weight-integrated bc's came out. When customers would take their rigs off in the water, that extra weight was a real PITA when you weren't expecting it. It was still easier than getting handicapped divers out of the water by having them reach up, locking their arms around my neck, and then having me lift them up into the boat. I don't think I'd do that stuff now though.
Use the weight belt, fasten the weights to your harness - hey, whatever works for ya.

 

[alewar]

Having a crotch strap on my BP/W restricts the removal of my weight belt. Its not overly hard to remove but in an emergency situation where i was stressed out/near panic low on air etc etc i can see this being a problem. Having the weight belt unbuckled but caught in the crotch strap seems more of a problem then its worth if **** hit the fan, hence the question of removing the weight belt completely. So in this scenario would you say the disadvantages of having my weight in my tank band outweigh the possible (but unlikely) entanglement issue with my crotch strap?

The DIR recommendation is to wear the belt over the harness when diving wet and under the harness when diving dry.