Not having dumpable weights on BPW

[JLRO22]

I am super close on clicking order on my BPW set up. But I'm starting to get skeptical on the weight set up.
I'm a small diver 5'2 and only 115 lbs. I dive temperate waters in California with a 7mm suit, 5/3 hood, 7mm boots etc. This is my current 'possible buy' list in terms of main weighting:

Backplates​

• Halcyon - Small Stainless Steel Backplate; 4.05 lbs
• Dive Rite - Short Stainless Steel XT Backplate; 5.41 lbs

STAs​

• Dive Rite - STA; 0.81lbs
• Halcyon - STA; 2.4 lbs
• Halcyon - STA w/ weight; 7.55 lbs

With my dive program, I have access to AL80s or Steel 85, 80, 100s but usually opt for a steel more often times than not. Its a bad day if I have to use an AL80 or there's no steels left and I need more air than what's in an 85.
Anyway my dilemma is what is correct configuration without it being dangerous of having too much non-dumpable weight on my body? Since I dive steels usually, if I run a set up that's heavy (DR plate w/ any of the STAs), I would barely have to put anything on a belt. And if I need to do an emergency ascent and I dump, I'll be dumping basically nothing and need to instead kick like hell. Yeah that means I'll means I'm probably overweighted, but is running 7 or even 12 lbs + a steel over kill for such a small diver. Is it safe to run all your weight on your back?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

What's wrong with weightbelts?
Why is everyone so phobic and allergic to weightbelts?
I absolutely don't understand the obsession with loading up a person all with non ditchable weight.
I could see in a cave where it would be catastrophic to lose a belt and it really makes no difference because you can't go up and there is no open ocean, but in open water in the ocean I think all non ditchable weight is a terrible idea.

 

[sinidive]

What's wrong with weightbelts?
Why is everyone so phobic and allergic to weightbelts?
I absolutely don't understand the obsession with loading up a person all with non ditchable weight.
I could see in a cave where it would be catastrophic to lose a belt and it really makes no difference because you can't go up and there is no open ocean, but in open water in the ocean I think all non ditchable weight is a terrible idea.

I use a weight belt when needed.

Typically when diving wet (5mm) with a steel 12L I need 1-2kg of weight, so weight belt is not needed. With a heavier steel back plate I don't use any lead.

However a weight belt is not so nice on smaller framed person. The waist area gets busy with weight belt, weights, bpw straps, canister, cutting device, ...

Weight pouches on the bpw waist-strap is much more comfortable for <=4kg. For more a separate weight-belt feels more appropriate.

 

[MB NZ]

Weight belts? I don't have a waist, they always slip down. Since taking up freediving, I discovered rubber weight belts which are much nicer on this respect, but for SCUBA, a weight belt under a harness looks messy and doesn't feel right to me. Plus unintentionally lost weight in open ocean is not ideal either.

 

[Scared Silly]

What's wrong with weightbelts?
Why is everyone so phobic and allergic to weightbelts?
I absolutely don't understand the obsession with loading up a person all with non ditchable weight.

Weight belts are just another thing to deal with when kitting up. And not always that comfortable. It is nice to free oneself of that.

That said, not using a weight belt does not mean no ditchable weight. Zeagle BCD weight pouches for many years were the defacto standard. Many copied the idea. All were ditchable and none required a weight belt. IMHO the best of both worlds.

Backplates while great for their simplicity, weight options are to some degree limited. In general it is on a weight belt (see above) or on the rig. When on the rig keeping the simplicity often means options for ditching weight is limited. I think Zeagle has some of the better options for ditchable weight pouches.

 

[eightytwenty]

Having all your weight on your rig isn't necessarily a bad thing, assuming you can kick it up from depth in the scenario of a wing failure. Getting an idea of swimming up your rigs weight with a full cylinder and a compressed wetsuit will tell you if you want ditchable weight or not. Your rig should also be able to float itself at the surface.

I personally know what I am capable of swimming up, and err on the side of caution. Just because it would be possible for me to swim up a 100 with my steel plate in a wetsuit, does not mean that it would be pleasant should **** hit the fan. A weight belt and an AL80 do fine for any wet diving out here, and give me the opportunity to drop weight if necessary.

Silliness like using lift bags and SMBs as redundant buoyancy have been shown to be overly fussy and, in the worst case, do not work. What you need to do is balance your rig.

 

[eightytwenty]

What's wrong with weightbelts?
Why is everyone so phobic and allergic to weightbelts?
I absolutely don't understand the obsession with loading up a person all with non ditchable weight.
I could see in a cave where it would be catastrophic to lose a belt and it really makes no difference because you can't go up and there is no open ocean, but in open water in the ocean I think all non ditchable weight is a terrible idea.

FWIW, every single technical diver I know out here uses a weight belt...

That being said, on shorter people, it does introduce the possibility of cluttering the waist area, and if the rig is balanced, it's balanced. I still prefer weight belts, and that's after trying all the tricks outlined in this thread.

A lot of people run goofball stuff like rigs with no ditchable weight and fail to consider things like suit compression at depth. That 7mm is going to be thin as paper at 100fsw, and as such, not provide the lift it gave you at the surface. That's what gets so many people into trouble out here.

 

[MB NZ]

What happens when you try to ditch a weight belt when wearing a harness with a crotch strap? Does it get hung up? That's my assumption, but I never tried.

 

[eightytwenty]

What happens when you try to ditch a weight belt when wearing a harness with a crotch strap? Does it get hung up? That's my assumption, but I never tried.

If worn under the crotchstrap yes. When diving wet, I wear the belt over the CS so the weight can be ditched more easily, when diving dry I wear it under. Still not super difficult to thread the belt one way around the CS so it can fall, but it does have to be done consciously, and that's something I don't want to deal with when diving wet.

 

[grantmac]

I know exactly zero tech divers using ditchable weight. Or any who would use more than a 5mm on a proper tech dive.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

What happens when you try to ditch a weight belt when wearing a harness with a crotch strap? Does it get hung up? That's my assumption, but I never tried.

The crotch strap will catch the weightbelt, and if you really want the belt gone you just undo the waist band and it will fall away. Dumping a weightbelt at depth is an absolute last resort measure if you truly believe your life is coming to an end, but at least it is an option. I'd rather be bent than dead, and depending on how long I've been down and how deep may not mean I will get bent or embolize. I don't believe a diver that dumps a belt at depth will rocket to the surface as so many people imagine. Expanding air in a drysuit or in a wing will cause a missile, but not a wetsuit. Wetsuits take a while to re-inflate after being compressed.
When I did tech diving we used a regular webbing weighbelt not rubber, and we used two buckles for safety.