Poll: What is your favorite way to carry lead when using a BP/W?

[CycleCat]

CCR... i’ve Built it into the unit. If I change to heavier undergarments or saltwater, I add a weightbelt.

Several people have mentioned having weight incorporated into their BPW. Do you also maintain some amount of ditchable weight to achieve quick positive buoyancy in an emergency?

 

[_Ralph]

Several people have mentioned having weight incorporated into their BPW. Do you also maintain some amount of ditchable weight to achieve quick positive buoyancy in an emergency?

Nope...

I have a wing and a drysuit on separate gas systems.... if both failed, I’m having one really bad day on top of an already bad day!


_R

 

[Scott]

So many choices of configurations
Warm water, thin wetsuit(1-3mm) AL single cylinder: AL plate and a couple pounds on a cam band or just take the SS plate and be done with it.
Cooler water, drysuit, AL single cylinder: SS plate, 4-6 pounds on a cam band or use a steel cylinder and drop the weight
Cold water, drysuit, ST single cylinder: SS plate and 4-6 pounds
Cold Water, drysuit, ST cylinders: AL plate and a couple pounds on the tail.

 

[drakcheslav]

The pressure rating of your tanks is an important variable. You didn't give that.

While a 15L 232 bar is a rather popular and quite functional tank, a 15L 300 bar is a f-ing beast best suited for those under 30. And the net (negative) buoyancy differs more than just a little between those two. Ask me, I've owned a 15L 300 bar. I hope the new owner gets more joy from it than I got.

The 12 and the 15 are both 300bar ones.

Our club uses mostly 15 300bar tanks. So I'm kinda used to it.
And yeah, they're thicc as the kids say.

 

[lowwall]

Several people have mentioned having weight incorporated into their BPW. Do you also maintain some amount of ditchable weight to achieve quick positive buoyancy in an emergency?

Quick positive buoyancy is a bug, not a feature. Dumping a lot of weight under water is going to put you at high risk for DCI or even an embolism via a runaway ascent.

If you are weighted properly, you should be able to ascend or hold your depth by kicking while you sort out your buoyancy issues. If your combination of gear and exposure suit make that impossible, you need to explore alternatives such as switching to a drysuit.

Dumping lots of weight should be reserved for emergencies on the surface. If you aren't in too bad of a shape, you can take off the BPW and extract and dump the weights and then put it back on (or just lay on it). Otherwise, you'll have to shed the whole thing. Expensive if you can't recover it, but still better than drowning.

 

[Storker]

Our club uses mostly 15 300bar tanks.

Oh, my.

IM(NSH)O, 15L 300 bar tanks suck donkey's cojones. They're way too heavy, they're more than reasonably negatively buoyant and they carry just too much gas for one dive and not enough for two dives.

There's a reason I sold mine. I'd rather carry a D8.5x232 or a D7x300 than a single 15x300.

 

[shoredivr]

Steel tanks and weight belt

 

[happy-diver]

Wetsuits double thickness or single, thick or thin neoprene, drysuits neoprene or fabric or street clothes
and breathe from 15l 232 bar singles or twins or twin 100s all extra cave filled, with the weight bolted or
threaded or screwed to the plate none dumpable unless I chose to wear a heavy duty pouch weight belt
for some reason
or bolted to a ccr

About to be magnificent!

 

[Doctor Rig]

Wetsuits double thickness or single, thick or thin neoprene, drysuits neoprene or fabric or street clothes
and breathe from 15l 232 bar singles or twins or twin 100s all extra cave filled, with the weight bolted or
threaded or screwed to the plate none dumpable unless I chose to wear a heavy duty pouch weight belt
for some reason
or bolted to a ccr

View attachment 617309


View attachment 617310

About to be magnificent!

If I understand correctly, you’re saying there are many variables that affect how much weight is needed and you use duplicate stackable backplates to build up the desired weight to compensate for your kit buoyancy variables of the dive. Very interesting approach! Did I get it correctly?

 

[Doctor Rig]

POLL TAKE-AWAY...... so far! > > > > Thanks SBers, good poll input!!!

My high level take away is lead alone is not the optimum way to add dive ballast. The optimum would be weight added via heavier backplates and use of either a STA and/or a P-weight and then add lead to meet ones needs.

This emphasizes the added value of diving a BPW!!! I didn’t expect this when I put this thread together. Thanks!!