Seaquest Balance

[ckharlan66]

Also one way to add more weight (if you are willing to spend a little money on the investment) without using to pockets is to switch to steel tanks.

I used a Balance for a couple of years before switching to BPW's and it worked great I think you will be happy with it. It is a good BC.

Chad

 

[stiebs]

I'll confirm what everyone else says. I've used my Balance with up to 13kg diving in a two piece 7mm with al tanks. I've managed to fit (but not dived) 32 pounds total in it (6 in each trim pocket, 10 in each ditch pocket). If you're boat diving with that, I hope you take out the pockets before handing your rig over though!

 

[jetfixer]

I also switched from a SQ Balance to a BP/W. I don't have anything bad to say about the balance. I think that you will be happy with it, but my guess is eventually you will go the BP/W route.

 

[theskull]

. . . I've managed to fit (but not dived) 32 pounds total in it (6 in each trim pocket, 10 in each ditch pocket). If you're boat diving with that, I hope you take out the pockets before handing your rig over though!

Yes, that is a LOT of weight to put into ANY BC. This creates problems even if the BC is capable of handling it.

1. The unit is tremendously heavy. Difficult to lift up to don, hard to haul up into a boat, tough for your buddy to help you into.

2. If one of those weight pockets falls out during the dive due to incomplete insertion, attachment failure, or having overloaded it past intended capacity, you are going to the surface -- fast.

Therefore, if you need that much added lead, please split it up. Put 3-4 lbs. in each trim pocket, 4-5 lbs. in each pouch, and the rest on a weight belt. It is more comfortable to wear some on a weight belt and have a lighter SCUBA unit. And if a pouch falls out it will only be inconvenient rather than dangerous.

And I am a big fan of the Balance BC. Only BC I still own. All my wet diving is done with the Balance, although most of my dry diving is done with BP/W.

theskull

 

[Daxter]

I have the Balance and around here use a two piece 7mm (until this spring, taking dry suit course now). Love the BC. Also is nice when traveling folds up nicely in bag.

 

[davebe]

I'm thinking of using the Balance for both warm and cold water diving. However, when I last dove with a drysuit and heavy insulation (in a different BC), I needed about 32# of lead. With a full HP80 cylinder (9# neg.) and other misc. weight like the reg. (2#), the total lift needed to support the unit if I took it off in the water would be 43#, which exceeds the rated lift of the large Balance (40#).

Am I missing something? Seems like the only way this would work is if I moved some of the weight out of the BC onto a weight belt.

 

[BSea]

I have a balance that is almost 8 years old & love it. I've used it with a drysuit, and with nothing more than a t-shirt & bathing suit. It has all the lift you'll ever need for recreational diving. As others have pointed out, the lift isn't determined on the amount of weight you carry. In fact if you think about it, you should only be slighly negative at the start of a dive, so that when your tank is near empty, you should be near neutral. So a bladder with 40 pounds of lift is more than enough for recreational diving. I know many divers that dive a balance, and never heard anyone compain yet.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Yes, that is a LOT of weight to put into ANY BC. This creates problems even if the BC is capable of handling it.

1. The unit is tremendously heavy. Difficult to lift up to don, hard to haul up into a boat, tough for your buddy to help you into.

2. If one of those weight pockets falls out during the dive due to incomplete insertion, attachment failure, or having overloaded it past intended capacity, you are going to the surface -- fast.

Therefore, if you need that much added lead, please split it up. Put 3-4 lbs. in each trim pocket, 4-5 lbs. in each pouch, and the rest on a weight belt. It is more comfortable to wear some on a weight belt and have a lighter SCUBA unit. And if a pouch falls out it will only be inconvenient rather than dangerous.

And I am a big fan of the Balance BC. Only BC I still own. All my wet diving is done with the Balance, although most of my dry diving is done with BP/W.

theskull

Lots of great feedback for you so far including the skull's post above that I agree with 100%. It is a great BC but you are going to be testing it to its limit with all that weight. You may find that 10#'s in the weight pockets can lead to slippage as stated. I had that problem until I switched to a BP/W and my wife still has this problem when diving dry and using tons of undies and that means more weight in those pockets that are built for (UP TO) 10 pounds. I suggest if you want to continue using this excellent BC for cold water diving, you will make your life easier and extend the life of your BC by using a DUI weight harness. This will eliminate excessive wear and tear on your BC, eliminate weight slippage, and also make your rig easier to handle because it will weigh less. Not to mention it will be easier to carry 32#'s. Good luck!

http://www.dui-online.com/bc_wt.htm

 

[davebe]

After talking with an experienced diver, I believe the answer to my concern about the over-weighted BC sinking if removed in the water is that you typically would only remove it in an emergency, and during boat diving when exiting the water. (Entering the water this way is less likely, esp. in cold water.) When exiting onto a boat, you could hand-off the ditchable weight pouches to the boat before removing the BC. In an emergency at the surface, you could just dump one or both of the ditchable weight pouches.