Isn't that what ditching a scuba kit at the surface is for? Asking sincerelyThe only reason not to is handling a wing failure at the start of a dive. While I'm sure you can swim up, it might be a little difficult to stay up on the surface if conditions are rough or you're dealing with other problems or have to swim a long distance to the beach. I'm aware of a number of cases where a diver had a problem underwater and made it back to the surface but failed to establish buoyancy and drowned. It's not a huge risk, but for recreational diving I don't think it's a good idea to sacrifice the option of ditching weight at the surface just to gain a minor increase in comfort. As others have pointed out there are other ways to carry a few pounds of ditchable weight besides a belt.