Suggestions needed for weights when doffing still in the water.

[Tina5269]

I'm searching for weight systems with some kind of carry strap or handle.

I have to don/doff my gear while in the water. At the end of my dive I want to take some weight off my BPW & pass my weights up to the boat. That way my gear will be much lighter for the boat guys to lift or for my dive buddy to carry up the ladder.

I'm trying to find a way to make it easier for the people helping me dive.

Due to a back injury I've had to have 3 back surgeries, and now I have the S1-L3 bones fused with metal rods and junk... So I can't flex at the waist anymore and I'm weaker than I used to be. My surgeon is also a diver and I brought my stuff to the office after my last surgery. He ok'd me to drive but said I must never wear my gear out of the water for any reason or I'll risk breaking a bone. It's just too much to carry.

So I now, my dive buddy (my BF) enters the water 1st, the boat crew throws my gear with with on it into the water. My BF cares it and then I jump in, swim to my stuff, soon the gear and remove the tether line, then I go diving. When done, i catch a tether line, doff the gear, get back on the boat. Then the crew either lifts the gear up or my boyfriend has to climb up himself, did his gear and then jump in and carry mine up.

If I could take 14 lbs off my rig and pass that up to the boat, it would make life easier and safer for everyone...right? So how can I do that without losing the weights?

 

[Shabaday]

This shows how they mount to the back plate and your waist webbing goes through the backside of these

 

[Shabaday]

Hi - I guess it is a lot but I don't even sink at all if I don't carry that much. That's with a 3 mil suit. When it's just my bathing suit I need 12 lbs to get under the water. I took a peak performance buoyancy class and my instructor was AMAZING - Ryan Custereri - he was surprised I needed that much too... but it is what it is.

Ryan is awesome by the way....one of the best. I got my xDeep zen from him.
I also need around 14-16 pounds with 3 mil/5mil in Florida

 

[Searcaigh]

I like this idea - I thought of it but thought it would be in the way of my reg & the neck of the tank. I dive a single tank.

I dive a single tanks too, but as @SlugMug says it can be tucked away when wearing it, plus it's easier to move your gear around on the boat without using the regulator as a handle.

 

[SlugLife]

I dive a single tanks too, but as @SlugMug says it can be tucked away when wearing it, plus it's easier to move your gear around on the boat without using the regulator as a handle.

I was just thinking that 2-inch webbing would also work, and attached with 4 to 6 metal tri-glides. It would be wide-enough to not cut into the hand, and strong enough to support a lot of weight. The round handle you have would be nicer of course, but I'm just thinking of fast/easy DIY hacks.

I may do that tomorrow and post pictures. I use a SideMount harness, so the handle wouldn't need to support a gear+tank(s), however it would also work for someone with a standard backplate setup.

 

[BoltSnap]

THEY SUCK. I have all of them They are extremely difficult to get the inner weight pockets to go inside the outer holding pockets. I even bought size XL and use the medium pockets. awful

Have you tried these from SP? They are very pricey but they worked great for me. I have them on BP/W harness from other mfg. and they work much better. I can adjust them forward and backward easily and easy to put the weight pocket inside the outer case.

https://scubapro.johnsonoutdoors.com/accessories/bcd-accessories/s-tek-pro-fluid-form-weight-system

 

[Shabaday]

Have you tried these from SP? They are very pricey but they worked great for me. I have them on BP/W harness from other mfg. and they work much better. I can adjust them forward and backward easily and easy to put the weight pocket inside the outer case.

https://scubapro.johnsonoutdoors.com/accessories/bcd-accessories/s-tek-pro-fluid-form-weight-system

Yes with back issues and donning in the water you do not want integrated weights to be attached solely to the waist webbing....I had that system on my SP Hydros Pro that I had to return because it was too difficult to don in the water

 

[formernuke]

Noooooooo ...

Tropical diver doing in-water gear don/doff. Weights are last-on/first-off.


ETA: Sorry, @Marie13, I replied not-currently informed. I see that the newer DUI harnesses have rec-style removable inner weight pockets that could maybe be inserted and removed in-water. All of the ones I've seen were the (older) "rip-cord" style.

I'm not sure that there is any benefit over rig-mounted pockets in this application, though. If anything it would move CG down.

The newer harness allows the weights to be placed more toward the back of the diver compared to weight pockets.

OP, the newer harness or a belt would be my recommendation. Belt being a little harder since it goes under the crotch strap but with pratice still very doable.

 

[Tina5269]

Trying to upload pictures because uploading a video isn't working.
This is the BPW with no weight pouches. I had 4 generic style ones that I put on the cam bands - 2 per band. That is a royal pain in the ass. Before that I had 2 on the upper band and one at each hip about where my left hand is in the center pic.

Front, left & right sides. Sorry for blurry I had to capture then from a video that is too big to upload.

The straps aren't adjusted right for skin they are set for my 5 mil suit right now.

So here's the 3 questions I have now:
1. I think I will try to get the Zeagle zip-touch 20 lb weight system, and I'm going to try to attach it to the backplate & waistband like Shabaday suggested. This appears to be an ideal solve if there are pockets or pouches I can put the weights into & then hand up to the boat.
2. I stumbled on a Mares XR soft backplate - any thoughts on switching the steel out for the soft?
3. If the Zeagles won't work or I can't get them, I found some Highland XS Scuba Weight Plates that appear to basically be a plate with bungees on them, you pass the bungees thru the slot on a hard weight and then the whole thing is attached to anywhere you want on your 2" webbing. My thinking is that it COULD be ditchable if needed but it won't shift around and I could put it right up against the backplate so it (in theory) should not make the harness too floppy.
4. for a handle I found a tank neck strap but I will still ask my friend who makes stuff from paracord if he could make something that would work.

Anyhoo ... thank ALL of you so much for your help and ideas! You guys are great people!

 

[johndiver999]

you are contemplating all kinds of expensive and somewhat complicated solutions. Your first try should be a freedive belt. Even if that is not the total solution, I bet you will keep using it.

 

[Shabaday]

Trying to upload pictures because uploading a video isn't working.
This is the BPW with no weight pouches. I had 4 generic style ones that I put on the cam bands - 2 per band. That is a royal pain in the ass. Before that I had 2 on the upper band and one at each hip about where my left hand is in the center pic.

Front, left & right sides. Sorry for blurry I had to capture then from a video that is too big to upload.

The straps aren't adjusted right for skin they are set for my 5 mil suit right now.

So here's the 3 questions I have now:
1. I think I will try to get the Zeagle zip-touch 20 lb weight system, and I'm going to try to attach it to the backplate & waistband like Shabaday suggested. This appears to be an ideal solve if there are pockets or pouches I can put the weights into & then hand up to the boat.
2. I stumbled on a Mares XR soft backplate - any thoughts on switching the steel out for the soft?
3. If the Zeagles won't work or I can't get them, I found some Highland XS Scuba Weight Plates that appear to basically be a plate with bungees on them, you pass the bungees thru the slot on a hard weight and then the whole thing is attached to anywhere you want on your 2" webbing. My thinking is that it COULD be ditchable if needed but it won't shift around and I could put it right up against the backplate so it (in theory) should not make the harness too floppy.
4. for a handle I found a tank neck strap but I will still ask my friend who makes stuff from paracord if he could make something that would work.

Anyhoo ... thank ALL of you so much for your help and ideas! You guys are great people!

Good luck with it. If you can find those Zeagle pockets that will be perfect for you. The yellow mesh pockets are available on Amazon. The Zeagle pockets use to be as I bought 6 of them. 4 for my BP's and 2 for my wife's BP
I know how difficult diving with a bad back is. My life story over the last 8 years. This is the easiest I have found. Your BF can remove the weights for you if needed with the yellow mesh pockets. The absolute hardest part I have to do is put the waist band on me when using waist band integrated weight units cause they move all over the place. Even the xDeep which bolts to the BP didn't work for me.