The importance of the 'right hand rule?'

[stiebs]

Aah Mike, you bring back memories of my OW course. On my first or second dive, luckily at about 12fsw, we had to do a full gear ditch and recovery.

The BC that I was wearing had a RHR velcro cumberband, and when I pulled it, accidentally took the weight belt with it. Can't imagine what would have happened if I had gotten snared with the same equipment setup at 60fsw.

PS. I later figured out that the cband had been incorrectly put on upsidedown, hence the RHR instead of LHR.

 

[erich]

Mike, question for you.

I have recently switched over to a backplate. With an aluminium plate and 5lb p-weight I wear the rest on a weight belt. The weight belt is right release. The waist belt on the BP is also right release. Is this not correct? I double checked my references.

 

[plsander]

Isn't that the rule about electric fields and current direction?

Sorry, a flashback to college physics, back to scuba.

Shouldn't a diver be able to pop the release with either hand?

 

[devilfish]

Dytis once bubbled...
You mention emergency scenarios and rescues where the weightbelt has to be ditched. Is this a procedure 'a must'? Couldn't releasing a victim's w/b and losing your hold result in an uncontrolled ascent of the victim and possible embolism?
Why don't the training agencies give you a reason for the R.H.R?

Ahh, so true. Neither agencies nor many Instructors give a reason why a wheight belt should be a Right Hand release. As with many things there are reasons but often fergoten.
The reason for a weight belt to be reight hand release is because of equipment configuration. In every case except for the Fenzy which is rarely seen nowaday ALL BC inflators are on the left side. Instructions for emergency of a diver on the surface which has a difficulty of maintaining buoyancy clearly state "DROP YOUR WEIGHT BELT AND INFLATE YOUR BC". It has been observed and documented that a diver in distress on the surface those words will ring loud. That diver will clasp on to the inflator and will attempt to inflate the bc regardless if air is going in or not, that diver will not let go of that inflator. Therefore there is only one hand remaining to the diver to drop the weight belt, THE RIGHT HAND.
It has nothing to do with any standard or which hand is dominating or which hand is the bc buckle. It has to do on which side is the inflator.
Furthermore, in a rescue on the surface the rescuer should position him/herself on the left side of the victim on the side of the inflator so that the resucer does not need to cross the victims body to search for the inflator. That means that the rescuer is using his/her left hand for do-si-do leaving only the right hand available to drop the victims weight belt.
A conventional weight belt should always be a right hand release.

 

[Groundhog246]

I'd put this in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" category. My wife in also left handed, but had no problem with the idea that "that's the standard way to do it". Kinda like driving on the right hand side of the road (at least in the US and Canada). Nothing against driving on the left, but it works better if were all on the going in the same direction.

Next we'll need BC's with the inflate/deflate hose on the right side.

I'd be interested in a thread (let me start one) on "Under what conditions would YOU ditch a buddies weights?"

Kent

 

[detroit diver]

erich once bubbled...
Mike, question for you.

I have recently switched over to a backplate. With an aluminium plate and 5lb p-weight I wear the rest on a weight belt. The weight belt is right release. The waist belt on the BP is also right release. Is this not correct? I double checked my references.

Erich,

Not Mike, but a comment. Yes, both are RHR. One of the nice things about a BP is the crotch strap. An accidental release of the weight belt will be held by the crotch strap. If it's intentional, it's no big deal to slip it out.

 

[MikeFerrara]

erich once bubbled...
Mike, question for you.

I have recently switched over to a backplate. With an aluminium plate and 5lb p-weight I wear the rest on a weight belt. The weight belt is right release. The waist belt on the BP is also right release. Is this not correct? I double checked my references.

The bp harness does have a right hand release as does the weight belt. I wear my weight belt under the crotch strap with the buckle near center. My harness buckle is off to the right. It takes a little work to get at and undo my weight belt. I worry more about loosing it on accident than I do wether or not someone can get it off me. I also have weight added to the plate and with a 2 piece 6.5 mil suit I only have 4 pounds on the weight belt.

When will someone be trying to get me out of my gear or get rid if my weights? How big of a deal is it if they get the wrong buckle unhooked first? I their trying to ditch the weight (all 4 pounds) and get the harness buckle undone that only makes it that much easier to get the weight belt off. If they are trying to get the arness off first and get the belt (at the surface) good. If that happens at depth the crotch strat will likely prevent the lose of the weights. I think it works out fine.

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

I submit that the idea of a "standard" weight release protocol is absurd. The use of standard weight belts is on the decline. On any given day, I see numerous methods of mounting and ditching weights. Integrated systems vary by manufacturer. Harness systems vary by diver. Weights are showing up all over the place... on tanks, tie-wrapped or clipped to BCD's, and stuffed into pockets or backplates... some are ditchable, others aren't. Releasing a standard weight belt in an emergency, regardless of which way the buckle is oriented, is a relatively simple and expedient procedure.

As a DM, when I see a system unfamiliar to me, I ask the diver to explain its operation (for my benefit). As a diver, I make sure that my buddy and I are familiar with our own, and each other's, weight release systems. As an instructor, I teach the right-hand release of standard weight belts, and offer additional practice with integrated weight systems.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of PROPER WEIGHTING. I've never had to ditch the weights of a properly weighted diver (except during practice exercises). Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the far more prevalent overweighted diver.

Dive safely, have fun, and never stop learning!

 

[bwerb]

the whole right hand release standard became very clear. When you are in an emergency situation, rescue breathing takes presidence over all other tasks. (We did our course in 47 degree water in full drysuits and most of us had large bladder capacity back inflate BCD's with intergrated weights and multiple closures and we added blank weightbelts for added practical application).

Firstly, it was MUCH harder than it looks to effectively remove all the "victims" gear while maintaining breathing and...it was surprisingly difficult to remove my own gear while maintaining airway etc. Second, with all the straps to disconnect it was much quicker to remove the weightbelt when you knew as soon as your hand hit it which direction you had to pull to release it. In a rescue situation the more "instinctive" gear removal is, the quicker the victim will be on their way to becoming a patient.

As an aside, I learned that not only is it imperative to understand your buddies gear but it is also imperative to think through the order in which you release the straps. The weight intergrated BCD's can become very bottom heavy when the waist belts are released and the chest straps releases can slide right underneath the victims armpits where they are much harder to release.

So, I would say that the standardization is not a righthand vs lefthand thing but a way of trying to make gear removal as instinctive as possible. If I had to spend extra time trying to determine how every individual had selected to configure all their gear it would just add time to the rescue equation.

Just my thoughts. Great course by the way.

 

[MikeFerrara]

KeyLargoBrent once bubbled...
I submit that the idea of a "standard" weight release protocol is absurd. The use of standard weight belts is on the decline. On any given day, I see numerous methods of mounting and ditching weights. Integrated systems vary by manufacturer. Harness systems vary by diver. Weights are showing up all over the place... on tanks, tie-wrapped or clipped to BCD's, and stuffed into pockets or backplates... some are ditchable, others aren't. Releasing a standard weight belt in an emergency, regardless of which way the buckle is oriented, is a relatively simple and expedient procedure.

As a DM, when I see a system unfamiliar to me, I ask the diver to explain its operation (for my benefit). As a diver, I make sure that my buddy and I are familiar with our own, and each other's, weight release systems. As an instructor, I teach the right-hand release of standard weight belts, and offer additional practice with integrated weight systems.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of PROPER WEIGHTING. I've never had to ditch the weights of a properly weighted diver (except during practice exercises). Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the far more prevalent overweighted diver.

Dive safely, have fun, and never stop learning!

Let me offer a slightly different view. IMO, what is obsurd is all the different ditching methods used in all the mostly useless weight integrated bc's (or as Roak would say "poodle jackets")

In many of these ill conceived designes the problem is keeping the weights in (they fall out on their own). I know they are now changing some of the designs. An interesting note..I spoke to several manufacturers about the dangerous velcro pockets that pointed down with gravity always trying to drop your weights. They denied there was a problem with them. Now their all racing to be the first to market the solution to the problem that didn't exist. And...the fix is? plastic quick release buckles? No shortage of obsurd in diving equipment.

Keep the RHR and get rid of the bsbc