Time for another controversial topic..........

[Rick Murchison]

Most folks who drown have not ditched their weights. Most drownings begin with difficulty staying afloat, rather than some problem at depth. Most real ditching situations are surface events rather than a need for immediate ascent.
Therefore, I rig with some ditchable weight.
Rick

 

[simonk999]

There's presently another thread about weight belts vs integrated. Perhaps the issue of not being required to ditch all your weight at once (i.e with a weight belt), is another argument for integrated, since one can ditch 1/2 the weight at a time.

 

[Texass]

Thanks Rick. Funny how a blind spot can just slap ya up side the head!

 

[Iguana Don]

Rick,
If the majority of all drownings occur on the surface with weight belt or pouches intact, why were they not dropped?
Panic, if the don't have the mind to put air in their BC why would the have the mind to drop their weights? Hole in their BC, then again what good were ditchable weights.

This is not an argument, just looking for an answer.

ID

 

[bradymsu]

The answer to this question, like most equipment configuration questions depends on who the diver is and what situation they are diving in.

I agree with Lost Yooper that a cave diver or a technical diver in a deco environment doesn't need ditchable weight. It could be either useless or dangerous. Often, these divers have other equipment (such as a battery pack) that could be unclipped anyway to provide extra bouyancy.

That said, a recreational diver and all beginning divers should have ditchable weight. In the event of panic on the surface, the diver's instructor, divemaster or buddy has the ability to ditch the weight, inflate the bc and provide all the lifesaving bouyancy possible to keep the diver's head above water. The reason weights are often not ditched on the surface and result in drowning is because the diver in trouble is panicked and unable to help himself and is diving without an experienced buddy. Or possibly, the new diver isn't using ditchable weight because of something he read on the computer from a tech diver saying ditchable weight isn't necessary.

Many new divers look up to tech divers as the elite of the diving world. Unfortunately they often assume a tech equipment configuration is the best setup, even for them at a beginning level. Some tech divers even encourage this belief. Just this past weekend, I was on a charter with a new diver who showed up with doubles. She couldn't even lift them into the boat!

So come on guys, a steel backplate w/bladder and other parts of a tech configuration may be fine for a beginning rec diver, but this isn't a tech diving board and we shouldn't be giving the impression that ditchable weights are unnecessary.

http://www.scubadiving.com/training/lessons/aug00.shtml
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/lessons/sept98.shtml

 

[Lost Yooper]

I'm not against ditchable weight, but rather the ease at which it's able to be ditched. The industry accepted practice is a weight belt on the exterior of the equipment with a single buckle. I've seen plenty of belts and weight integration weights come off accidentally and the diver flies up to the surface. My advice to divers who don't utilize a crotch strap (heck, even if they do) is to use two metal buckles instead of one (stay away from the plastic ones). That extra half second needed to release the second buckle isn't significant.
I beleive the right "technical gear" can be used by new divers with great success. I don't think doubles are a good idea at all for new divers. A new diver can step right into a back plate, harness, and wing, get a single 80 with an H-valve (if so desired/needed), wear a weight belt under the crotch strap, and even breath a 5' hose. Some would call that "tech" gear, but I call it on your way to DIR. If they aren't smart enough to realize that "tech" equipment doesn't make you a "tech" diver, then....

Mike

 

[bradymsu]

Mike,

I'm with you 100% on your last post. I know this is getting off topic but..... My biggest mistake as a new diver was shelling out big $$$ on conventional dive gear and then have to turn around a bit later and spend more $$$ on "tech" gear I could have used from the start. You call it "DIR", I call it "smart" but we essentially agree.

My suggestion to new divers reading this post and about to purchase new equipment is to look at purchasing the configuration Mike suggested in the above post instead of the standard gear your store will try to sell you. If you insist, they will agree to order the gear you want. Look at the websites for manufacturers such as OMS and Halcyon for some ideas. Even if you never intend to tech dive, this is a better setup for almost all divers and you may even save some money.

 

[L. Smallman]

ID,

I agree in most cases it may be panic that causes divers not to inflate BC's at the surface and ditch weights to help retain bouyancy, but sometimes it could just be the lack of experience. In my case, last year in my first saltwater dive I surfaced pretty durn far from the boat. In the limited diving I had already done I had found no real purpose for the BC other than to hold my tank. I am comfortable in the water and have excellent bouyancy control. On this first saltwater dive I had surfaced without any assistance from my BC and was completely bouyant at the surface. After starting the long swim back to the boat I began to tire and duh! that's when I realized I had not inflated my BC. I tired to descend and swim back underwater, but could not as my not so full tank kept bobbing back up to the surface. I quickly inflated my BC and began ditching my weights. Someone with less natural bouyancy could have succumbed to drowning in this situation. I could have.

In another case of inexperience, I was beginning a descent with a buddy and he began sinking fast. I sped up my descent and hand signaled to him to determine the problem and if he needed assistance. Amazingly he repeatedly signaled o.k., even though it was obvious he was trying to get a hold of his inflater. I handed him his inflater and watched this guy sink to the bottom. I looked down at him from above and thought he had expired as he was not moving. I made my way down to him and to my relief he looked up at me. He again signaled o.k., adjusted his bouyancy and we continued the dive. After the dive when I questioned him about the incident, he said he was trying to get a hold of his inflater because he was descending too fast. He said when I handed it to him he must have pushed the deflator button by accident. He said he had decided to just go with it and would adjust his bouyancy when he bottomed out!!! Gee whiz! I asked what if there was no bottom (you know like a 5000 foot drop off). Said he didn't think about that. I asked why he never even kicked his feet to slow or reverse his descent and I asked why he didn't even try to ditch his weights. Said he didn't think about it!! I asked why he kept signaling o.k.. Said he didn't know. The point is, even though he was in trouble he never actually paniked, but that didn't help him make the right moves. Inexperience is a scary thing!

Anyway, I'm in favor of ditchable weight.

Laura

 

[WetDane]

I just have a light 8 lbs belt that I can ditch should it come to that - but on the other hand - like LY - I pretty much have the opinion that the only the way that weight comes off me is when you pry it from my cold dead fingers...

I did have ditchable pockets on my rig - but removed them after a friend got a handle caught on some debris and accidently dropped one pocket - not a completely fun thing to do...

Dane