Using Both a Weight Belt and Integrated BC

[WI Scuba Dave]

Hello,
I recently bought a used TUSA Imprex Pro 4900 off eBay with an integrated weight system. It's got two ditchable pockets in the rear sides. And regular pockets on each side at the front. I've always been a weight belt guy because I like the ditchability of it although I'm not a big fan of weights hanging around my waist. How many people use both their integrated and a weight belt? This seems to make sense to me. If I have to ditch the belt I'd still have some weight in the BC for control (so I don't just fly to the surface) and yet I do not have as much weight hanging from my hips. Is there any merit to that thinking?

Also, my 4900 didn't come with any documentation. I wrote TUSA and hopefully they will send me some. Does anyone know off-hand what the weight limits are for their ditchable weight pockets? And how much weight can the front and trim pockets safely hold?

Thanks!
Dave

 

[dlndavid]

My ScubaPro Knighthawk would not hold enough weight for me to dive with my drysuit.
I had to use a weight belt with 4 lbs of weights. It worked for me.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

When I did my drysuit dives, this past weekend, I had six pounds in trim weights on my TransPac, and ten pounds in the pockets, and another twelve pounds on a weightbelt that I used with suspenders, under the BC.

 

[UndrWatrDan]

I dove in a 7mm semi dry this past weekend, 12lbs in my BCD and 12lbs on a weight belt. It all depends on how much weight the BCD is rated to hold.

 

[WI Scuba Dave]

It all depends on how much weight the BCD is rated to hold.

That's something I need to find out. I'd hate to put a 10 lb weight in one of those ditchable rear pockets if they are only rated for say 5. And I just can't tell what the front pockets are rated for.

I know with my 7mm farmer johns and all the trimmings for cold water I need about 30lbs.

 

[dlndavid]

I think the "rating" is more limited by size, I stuffed mine to the max, but needed additional weight.

 

[WI Scuba Dave]

I think the "rating" is more limited by size, I stuffed mine to the max, but needed additional weight.

I would imagine that there are limits to what those pockets are designed to hold also though, correct?

 

[dlndavid]

I would imagine that there are limits to what those pockets are designed to hold also though, correct?

Like I said the size is the limit, the design would hold a lot more, but it won't fit.

 

[nereas]

Hello,
I recently bought a used TUSA Imprex Pro 4900 off eBay with an integrated weight system. It's got two ditchable pockets in the rear sides. And regular pockets on each side at the front. I've always been a weight belt guy because I like the ditchability of it although I'm not a big fan of weights hanging around my waist. How many people use both their integrated and a weight belt? This seems to make sense to me. If I have to ditch the belt I'd still have some weight in the BC for control (so I don't just fly to the surface) and yet I do not have as much weight hanging from my hips. Is there any merit to that thinking?...

This is actually very good thinking.

The only issue is how much weight to wear on your belt.

I normally like to wear about 10 lbs on my belt. This is because I wear a 3mm wetsuit for warm water diving, and a drysuit for cold water diving.

If you wear a wetsuit for cold water diving, then remember that you need to deal with wetsuit compression at depth, in determining the optimum weight for your belt, for a quick ditch to re-attain neutral buoyancy. The optimum will vary by depth, so you may want to determine this for your normal maximum depth, whatever that may be.

 

[james croft]

It is OK to wear both. Splitting up your weight has some advantages. Sometimes I dive a Zeagle with integrated weights and a weight belt. I like to wear enough weight on a belt to keep me from floating away if I need to remove my BC if I have to.
Depending on where I am diving and which exposure suit I am wearing I rig up different weight belts to tune my bouyancy. Since the bulk of my diving is in fresh water with a thin wetsuit, I rig up a weight belt to add weight when I switch to a thicker wetsuit or drysuit.