weight belt under the waist belt?

[Icarusflies]

Hello All;

I just got a new DIVE RITE BP (steel, 6 lb) with a Venture wing and I decided to go with a weight belt. Now, my question is; Is it prudent to wear the weight belt under the waist belt? I don't see another practical option. How do you guys wear it?

 

[TheFoggyMask]

Wear it under. Make sure the buckle is completely covered behind your crotch strap so it doesn't get hooked on something and come undone accidentally.

 

[TSandM]

Icarusflies, this is one of those topics that's been batted around a bunch.

If you search on the issue, I think you'll find that, where there is consensus, it is that people diving dry are OK putting the weight belt under the harness, but people diving wet (in other words, without redundant buoyancy) are better off being able to drop weights. That means having the weight belt outside the crotch strap in back.

Tobin has a nice technique for accomplishing that -- you put the weight belt on first, but then you bring the crotch strap around to the side, tuck it under the weight belt where you can see and manage it, and then pull it down in back. I haven't tried this technique, because when I dive wet, I only use two pounds, and I put them on the camband straps.

Of course, underlying this whole argument is the concept of a balanced rig. If, with your wing deflated and at sufficient depth to compress your wetsuit, you can swim your rig AND weight belt to the surface, there is little need to have your weight belt easily removable. On the other hand, if you can't, you need to be able to get your weights off at depth, or have redundant buoyancy.

 

[J.R.]

Hello All;

I just got a new DIVE RITE BP (steel, 6 lb) with a Venture wing and I decided to go with a weight belt. Now, my question is; Is it prudent to wear the weight belt under the waist belt? I don't see another practical option. How do you guys wear it?

Well... I got certified in 1970 when we didn't have all this techy equp... the rule then was... the WEIGHT BELT IS THE LAST THING to go on... OVER everything...

Reason: If you have an emergency and need to ditch weight ya' don't want it hanging up in you BC or any other piece of gear ya' got.

I don't see anything that's changed in the past "x'-number of years to change that... even if you're running integrated weight pockets in your BC... being able to ditch a weight belt (assuming you're using both systems)... can allow for a limited weight drop... without incuring the cost of new drop weight pockets... which ain't cheap.

So... unless I'm massively misunderstanding some element of yer' question... my thought would be "NO"...

J.R.

 

[WarrenZ]

I use a weight belt under my intergrated BC for extra weight so If I need to ditch weight I just dump the pockets of the BC

 

[Packhorse]

I have my belt on under my harness. If I need to dump weight it means I need to undo my crotch strap first. Because I dont like intergrated weights and I fit and remove my BP-W in the water quite often this is really the only way I can see of doing it. HAsnt caused me any problems so far.

 

[dannobee]

I'm with Lynne on this one. I dive dry, so it might be different for you, but my belt goes on first. Sometimes I gear up in the water, but my belt still goes on first and I'm still positive.

 

[Cacia]

While I doubt that I would need to drop my weights from depth, I recently wanted to on the surface and so I now wear mine over the harness....also makes getting out of all my gear in the water much safer, if I can hand the belt up first.

I cannot see a downside to having it on the outside, providing you have a reliable buckle.

 

[J.R.]

... as a note regarding the cost of dumping pockets v belt...

I just picked up a pair of spare Seaquest weight pockets (a *just in case* purchase)... if I were to drop weight pockets I'd be out $66.36 just for the pair of pockets... not counting the cost of any weight in em'...

Basic belts are about 10 bucks... plus weight... ... not that I'm cheap or anything...

J.R.

 

[Icarusflies]

Thank you for your feed back.

I have already tried (on land) the belt under the harness, including croch strap, and I could ditch the weight in case of problem but it would take me some more time, maybe 10 sec more. The maximum weight that I should be wearing is 4 X 2 lb so in the works case I should not have much obstruction.