Weight Belt with BP/Wing Help?

[HoosierDiver]

Over the weekend I made my second dive with my BP/Wing and I'm having a problem trying to figure out how to wear my lead. Both dives were in a 2-piece 7mm (drysuit should arrive this week) and in addition to the SS BP I need about 22-24lbs of lead with my single AL80.

I've tried two different weight belts, one was a 5 pocket belt with 3 5lb and 2 4lb pouches, and the other was a standard weight belt with 2 12lb hard weights. The problems I had were that the weight belt would interfere with the waist strap of the BP harness, the weights would get in the way of the BP, the buckle of the weight belt would get in the way, and the weight would cause me to be more vertical than horizontal.

Since I'm used to my Seaquest Pro QD, I'm used to having the weight integrated and generally not even wearing a belt, and when I do wear a weight belt it's usually when I'm helping out with pool sessions or open water sessions when it's warm enough for my Microprene and I only need about 4-6lbs.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Rick Murchison]

There are several options. First, determine how much ditchable weight you need to carry, and only put that much in the weight belt. you can distribute the rest in the best way to make your trim right - for example, you can carry 10 pounds in the belt and strap a couple of six pounders to the tank with a cam band. You can position the cam wherever you want to on the tank to give you the best fore/aft trim. Or you could mount a few pounds on your harness in various places - whatever works for you...
A steel tank's a good idea too.
Rick

 

[trymixdiver]

When your Drysuit comes in you will need more weight if your using that AL80, which is exacly why you should be diving a steel tank if your diving dry. If your diving dry, you really should go to a steel100 or bigger.

You can cam some weight to your tank, but a steel tank will eliminate the need for that. I woulnt attach any weight to your harness at all. You could use some ankle weights as well.

to sum up:

1. get a steel tank if your diving dry

2. Ankle weights can distribute weight from your waist to your ankles

3. Your weight belt should contain just enough weight to allow you to assend at a safe rate if you need to drop your weight belt.

4. and most importantly, lead underwear

TMD

 

[Scubaroo]

Hi HoosierDiver,

I've just been through exactly what you're doing - gone from a SeaQuest Pro QD to a SS backplate, wearing a 7mm suit. With an aluminum tank and the Pro QD, I needed TWENTY EIGHT pounds of lead to get me under. With the backplate I'm down to 14, and am hoping to get that down to 10 shortly.

How?

1. Steel backplate - 6 pounds
2. Steel 95 LP tank - weighs 3 pounds negative at end of dive, not 3 pounds positive, so that's another "6 pounds"
3. Better bouyancy control with the wing - no trapped air like the jacket style Pro QD, worth say 2 pounds of bouyancy

That's 14 pounds less weight I need to wear on a belt. I've HALVED my weight requirements. I also bought the Halcyon ACB+ (Active Control Ballast), which are integrated weight pockets designed for the Halcyon backplate, which attach to the backplate and the waist webbing. There are 10 pound pocket and 15 pound pocket versions (a total of 20 and 30 pounds respectively). Once I get off my butt and send off the money for a single tank adapter (worth another 4 or 5 pounds), I'll be able to go down to 10 pounds of ditchable weight - about as low as I want to go.

The ACB is not cheap for what you get, so if money is a constraint, look for an aftermarket ditchable weight pocket setup - can't think of anything offhand, but I'm sure I've seen something. As always Leisure Pro is a good spot to start researching. Plus I'm not sure what backplate you have, and the Halcyon has custom holes for attaching the ACB, so you might want to check compatibility.

cheers,

Ben

 

[HoosierDiver]

Thanks for the tips. I'm actually using the Halcyon BP with the 27lbs Pioneer wing. After my first dive I immediately decided I didn't like the new Pioneer's integrated STA, so I immediately ordered the regular STA, and after diving with it I'm glad I did, the improvement in the stability of the rig was tenfold IMHO.

I've also ordered a Steel 95, but unfortunately my LDS said that Dive Rite has a back order on DIN K-valves, so I'm stuck with my AL80 until that comes in.

I have considered breaking down and ordering Halcyon's ACB weight system, but I was curious to see what other options I had first (considering I probably have about 100lbs of weight lying around in various shapes and sizes).

I also need to take time to see exactly what my weight requirements are now that I've switched to the BP/wing setup, but it's so hot to try and jump in the pool in a 2-piece 7mm with hood and gloves and the outside air temps with the windchill have been so cold recently that when I do dive I just want to get in and get down and not hang out at the surface fine tuning my weight.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by trymixdiver
I woulnt attach any weight to your harness at all.

I'm curious as to your reasoning here TMD. The SS backplate is certainly weight attached to the harness, and it's a very stable place to put some more if you need it.
Rick

 

[MnLakeDiver]

I dove a ss bp/wing setup last fall and added 2 ditchable wieght pouches each holding 12 lbs then added 1 5lb weight to each side of my harness to adjust trim. my LDS carrys the pouches that thred on the cam straps I think they were $12 each and held standerd hard weights.

 

[Lost Yooper]

I have integrated all of my weight for both doubles and for my single 95. You can do this with a drysuit, and you should strive for a balanced rig that you swim up with a full tank. If all else fails, the drysuit will get you up. Ben has done what I would do with a wetsuit which is to integrate some weight, but still keep enough ditchable weight so you can swim up. That looks to be a perfect example, Ben.



Mike

 

[HoosierDiver]

I'm curious about the Halcyon ACB weight system, and it wasn't obvious (to me) from the website, are the plates either 15lbs each, or 10lbs each (ACB+). Or are there multiple plates that let you use different combinations up to 15lbs (or 10lbs).

 

[Scubaroo]

The ACB weight system is a pair of weight pockets, that you fill with your own hard or soft weights. The pockets come in two sizes - max of 10 lb per pocket, or max of 15 lb per pocket. The 15 lb size also has a buckle on one of the pockets for attaching a canister light. The pockets have ditchable pouches that contain the weight - if you want to dump some weight, unclip the pocket, pull the pouch out, and drop it on the diver you didn't see below you And because you can dump one pocket at a time, you reduce the risk of an uncontrolled ascent that you might experience with ditching a weightbelt containing all of your weight (imagine losing 28 lb at once with a jacket BC! You'd launch yourself into the air when you hit the surface).

If you use soft weights, they hold less - my "10 lb" pockets only hold 7 lb of soft weights, as soft weights are bulkier than hard weights. Luckily I only need 7 per pocket, and will reduce that to 5 per pocket once I get my STA. The pockets are stiff enough that the difference in comfort between hard and soft weights is negligble.