weight belts

[otter-cat]

Sorry, UP, I was counting negative bouyancy of bp's and steel tanks as "weight worn." If you don't count those, then I know others besides you who wear less than 20 lbs, but not without that steel bp and tank. My 40 lbs is when using a shop AL80 and a jacket style bc. I wear correspondingly less lead when using a steel tank and/or bp.

otter-cat

 

[Uncle Pug]

otter-cat once bubbled...
, I wear correspondingly less lead when using a steel tank and/or bp.

Sorry, otter-cat ... I wasn't trying to be right (I'm starting to get a complex about that)...

And the point is well taken... cold water environments require more weight.

I dropped a lot of weight going from Aluminum to Steel tanks and more going from the Ranger to a BP/wing and then again shed a bunch by keeping as much gas as possible out of the drysuit.

But if I were diving a wetsuit (sufficient for the PNW) with an AL80 and jacket BC I probably would be wearing a lot more weight. It wouldn't necessarily mean I was a bad diver... it just takes more weight.

And not everyone can afford to rush out and buy all new gear to get weight off the belt.

 

[neil]

WreckWriter once bubbled...

45 lbs of weight and some idiot is going to certify you as a DM? Hah! Go take a refresher instead.
Tom

Didn't you say you weren't going to post on this forum again? Got my hopes up. Oh well. I may not be an "expert" in dive training, but I've certified a couple hundred divers in cold water and the average weight that I use, for a person of "average" body fat, is 10% of body weight plus 5 or 6 lbs. Some use less, some more. This is with 7mm suit, AL 80 tank, and hood. We should always tell beginners to constantly re-evaluate how much weight they need.

Scubadog,
I've seen divers use cam-buckle straps to put lead weights on their tanks. Seems like something worth trying. They had them tight to the backpack, probably close to where the wt. would be if you had a backplate.
Neil

 

[WreckWriter]

neil once bubbled...


Didn't you say you weren't going to post on this forum again? Got my hopes up. Oh well. I may not be an "expert" in dive training, but I've certified a couple hundred divers in cold water and the average weight that I use, for a person of "average" body fat, is 10% of body weight plus 5 or 6 lbs. Some use less, some more. This is with 7mm suit, AL 80 tank, and hood. We should always tell beginners to constantly re-evaluate how much weight they need.

Scubadog,
I've seen divers use cam-buckle straps to put lead weights on their tanks. Seems like something worth trying. They had them tight to the backpack, probably close to where the wt. would be if you had a backplate.
Neil

Sorry to disappoint you neil. Didn't PADI tell you that the old "10% rule" doesn't apply? I guess not since you not only use that but go beyond it. Based on your theory, 45 pounds is just about right, if one weighs 400 lbs!

There you go neil, strap that extra lead to her tank, great idea! No it's not only there but also unditchable.

Overweighting students is lazy instruction, nothing more, nothing less. Teach proper buoyancy and comfort in the water instead and your liability insurance might not be the most important bill you pay every year.

Tom

 

[WreckWriter]

While I believed your original intentions in this discussion were to promote safe SCUBA

What other reasons could I possibly have? I guess I could be an ultra-environmentalist who thinks dive lead is poisoning the oceans? Nah.

You do nothing to refute my assessment of the many different factors (thickness of neoprene, wet vs. dry suits, body-fat percentage) that contribute to the amount of weight needed by an individual.

You're right, I do nothing to refute these because they're all true. All of these factors DO increase the amount of lead required, I don't dispute that. It's only in the quantity that we differ.

Does that seem like a more "possible" weight to you?

It still seems like too much but I've seen worse.

My original statement, that 50 lbs of weight is hazardous, is completely valid. By trying to refute that you only promote lazy and unsafe diving habits in divers who are in their formative days where they should be learning better.

Tom

 

[Diversauras]

The viz went way down after someone stirred the pot.

Are you wearing steel tank(s)? If not then that is the first place to get rid of some of the belt weight.

As for what will fit in an integrated system? I have a Glide+ and it will hold 30, with 10 of that un ditchable. Un ditchable is only a problem if you cant shed enough to get buoyant and for the life of me I don't understand why anyone would want to dump all the weight they were carrying and do that polaris thing. Dumping part and controlling the acsent makes far more sense to me.

 

[Uncle Pug]

... embedded in my last post is a formula for taking weight off the cold water diver.

BTW Scbua~dog.... to bad we didn't connect while I was in Victoria in July vamping for someone to go diving with!

 

[neil]

WreckWriter once blew out his butt...

Sorry to disappoint you neil. Didn't PADI tell you that the old "10% rule" doesn't apply? I guess not since you not only use that but go beyond it. Based on your theory, 45 pounds is just about right, if one weighs 400 lbs!
There you go neil, strap that extra lead to her tank, great idea! No it's not only there but also unditchable.
Overweighting students is lazy instruction, nothing more, nothing less. Teach proper buoyancy and comfort in the water instead and your liability insurance might not be the most important bill you pay every year.
Tom

tom

tom, If I strap lead to her tank in the same position that a BP would be, what would be the difference? Huh, tom? A non ditchable 9 lb. SS plate, or 9 lbs fastened to a tank strapped to a plastic backpack.

Actually, tom, the most important bill I pay every year is the taxes on the scads of dough I make teaching scuba!

NEIL