Weight distribution with a lightweight backplate

[boulderjohn]

Two pockets on each cam band, or one on each? Not quite following your description.

Sorry. I should have been more descriptive. On the top cam band, a single weight pocket is by my right shoulder. On the lower cam band, a single weight pocket is near my left kidney. Doing this requires me to put the cam bands through my single tank adapter in opposite directions.

 

[Bababui]

Agree with both of these. I like to have a little ditchable weight, and the waist pockets allow for that, as well as for trimming out nicely. You can get a well made and inexpensive AL plate here:

Backplates and Accessories

I have 2 of the aluminum and 1 of their steel, and have been using them for about 13 years. No need to pay outrageous prices for them. You can take these suggestions as a starting point, but ultimately you will have to experiment a little and find out what works for you with regard to proper weighting for NB and trim. With a steel plate I use 2 1# in the upper tank band pockets snugged right up to the plate, and 2 1# weights in the waist pockets. With the AL I use 2 3# weights on the tank band, and 2 1# on the waist. This is with a full 3mm wetsuit and aluminum tank.

I thought there was some direction that we should have 2/3s of our weight that is 'ditchable' in front pockets and the remaining 1/3 in pockets behind on the cam band for single tank dives. Is there a general 'rule' that is good to follow?

 

[boulderjohn]

I thought there was some direction that we should have 2/3s of our weight that is 'ditchable' in front pockets and the remaining 1/3 in pockets behind on the cam band for single tank dives. Is there a general 'rule' that is good to follow?

Lots of people have lots of suggestions. There is no real general rule.

When I dived with a BCD with shoulder level trim pockets (ScubaPro Nighthawk), I generally distributed my weight evenly between the hip-level front pockets and the trim pockets. When diving with a backplate these days, I generally have no ditchable weight.

 

[inquis]

Is there a general 'rule' that is good to follow?

Be able to swim up after a catastrophic wing failure. In most cases, this is possible without ditchable weight.

 

[stiebs]

There's also this other novel idea, where you can take a straight section of webbing similar to your harness, and then thread it through the slits of a couple of weights, and then use a buckle to secure it around your waist. Best thing is most dive operators around the world already have these ready to use!

 

[NitroxSam]

I thought there was some direction that we should have 2/3s of our weight that is 'ditchable' in front pockets and the remaining 1/3 in pockets behind on the cam band for single tank dives. Is there a general 'rule' that is good to follow?

I don't really follow any general rules with regard to weight distribution and ditchable vs non ditchable. I just put it where it works best for me. It does seem, however, that I end up with about 20-30% of the total weight carried as ditchable, in the small waist pockets on the harness, with the rest on the upper tank band. If using a BP/harness I also count the approximate weight of the plate in my overall weight.