Weight system for BP&W?

[Neilwood]

I have a BP&W set up and love using it. I have had no problems up until now with diving with a weightbelt ( with about 8-10kg worn under the harness) and 2 IST pockets on the belt with 3Kg in each of ditchable weight.

I am now diving with a new group and some of their divers have expressed concerns at the configurations with the view that they would not be able to easily ditch the weight in the event of an emergency. My view is that the removal of the pocket weight would make me positively buoyant. They would like to see a different set up though.

I have tried the belt over the harness and found it to be a pain as it is more liable to slip (particularly since I changed to a drysuit the belt is moving a lot more than it ever did with a wetsuit).

Anyone got good experience with a weight harness worn under a BP&W harness? If so what particular type?

 

[Marie13]

DUI makes a weight harness that seems to work really well.

 

[tbone1004]

have them explain to you why they think ditching 6kg of weight is insufficient because if you drop that much you are coming up like a trident missile

 

[Neilwood]

have them explain to you why they think ditching 6kg of weight is insufficient because if you drop that much you are coming up like a trident missile

I did try to. I think the counter was that in a rescue situation on the surface they would want my weight ditched but retain the BP&W. As said I did try weight belt over the harness but the belt was liable to slip down (I have a bit of a belly but small ass meaning that there isn't much for it to "rest on") . Having it captive inside the harness solved that problem.

The other option as Marie sugests is something like the DUI harness but not sure how well it would work with the BP&W harness.

 

[RainPilot]

I wear max 2 kg weight. If I drop it at the surface I am 2kg positive. Would your friends say that's not enough?

You would be 6kg positive. To achieve that I would need an airbag system.

 

[Marie13]

DUI harness goes under BP/W and weight on it is ditchable.

 

[tbone1004]

I did try to. I think the counter was that in a rescue situation on the surface they would want my weight ditched but retain the BP&W. As said I did try weight belt over the harness but the belt was liable to slip down (I have a bit of a belly but small ass meaning that there isn't much for it to "rest on") . Having it captive inside the harness solved that problem.

The other option as Marie sugests is something like the DUI harness but not sure how well it would work with the BP&W harness.

you're still going to be quite positive in that scenario and you're going ot be slipped out of your rig in the water if they actually know how to rescue someone. I wouldn't change based on that personally. Argument there is that you are not always going to be diving with lead if you change tank configurations so why plan on something for a specific situation vs adapting.

 

[VsubT]

The other option as Marie sugests is something like the DUI harness but not sure how well it would work with the BP&W harness.

A DUI harness is a solid solution for this situation. I've used one for a few years now with a Halcyon Infinity BP/W with no problems. It also has the advantage of only ditching one side at a time if that's best. If you're tired of weight belts that slip down, it's a great piece of gear.

Don't let the skinny folks fool you. Some of us actually need weights to get the right buoyancy, especially in cold water. It is what it is, so get the right tools for the job once you figure out what's right for you.

Lance

 

[doctormike]

I did try to. I think the counter was that in a rescue situation on the surface they would want my weight ditched but retain the BP&W.

What are your group's plans if you start diving steel doubles (twinset), and you don't need any weight at all?

Ditching 6 kg should be more than enough to make you positively buoyant at the surface (I guess maybe not if your dry suit is flooded, but that's planning for two failures). And as you probably know, there are very few scenarios where you would ditch weight at depth if you are properly weighted to begin with.

 

[Akimbo]

have them explain to you why they think ditching 6kg of weight is insufficient because if you drop that much you are coming up like a trident missile

I experimented and found that I could control a 60'/minute (standard at the time) ascent pretty easily dropping up to 10Kg/22Lbs. I would use that same rate anytime an emergency ascent significant enough to drop lead was warranted. The point is not that 10Kg is the magic number. Divers need to experiment in shallow water to find their upper limit for themselves and develop to techniques to control ascent... during an emergency ascent is NOT the time to do it.