Weightbelt with drysuit

[Thalassamania]

I use between 24 and 32 lbs on rubber belt (depending on suit and underwear) and the air gets around fine.

 

[TSandM]

I use 18 pounds on a belt, and I cinch it up tight, and I've never had any problems with air getting from my feet to my valve to vent it.

I prefer to have the weight I carry split between my shoulders and my hips. Makes the rig easier to move around, too.

 

[tstormdiver]

Of the 30#'s of weight I use, I wear part of my weight in my integrated BC (10#'s), & part in a releasable harness (18#'s). The other 2#'s is in ankle weights. I am still new to my drysuit & using the ankle weights as training wheels until I can really get a good feel for how the suit behaves in different situations. It's a pain to try to change tanks with 30# of weight inmy BC & I just don't have the shape to hold a weight belt very well (I can only stand them trying to go around my ankles so many times) .

 

[terrasmak]

Im in the same boat right now , just started diving dry and need to better distribute my weight. Right now i have halcyon ACBs and figure that with a weight belt i will be able to place my weight 4 to 6 inches lower which should remidy my feet from floating as much and keep me away from the ankle weights that i hate.

 

[spectrum]

DUI Weight & Trim. Hang it as low as you want, no fear of it slipping off and it carries the weight better than any belt.

Pete

 

[mattroz]

6 pound plate, HP119, 4-8 pounds depending on undies, on a belt

 

[cummings66]

I use a weight belt with my BP/W steel tank config. Save some money, you won't need suspenders with a drysuit and weight belt because the air will move just fine. Maybe if you used no undergarment I could see some issues, but if you've got an undergarment on you will have no problems.

 

[MSilvia]

I wear 12 lbs on my belt when diving a single steel 72 with a 6 lb SS backplate and drysuit. With doubles, I don't need the belt. In my experience, the belt doesn't cause any problems with gas movement in the suit. If you have to cinch it so tight that it compresses your undergarment enough to form an airtight seal, something's wrong.

 

[CompuDude]

I have a 6 pound backplate, 4 pounds non-ditchable on the cam bands for trim, and 14 pounds on a pocket weight belt. 24 lbs total. I'm a big guy (tall, not fat), though, so I displace quite a bit of water and it takes some real weight to sink me. I like that I can drop my belt (-14 lbs) and still keep some weight on me. With the pocket belt design, I could also drop individual weights quite easily.

I remove 2 lbs from the belt (12 lbs on the belt)when diving wet in my 7mm. (swap out a pair of 5 lb'ers for 4 lb'ers)