Weighting options with BP/W setup

[tech3324]

I have a Mako rubber belt with the tinman weights and I absolutely love it. Also, those guys at Mako are very military friendly, so that's a +2 in my book.

I 2nd the recommendation for the Mako rubber belt with tin man weights. Knives / Lights / Weights & Belts / Accessories I wear the belt under my crotch strap and it will pull free should it need to be dropped. The belt is absolutely secure on the waist and the rubber provides good friction to the drysuit so the belt never sags or moves during a dive. This is by far the best weight belt I have ever used and I've tried a few.

 

[dive_turkey]

I 2nd the recommendation for the Mako rubber belt with tin man weights. Knives / Lights / Weights & Belts / Accessories I wear the belt under my crotch strap and it will pull free should it need to be dropped. The belt is absolutely secure on the waist and the rubber provides good friction to the drysuit so the belt never sags or moves during a dive. This is by far the best weight belt I have ever used and I've tried a few.

I'm having trouble visualizing "under crotch strap", could you clarify? So your harness buckle is higher on your torso than the rubber belt? Currently I wear my mako high above my kidneys, just below my chest. With my ranger, this helps with my trim. My ditch-able weight being in the pockets of my BC (bp/w is being delivered soon so I can convert as well).

 

[Ricky B]

I 2nd the recommendation for the Mako rubber belt with tin man weights. Knives / Lights / Weights & Belts / Accessories I wear the belt under my crotch strap and it will pull free should it need to be dropped. The belt is absolutely secure on the waist and the rubber provides good friction to the drysuit so the belt never sags or moves during a dive. This is by far the best weight belt I have ever used and I've tried a few.

Are you referring to the MAKO Freedive Weight Belt? I watched the videos on the site and it looks like a great idea. At first, I thought that the conventional-looking buckle would not be quick release, but the video shows it's spring-loaded so it allows one-handed release. It's not much more costly than a canvas belt, and the weights won't slide around on it. The Tin Man weights look like a good idea too.

 

[dive_turkey]

Yes. Also, I like to leave a long tail that I secure with tire tubing. Once my belt is buckled I put the tail through the tube and pull it all the way, like a normal belt tail. Then I turn it back the other way and slide it through the same tube again, so it is doubled back on itself with about 8" directly in front to grab onto. You can pull it straight off for a quick drop.

 

[Ricky B]

ideally, you should be weighted in such a way that you are able to swim to the surface without ditching any weight (Andy has a good page about the "balanced rig" concept).

I looked at Andy's page. Very helpful. According to what he writes:

Any weight that you need to reduce to make the ascent comfortable will indicate the amount of weight that you must retain on your weight belt for emergency ditching. The weight you are comfortable to swim up can be integrated in a non-detachable manner to your configuration (i.e., backplate, trim weights).

So, in theory, if one could comfortably swim up without removing any weight, all the weight could go on the backplate/harness, and one could forgo a weight belt entirely. But, as was pointed out earlier in this thread, if you have to doff your rig for any reason, you'll be positively buoyant and the rig might be negatively buoyant (unless you add air to the wing). So to keep from floating up in the event of doffing, it would be a good idea to wear a weight belt with some weight on it, wouldn't it?

---------- Post added March 14th, 2014 at 11:23 PM ----------

Yes. Also, I like to leave a long tail that I secure with tire tubing. Once my belt is buckled I put the tail through the tube and pull it all the way, like a normal belt tail. Then I turn it back the other way and slide it through the same tube again, so it is doubled back on itself with about 8" directly in front to grab onto. You can pull it straight off for a quick drop.

This sounds like a good idea. You thread the belt through the tubing, right? How wide is the tire tubing?

 

[dive_turkey]

I cut it about ½" to ¾" thick. Also, I put 5 or 6 on there in case of breakage. Installing the tinman weights can be annoying, and I don't want to have to take them all off and put them all back because of a broken tube loop.

Just make sure you only use one loop.

 

[ams511]

The ones from DGX are a little cheaper:

BC Accessory Pockets by Dive Rite - Dive Gear Express

even cheaper

Scubapro X-Tek Counter Weight Pockets, Pair at LeisurePro

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

I 2nd the recommendation for the Mako rubber belt with tin man weights. Knives / Lights / Weights & Belts / Accessories I wear the belt under my crotch strap and it will pull free should it need to be dropped. The belt is absolutely secure on the waist and the rubber provides good friction to the drysuit so the belt never sags or moves during a dive. This is by far the best weight belt I have ever used and I've tried a few.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback. A rubber freedive belt (like I sell) is nothing new. It is more or less standard configuration for most freedivers for 30 + years. However, for some reason, scuba divers are just now becoming enlightened to the benefits of the product.

It has several significant benefits (for both freedivers and scuba divers) most of which have been mentioned:

• Significantly reduced opportunity for the belt to slip and slide around on your waist
• Automatic depth compensation is provided by the elasticity of the belt (so no more tightening on the bottom when the suit is compressed).
• The ability to wear the belt low on the hips, which allows easier breathing
• The buckle itself is quick release, yet very secure.
• The Tinman weights will not slide or migrate during use or normal handling of the belt.
• These features work to prevent the need to over tighten the belt at the surface, which can cause (plastic) buckles to pop up, allows people who are NOT hour-glass shaped to actually wear a weightbelt, provides a significant improvement in comfort, and allows the belt to be worn in several different locations, and these can be adjusted during a long day of diving to help reduce low back fatigue.
• ​

Realize that freedivers must be able to ditch their lead immediately in an emergency. They MUST be able to breath fully and easily and they often spend 3-6 hours a day in the water while wearing the belt... so it has to be comfortable..

Also, if you are thinking of trying one of our belts, you should also be made aware of our safety/replacement policy:

MAKO FREE REPLACEMENT/SAFETY POLICY

To our valued customers: MAKO Spearguns recognizes that diving (both freediving and SCUBA) are potentially dangerous activities. We have all heard of tragic accidents where a diver is found on the bottom while still wearing a weight belt. We hope and pray that should any of our customers find themselves in a situation where ditching a belt may be necessary, that there is no delay and the belt is dropped immediately.

In many situations a belt is recoverable, however if your MAKO Spearguns belt and lead and/or Tinman weights are ditched (and lost) in a true emergency…. I will replace them at our cost.

The last thing we want is our customers considering the cost of a lost belt in an emergency. The only thing we ask is that the individual shares with us (and our friends and customers) some sort of write-up about how the situation developed and how it was resolved. That way, we can all learn and be reminded to keep safety in the forefront of our minds.

Dive safe,
Dano

 

[dive_turkey]

This sounds like a good idea. You thread the belt through the tubing, right? How wide is the tire tubing?

Just finished up a dive with my belt, and while we were getting suited up a snapped a couple of quick pics for you. Looks like my inner tube loops might be closer to 1" than I thought. Also, you can see that I have four or five on there, and that I'm using the first one.

 

[tech3324]

I'm having trouble visualizing "under crotch strap", could you clarify? So your harness buckle is higher on your torso than the rubber belt? Currently I wear my mako high above my kidneys, just below my chest. With my ranger, this helps with my trim. My ditch-able weight being in the pockets of my BC (bp/w is being delivered soon so I can convert as well).

I wear the Mako weight belt on my waist at normal height but with the buckle oriented to the right so I don't confuse it with the harness buckle. The BP harness goes above (not on top of) the weight belt and the crotch strap goes over the weight belt. I don the weight belt first then the BP&W. The crotch strap does go on top the weight belt but I could pull the weight belt free due to the low profile shape of the weights.