WEIGHTS SELF DUMPING

[morgan]

I have a Dacor Flyt pak BC. It has integrated weights. I have 9 pounds in each pocket. In the last four dives the weights have fallen out of at least one of the pockets, not always the same pocket and never both at the same time. I have not snagged them on anything. One fell out as I descended and another fell out as I was finning. We managed to recover them each time. I put them in the pockets on land, held the BC up and jerked it straight up once and the pockets immediately fell out. I think the velcro is faulty. Any other ideas? It's really unnerving when all of a sudden you're heading for the surface with no weights!!! Anyone else having this problem???

 

[Iguana Don]

Morgan,
Funny you have that problem with the Dacor BC, my wife lost her weight pocket the same way you did on an Extremelle BC. But unfortunately we were unable to recover it. Have tried to order another one from the dealer we purchased it at, but he keeps telling us it's on backorder. Been 2 months now. If this is any indication, Dacor is headed in the same direction as the weight pocket----The Deep Six

 

[morgan]

The dealer told me to buy some new velcro and have someone sew it on. Go figure! I have done so and will be testing it out this weekend. In the meantime I have installed a "dog leash" on each weight so they can't fully drop. If the new velcro works I'll remove the leash.

 

[rye]

Hi,
from the Uk.
I have had the same problem with my Mares dragonfly, fortunatly i was able to keep hold of a large rock while my buddy recovered my weights, to overcome the problem i reduced the amount of weight in the pockets and put some back to my weight belt. I prefer this as it spreads the weight and next time i am at 35m and loose my weights it will not be quite so dramatic.

 

[Mario S Caner]

I don't know about the rest of you but, I'd expect and even demand that a peice of expensive life support equipement work the first time everytime.

Anything less would be uncivilized!
Mario

 

[morgan]

Got the new velcro for my BC and went to a shoe repair store
and had the man sew velcro all over the pocket both sides.
It is really covered now. And it is working. Takes some
doing to release it now. Got the highest rated velcro possible.
Too bad had to do it this way. Not impressed with company
that won't back their product. As for new pockets they seem
like hens teeth to find as well and i agree they are always
on backorder. Good luck in getting your backorder pockets.

 

[scywin]

My first dive instructor specifically recommended not using integrated weight systems. His reasoning was simple. If he ever needed to dump his weights in an emergency, he did not want to hesitate over the gear being expensive or hard to replace. He wanted cheap junk he would not care about or worry about losing. I bought into his reasoning and still use a simple mesh belt with whatever ugly hunks of lead are available at the place I am diving.

Since you already have the BC, why not just forget the weight system and go back to a separate belt? A simple belt works.

 

[Warhammer]

These stories are amazing. I agree with Mario here, they should work right in the first place. I'd never rely on velcro to hold weights in. That's one thing I like about the Zeagle BCs, no velcro. Sure the zipper could come open, but it can easily be tied shut and that eliminates that issue.

 

[Mario S Caner]

The advantages of weight integrated B.C. have been covered in depth on these boards, so I'm reluctant to go back into them. But to hear that an instructor hasn't caught onto it is amazing.

Let me know if you'd like for me to run through the advantages of weight integration once again, and I'd be happy to do so.

Mario

 

[scywin]

I'm rather new to these boards, so I haven't seen the posts you are referring to. Please either point me to the posts or repeat the advantages. Thanks.