what would you do in this situation?

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've had it happen to me, actually ... long time ago when I used to use an integrated weight BCD.

Key thing is to react promptly. If you can grab something on the bottom, signal your buddy to retrieve the weight pouch and attempt to replace it. If that's not possible, dump all the air you can and begin (the inevitable) buoyant ascent ... which is what I had to do.

- Flair out as much as possible to provide as much resistance to the water as you can.
- Keep breathing ... breathe off the "bottom" of your lungs, inhaling as little as possible ... remember that each inhale is going to increase your buoyancy.
- Continuously dump air from your BCD (and drysuit if you're wearing one) to minimize your positive buoyancy.
- Upon surfacing, if an O2 kit is available, get on it and breathe it all. Monitor yourself for DCS symptoms, and don't waste your time in denial if you feel something that might be a symptom ... seek treatment promptly.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[LavaSurfer]

I lost a weight with my Drysuit once and I was fortunate enough to have it land on a platform and it was brought to me before I surfaced. I grabbed hold of a line and held myself down.I had only lost 5 lbs so it wasn't a huge problem and it was early in the dive so I was a bit heavy anyway. End of dive would have been different. The weight was in a pocket on my tank strap and I wasn't very careful about making sure the velcro was locked down. My bad!

Now when dry I make sure my weight is secure and most is on a belt.

To answer the question what would I do?
It all depends. If there were a line or wall, grab on and take a normal ascent.
No line or wall, as Thalassamania said, flare and dump.
Maybe kick down but that depends. What level of exertion am I putting out and increasing the risk of a hit over a relaxed flare and surface. If I were able to kick to a hold then I may try.

There are so many factors to consider like how long had I been down? Was this my deepest? What's the water temp?

 

[Thalassamania]

When we first started approving drysuits for use (this is back in the early 1970s) we did some tests. Freediving, in a drysuit (we tested Unisuits, Vikings and an O'Neil Supersuit), with no weightbelt, we rode a clump weight down to a 60 foot bottom, let go and flared. All the ascents we tested were under 60FPM, except for the O'Neil and that was because it lacked an exhaust valve.

 

[LavaSurfer]

When we first started approving drysuits for use (this is back in the early 1970s) we did some tests. Freediving, in a drysuit (we tested Unisuits, Vikings and an O'Neil Supersuit), with no weightbelt, we rode a clump weight down to a 60 foot bottom, let go and flared. All the ascents we tested were under 60FPM, except for the O'Neil and that was because it lacked an exhaust valve.

Freedive? no tanks at all? Or just no weights?

 

[Thalassamania]

Freedive? no tanks at all? Or just no weights?

No tanks no weight, BIG clump weight for the ride down.

 

[LavaSurfer]

No tanks no weight, BIG clump weight for the ride down.

Man, I am feeling the squeeze.
I bet they sang an octave higher when they surfaced

 

[Thalassamania]

The Viking was painful, the other two were fine.

 

[SNorman]

12 pounds seems like a lot, but I usually have 10 lbs in each weight pocket so it's not too far off. However now that I've brought my weight down to 24 from 30 (all removed from the trim pouches) I think I can redistribute the weight a bit now.

I lost one of my 10 lb pouches on my AOW deep dive (95') and didn't know it until I couldn't hold the safety stop. Luckily we did make a very slow ascent and I was at the safety stop depth for a minute or two before I couldn't stay down any more.

So, where do you guys wear your weight if your BCD is not weight integrated? 25-30 pounds seems a bit much for a weight belt. Or do you do some in the BCD and some on the weight belt? If you're using BP/W obviously it's easier to do that but I don't think that's an immediate option for most of us.

 

[evil_xander]

So, where do you guys wear your weight if your BCD is not weight integrated? 25-30 pounds seems a bit much for a weight belt. Or do you do some in the BCD and some on the weight belt? If you're using BP/W obviously it's easier to do that but I don't think that's an immediate option for most of us.

I now use a SS BP/W, and I wish it was an option initially, but I just had to go and burn money on a jacket BC because nobody told me better...So, it IS weight integrated, but a very foolproof system.

OTOH, I now need only 2kg on my belt, with the 2 piece 5mm wetsuit vs 8kg with the standard jacket BC, so I don't have a problem with that. My drysuit should arrive next week and then I'll have to add more, that will probably change things a bit, depending on the amount.

Having any type of a BC with as little fabric & plastic as possible also helps as you need less lead to sink/keep a stop. But, that's completly different topic...