View Full Version : Weight Harness Problems
I was on the Hispania about a month ago and felt the release loop on my Northern Diver weight pouch snag on an obstruction. I stopped, checked the pouch and continued the dive. About a minute later I went buoyant and had to finish the dive by crawling hand over hand to the shotline. (Thanks again to DavieG for pointing out where the shot was!)
I could not believe that given the amount of velcro in the pouch system that it had worked lose but I have now totally lost faith in the Northern Diver harness and have disposed of it.
Does anybody have any advice on how they configure their weights and secure them? Are there any good click-release products out there. I cannot put all my weight on a belt or shotbelt because I am too thin to keep such items above my backside.
I cannot put all my weight on a belt or pouch because I am too thin to keep such items above my backside.
Some of us wish we had your problem......
buy the twin set you keep saying your going to & problem solved.:D
alexmaclennan
13-03-07, 23:54
I bought a DUI harness on eBay. There are four pouches with heavy duty velcro covers. The weights are released by pulling a plastic covered line out of a series of eyelets. Hasn't let me down in ?60/80 dives
alex
I've got a Bowstone harness. Two pouches secured with Velcro & press-studs. Never had any problem in 150+ dives with it. I rinse it thoroughly after each trip & remove any detritus from the Velcro.
http://www.bowstonediving.com/store/images/items/quickrelea-16-2-2004-21-9-2.jpg
Lizardland
14-03-07, 01:21
I've always thought being able to ditch weight on a drysuit dive was really not a favourable plan of action.
Like Stewart says, when I dive my twinset then all my weight is integrated into my kit. None of it is ditchable. Unfortunately it isn't ideal for RIB diving. I take it off in the water, clip it to a grabline and then lift it in myself once I'm in the boat.
Unfortunately I haven't managed to do the same with my rebreather so have to have about 6lbs on a weightbelt until I get time to cast some weights to sit in the unit.
I use a freediving weightbelt. These are made from rubber rather than webbing. I found with normal belts that when you descend then the belt gets a lot of slack in it. The rubber belt contracts as you descend so you don't have any chance of it falling off. Even if the buckle comes undone there is enough friction from the rubber to stop it undoing.
When I used to use a heavier belt I had a fastex clip attached to it. I had another clip on the waistband of my harness and clipped the two together when I put the belt on. If it came free then it would just hang there but if you wanted to release it then you just needed to pinch the clips.
Cheers,
Stuart
I I cannot put all my weight on a belt or shotbelt because I am too thin to keep such items above my backside.
For those of us who are too short for their given weight (sounds better than too heavy for given height!), can you please stop boasting and eat more pies?
Thank you! :D
For those of us who are too short for their given weight (sounds better than too heavy for given height!), can you please stop boasting and eat more pies?
Well stated: free pies should be dished out to all CA.com affiliates! :)
I still need weight in my harness despite now having twins. :o
My best advice is to night dive with alex mac: he always generously shares the feast that Mrs mac prepares for him... yum! :D
Coming diving on Thu night, alex? ;)
craigdiver
14-03-07, 10:08
I was on the Hispania about a month ago and felt the release loop on my Northern Diver weight pouch snag on an obstruction. I stopped, checked the pouch and continued the dive. About a minute later I went buoyant and had to finish the dive by crawling hand over hand to the shotline. (Thanks again to DavieG for pointing out where the shot was!)
I could not believe that given the amount of velcro in the pouch system that it had worked lose but I have now totally lost faith in the Northern Diver harness and have disposed of it.
Does anybody have any advice on how they configure their weights and secure them? Are there any good click-release products out there. I cannot put all my weight on a belt or shotbelt because I am too thin to keep such items above my backside.
Had the same problem with the ND harness, I have no idea how I lost one of the pouches, just thought all of a sudden - I feel light, dump, dump dump (air)- hello surface! (controlled:rolleyes: ).
Did not use harness after that, upgraded my BCD to one with integrated weights - much better as release toggle is designed not to snag on anything.
Craig
Thanks for the replies. I will have a look at the bowstone and dui products when I get the chance. I am currently using integrated pouches on a Beaver Lightning BCD, but have taken 2kg out of the pouches and put it on a standard weight belt. If I could get a hold of one of the rubber weight belts that was referred to then I would be tempted to put another 2kg on the belt. I think that 5kg per pouch is probably too much and if I can get it down to 3kg per pouch there would be less strain on the securing velcro.
A few options on here GerryO
apnea.co.uk (http://www.apnea.co.uk/products/index.php?cPath=2_48)
Lizardland
14-03-07, 13:05
A few options on here GerryO
apnea.co.uk (http://www.apnea.co.uk/products/index.php?cPath=2_48)
Apnea is a really good shop. They are based in St Helier so they are a bit cheaper than mainland shops. Neil, the guy who runs it, is really helpful, I've been in a few times when I've been there.
Cheers,
Stuart
alexmaclennan
14-03-07, 13:47
Well stated: free pies should be dished out to all CA.com affiliates! :)
I still need weight in my harness despite now having twins. :o
My best advice is to night dive with alex mac: he always generously shares the feast that Mrs mac prepares for him... yum! :D
Coming diving on Thu night, alex? ;)
Thursday is aff as Mrs Mac is out with her girlfriends. This gives me the chance to put on the frilly apron and get on with some uninterrrupted housework. Heavenly.
alex
I had a horrible experience with a weight belt,it was in the forth (my first dive after passing my open water) one of the clips broke on it and it was round my knees my buddy didn't notice and finned off,i was lying on the bottom (it was only 13 metres)wrestling with this belt on my lonesome and i wasn't liking being alone on my first proper dive,i was panic breathing and emptied my cylinder pretty quickly,never wore one since.
After that episode i bought a scubapro glide 2000 bcd with integrated weights held in by buckles (alot more secure than the velcro),i had 5 kilo's of shot bags in each pocket and 2 kilo's in each rear pocket for the first few dives and gradually removed some each time,now i get away with 10 kilo's altogether.
loudy
I think that 5kg per pouch is probably too much and if I can get it down to 3kg per pouch there would be less strain on the securing velcro.
hit the nail on the head...
one of the most common traits of 'self deploying' integrated pouches comes from user overload.
seen it happen a few times now.
redneck scenario:-
owwwarrrr, new weeiight belt, peeece ov papur wiff instructionzz.. dont need no papur to tell meee how to wear weeiight belt..hell am a diveer meee, i am!
but on the piece of paper is the weight limit for the pouches.
sometimes the instructions are worth reading.
stevie1262
14-03-07, 19:07
The older integrated weight systems used on BC's seem to have the same problem, I was forever picking up my mates Weightpouch from his Scubapro harness, eventually he made up a shock cord loop and clip to secure it, kinda defeats the purpose of being able to dump weight in an emergency if you have to faff about with clips and buckles, I use a Ralftech Weight harness when on OC, , it has been ok, never lost a pouch...main problem is getting into a RIB, i normally leave my weight harness on and climb in...not good practice but getting the weights out is a nightmare, the DUI system mentioned is good but a pain to restring (my mate uses one).
The Harness is a lot comfier to wear, but you have to ensure with a standard BC that the releases arent obscured or covered over...beats a weightbelt
(when Diving in the Red Sea with my RB I handed it up into the boat without removing my weights from my harness....as I do with my Drysuit on....ooops! forgot I only had a 3mm wetsuit on, nearly another descent to the seabed...)
dive granny
14-03-07, 23:14
Apnea is a really good shop. They are based in St Helier so they are a bit cheaper than mainland shops. Neil, the guy who runs it, is really helpful, I've been in a few times when I've been there.
Cheers,
Stuart
Apnea is a funny name for the shop. Apn(o)ea is lack of oxygen!
Lizardland
15-03-07, 10:38
Apnea is a funny name for the shop. Apn(o)ea is lack of oxygen!
Close but no cigar :D
Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen, apnoea is a cessation breathing: the posh name for breath-holding when talking about diving. Apnea is a freediving/spearfishing shop, they do a bit of dive kit but it's mostly wetsuits, spearguns, big fins and other freediving related stuff. It's a really big sport in the Channel Islands.
Cheers,
Stuart
I also have ND harness, and i lost a weight pouch when exiting at furnace quarry, I blamed my buddy(novice) for grabbing the release handle to pull herself out when we exited over the rocks at the end of the dive. btw they are still there.
I am looking for some other system, still like the idea of a harness, but dont like the fact that to clear it from under my BCD i have to extend the straps and have the pouches sitting on my hips.
mad major
dive granny
15-03-07, 23:31
Close but no cigar :D
Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen, apnoea is a cessation breathing: the posh name for breath-holding when talking about diving. Apnea is a freediving/spearfishing shop, they do a bit of dive kit but it's mostly wetsuits, spearguns, big fins and other freediving related stuff. It's a really big sport in the Channel Islands.
Cheers,
Stuart
Silly me. As soon as I hit 'submit' I realised lack of 02 was hypoxia:rolleyes:
I got a look at the Apnea web site, there is some interesting stuff on there. If I have any problems with the traditional weight belt at 3kg slipping over my backside I will order one of the rubber variety that are on offer from the above.
I'm using the Beaver weight harness. Never had a problem. Plenty of velcro holding everything in place. If anything is takes quite a pull to release them.
They do use loops rather than toggles so theoretically there is a chance of them catching. But I think it would hold you back rather than release the weights.
A couple of guys I dive with use it also and never known of a complaint.
One critisism I heard of the DUI harness was that it's a pain in the ring to re-thread the plastic cord that holds the pouches on.
i just started using a DUI harness, no problems but still feel it sits a little low. I changed from a weight belt after finding it round my knees with no buddy in sight. pro's and cons for all systems.
I changed from a weight belt after finding it round my knees with no buddy in sight
Been there :(,i had a ralf tech harness which was good but after gradually coming down from 16kgs to currently 11kgs i use my integrated bcd which is fab.
I found weight belts okay when not loaded with weights and worn with a wet suit somewhere warm. I did find them a problem, more with slipping round uncomfortably, rather than actually losing it, when wearing weights for a drysuit combined with the loss of my waist under the dry suit and undersuit - my waist being pretty undefined in the first place.
This is now resolved with integrated weights on the BC. Never looked like they were coming out worn with either 3kg or 5kg in each pocket depending on what cylinder I was using.