Balanced Rigs: Do You Really Need Ditch-able Weights???

[@Jimmy_CV]

I learned during my SDI open course that being properly weighted is imperative, and you should never have to ditch your weight,and you should be able to ascend while defeating your bc constantly. In fact ditching weight can be even more dangerous because you might have an uncontrolled ascent.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Jimmycdasme, sounds like you had a great Instructor and a great Open Water Course. We agree divers should never overweight themselves.

[@jimp9884]

I think I accidentally became a balanced diver on my last dive trip. 6 pounds of trim on my tank strap (really leg heavy and tank already hitting the back of my head) and 6 in weight pockets with full 3mm, 3/5 hooded vest and gloves and boots. I never needed my BC for anything but surface flotation. Exhale and slight hand movement to submerge and very comfortable @ 50 ft and never once needed the BC to control depth. I am a low time diver (

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Jim P, glad you liked our videos and have learned from them.

[@omegadivingacademy7937]

Thanks for taking the time out to make this video, specially liked the way you happily did not get into the " the way I do it is best" argument with the side mount system. Dive what is comfortable and suitable for you and the type of diving you do. The point I like the most is the mention of PRACTICE and even more so you mentioned PRACTICE with someone MORE EXPERIENCED. half the industry problems are due to MAGIC MAGIC divers ........... read a book and magic magic you are all knowledgeable on scuba. Quite frightening how few people really know their setup.......last week asked an instructor which computer he was using, he never knew the model or brand!!!!!!!!! Thanks again.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Omega Diving Academy, glad you liked out video. We encourage all divers to focus on their personal skills and rely on what makes them the most comfortable while underwater. As with anything in life, there will always be biased, us included. But, as dive educators, our goal is to train and create divers, not mini me's. So, if a diver wants to do something other than what we do, we are all for it, as long as its still safe.

[@sammoyers905]

Love the video. I guess I was a few decades ahead of the curve on ditchable weights. I caught a TON of grief from my boss/Instructor Trainer back in the early 80's when I suggested that with how affective the BCD's were, and that we taught proper-ish weighting (by today's standards). Maybe ditchable weights were a thing of the past. BOOM! Small tactical nuclear explosion. I was told to keep that kind of nonsense to myself. I did the only thing I could. I said, "Yes Sir." I have always thought we put far too much weight on students. So I am glad that the topic is at least being discussed. Whether or not it is widely accepted.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Ditch-able weights will always be encouraged Sam Moyers, especially to new divers. However, we also believe that teaching proper weighting is just as equally as important. Overweighting new divers has been an issue with in the Scuba Industry for way to long.

[@greenlandp]

You can get neutral tanks but the sliding the d-ring works like a charm. The side-mount rig that I use is the apeks wsx25 but I'm considering getting the razor when I get some money. Since I started side-mount I'm never going back to backmount. It can be bulky in the boat but as soon as you hit the water everything sits just right. Now to get to that point; it took a lot of time, moving the webbing, moving the rings, after every dive, I would find that I could do fine adjustments but when you get it where its meant to be it feels so great.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Totally agree with you greenlandp.

[@jhkleinberg2]

In sidemount if you and your rug are neutrality balanced with out your tanks you will maintain that throughout the dive. Then you can compensate your aluminum 80s with 2 pound. In the beginning of the dive yes you are a bit heavy. But when tanks are 1/3 you are back to neutral or just a pound or two over. If you need to remove a stag even in the beginning of the you still have full control of buoyancy. When diving multiple tanks sidemount it help prevent you from being front heavy from all the additional regs and tanks. This is assuming you are diving in a wetsuit.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

One of the options I choose is simply moving my tanks forward on my waist strap as they get floaty. It takes about a second to perform, and for me, eliminates the need to use weights on my cylinders.

[@Litehamer]

Love the theme tune, love the Chanel . Great advice and I hope to come and train with you some time

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Glad you find our videos helpful Litehamer. You are more than welcome to come take a class from us anytime.

[@artoftheflatlands]

great advice. This defenatly helps me understand my own kit and why things are the way they are. I got a used kit from a used equipment dealer, and I am learning things about it constantly. thanks.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

You're welcome artoftheflatlands, glad you liked our video and found it helpful.

[@Teampegleg]

Sidemount a crutch for trim, pft that sounds like people who chose to do things most difficult way of doing things because that is how they did it in the past.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

We all use crutches at some point in time. I do everyday. I use my truck to drive to work, instead of walking. LOL

[@AdrianCorduneanu]

The advice to dive without ditch-able weights can be deadly if you don't know what you are doing, and this video does not explain the nuances properly. If you are properly weighted, you are neutrally buoyant at 15ft with only reserve air left, and an empty BCD. That means that if you wear a wetsuit, at your maximum depth you will be negatively buoyant. If you cannot ditch weights, you may be so negatively buoyant that you cannot swim to the surface in the unlikely event that your BCD fails and you cannot inflate it. At 100 ft with a 5mm wetsuit you may be -16 lb negatively buoyant. You cannot overcome that weight by swimming up! If follows that it is safe to have all your weights non ditch-able only if the maximum depth is shallow, or if you wear a thin wetsuit, or a drysuit. As he says, you should go to your maximum depth, release all air from the BCD, and test if you can swim up. If you cannot, see how much weight you need to ditch to be able to swim up, and leave that amount of weight ditch-able, to protect you in the unlikely event that the BCD fails at depth.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Adrian Corduneanu, this is why we encourage all divers who are not comfortable diving balanced rigs to always have ditchable weights.

[@maxtee2573]

​@@LakeHickoryScuba From your answer I deduce that you think the alternative to a balanced rig is to be randomly overweighted and ditchable weights are a nice to have. But in the event of a BCD failure this thinking might just kill you even with a drysuit. This point doesn't come through in your video.

[@Biodoc100]

If you had to pick only one as a do-everything setup, which would you choose: Back mounted double or sidemount?

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Hello Chris O. Great question, and one that makes me have to put my personal biased aside. From a practical standpoint, and based on the types of diving that I do the most for work, it would be the Back mounted doubles. Though Sidemount is very mainstream now days, both on the recreational and technical side, Back mount will always reign supreme as a whole. It is how 99.9% of all divers learn how to dive. A final note, I would still prefer single back mount over double back mount for a multitude of reasons, and one that can be made into a video for our channel.

[@Biodoc100]

@@LakeHickoryScuba Thank you for the insights! How would your answer change if you allowed your personal biases in, and why?

[@gregwicks51]

Great info.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Thanks Greg Wicks.

[@KB-gd6fc]

Great video.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Thanks Kyle B.

[@KB-gd6fc]

Something I thought of today in regards to balanced rigs. Say you're diving a balanced rig with no ditchable weight and you have a complete BCD failure at depth. You swim your rig to the surface. Now what? You cant inflate your BCD, you cant ditch your weights... so do you just kick like hell to keep your head and shoulders above water?

[@alanheinrich132]

Where can you get that T mounted weight system? I like it!

[@alanheinrich132]

Found it!! At least one like it. Sub Gravity T mount system

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

Sorry Alan, I've been busy. SubGravity sells them on their website.

[@elefja1]

So does a balanced rig mean that you make your BC and tank system neutrally buoyant and then use a weight belt system for your exposure protection to be neutrally buoyant, that way you could remove your BC underwater without being pulled up?

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

In a backmount system, your tank will always be apart of your balanced system. The same holds true for Sidemount if you never intend on removing a cylinder.

[@LarsDennert]

Hmm. My thought is if you are carrying lead, you should make it ditchable to become positive or give to someone else. There is little down side. Preferably ditchable in stages. If you are diving twin steels and a steel backplate, there is no reason to add lead, overweighting you so you can say you have weight you can ditch.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

You make a great point Lars.

[@LarsDennert]

@@LakeHickoryScuba keep all the great videos coming. I especially loved all the fin comparisons Makes us think more critically about diving instead of just strapping a tank on and jumping in.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

@@LarsDennert Will do.

[@LarsDennert]

One other thing that needs to be considered is a bc failure at the end of a dive. A surface swim of 100s of yards back to shore in California with no bc and no ditchable weight could mean ditching your rig if you are in a wetsuit and your smb can't keep you afloat. Sure you should have air left but some swims here are 20 minutes out. I say there's no harm in making it ditchable unless you are in a cave. Even a wreck dive i would choose ditchable.

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

We have a video coming out this coming Monday, February 7th, addressing a BCD Failure at 100ft. I think you will find this video very interesting as it addresses the importance of never overweighting yourself. It also questions certain philosophies being taught by Instructors of a particular mind set. In the description of that video there will be a link to a claim that was made by a Training Agency, that was tested and disproved.

[@scottselkey4460]

I think that with wet suits, especially 5 mil and above, you should have ditch-able weight. Also if you aren't strong, or if you use split fins haha

[@ThedarB1020]

split fins.... as you said lol /GDP

[@LakeHickoryScuba]

LOL, I agree with the Split Fins.