Weights for pockets in weight harnesses and wt-integrated BCDs

[Richard Mason]

I've been diving with a wt harness for the last couple of years and overall, it's been one of the best purchases I've made; a great compromise between a weight belt (won't stay up as I don't have any waist to speak of these days) and a weight integrated BCD, which I've found to be a bit heavy on my back to lift on, with the combined mass of cylinder and weights, ok once it's on there but it's the lift up that buggers my back muscles/ligaments.

Overall, the weight harness is an excellent piece of kit, no more problems with it rotating so that the q/r buckle is somewhere behind me either.

The only weakness I've found is with the velcro closing/retaining mechanism for the pockets; the harness was sold as being ok for use with conventional wt-belt ingot-type blocks.

Unfortunately, I've found that these individual blocks can move around inside their pocket, falling forward and putting additional force on the flap when I'm in the horizontal position, or perform a manouevre involving sudden change of speed & direction, such as a backwards roll entry off the side of the club boat. I've lost a pocket once, on initial entry, fortunately only in 6M, so one of the lads grabbed it for me but I know that it's this shifting of the blocks that's causing uneven strains on the velcro.

I reacall TonyTSDiver mentioning use of roofing lead sheets for this purpose and was walking along the beach in an area where dunes have been eroded during recent storms and found a couple of nice pieces of lead roofing flashing but unfortunately, not enough weight for what I wanted, so I nipped down the local roofing/plumbing supplies place and picked up a 1M length of 300mm wide 3lbs/sqft sheetinmg, cut it into strips and folded it to make individual weights which perfectly fit the pockets in length and width, so there'll be no more shifting during the dive.

The other advantage of this is that it's easy to bend the composite lead sheets to a profile that suits the individual diver's waist. (no comments please).

Not sure how it compares price-wise with leads shot but I suspect it would be a bit cheaper per kg.

[Hint: to cut sheet lead into strips, score it first with a sharp point along the cutting line, then start the cut for 2 or 3 inches with a pair of tin snips, then putting your foot against one side of the line, grab the other side of the strip and applying steady pressure, simply tear along the line. Works perfectly]

Here's the finished product:

[divechuck04]

Looks good, Richard. Been thinking about a weight harness for some time as I have the same "problems" - no waist and bad back.

How much did the lead sheeting cost?

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by divechuck04

Looks good, Richard. Been thinking about a weight harness for some time as I have the same "problems" - no waist and bad back.

How much did the lead sheeting cost?

Well the stuff (4kg) I bought was AU$20 in total, looking at the docket, it's 15kg per sq metre but I already had about the same weight in the stuff I found on the beach.

That would be about 12 quid. Depends on your local lead prices, I had to buy new stuff to get me to the required weight, but the old thick stuff I found on the beach was just as good.

You could probably also get it cheaper at a scrap metal merchant over there, as it's used on old roofs over in Blighty, whereas it's only used for flashings around chimneys etc on tiled roofs here, so not as much of it around.

Apart from that, it's just a case of taking a ladder round to your nearest church.

[yazzyfooty]

And for those that dont have a handy beach near by, try your local church!

JOKING before I get flamed!!!

Richard a guy in my club, a plumber, done the very same thing you have done and feels a lot more confident he isnt going to lose a pocket.

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by divechuck04

Looks good, Richard. Been thinking about a weight harness for some time as I have the same "problems" - no waist and bad back.

I'm wondering if the two problems are connected? My Spring Resolution is to do something about it, starting at 6.00AM Monday morning (9.00PM Sunday your time), with a walk-run program to get me upto the stage where I should be able to run 5km/3 miles without too much problem. Hopefully a reasonable amount of blubber should be converted into muscle and a girl-bait six pack in the process. (That will be the sit-ups)

[A. Berk]

Richard, I know what you're up against with the velcro flaps. However, you can give it a bit of help with a visit to someone like er, a sailmaker or saddler maybe to punch-in brass industrial sized press-studs. They'll hold against the inadvertent jolts and knocks but won't be a hindrance to ditching. I've allways thought they should be installed as standard... like these;Le Prevo Leathers press studs sam browne studs chicago screws ... but I'm A. Berk

Broke

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by A. Berk

Richard, I know what you're up against with the velcro flaps. However, you can give it a bit of help with a visit to someone like er, a sailmaker or saddler maybe to punch-in brass industrial sized press-studs. They'll hold against the inadvertent jolts and knocks but won't be a hindrance to ditching. I've allways thought they should be installed as standard... but I'm A. Berk

Broke

That is a top idea. I'll look into that.

Thanks matey!