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My Weight Vest Slips When I Dive

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Kuya

Simon
Nov 6, 2012
303
28
58
Quite often when I duck dive, my weight vest (Mares) slips up towards my head.

There is a bungee cord with a plastic round stopper/ball on the end which slips underneath the weight belt. I keep my weight belt tight, however the plastic ball often works its way out or part of the way from the belt forcing the weights up towards my head.

I have tried shortening the distance from the ball to the vest but it still happens.


Does anyone have any tips to keep this plastic ball/toggle jammed underneath the weight belt when I go inverted?

I really like this belt and want to make it work.
 
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- not sure what I could clip to my belt but will be give it some thought

I like the look of that weight vest, slimline like my Mares one.
 
Well, I guess you could loop some cord around the weight belt and attach a small carabiner to it. The carabiner could then attach to the cord hanging off your vest, assuming that the ball is large enough to not slip through the carabiner.

Yes, that is a pretty slick looking vest, it's not the same as mine.
 
thanks for the explanation.. not sure how that would work if the weight belt is ditched in an emergency - is there a chance the belt wouldn't quick release?
 
Yes, I have exactly the same concern with my vest. The only other idea I can come up with us to fit a larger stopper.
 
I have just thought of using a plastic 90 degree angled hook of some description instead of the plastic ball - this should not impede the waist belt from quick releasing if the lip of the hook is only about a 1/3 of the height of the waist belt. Probably much easier to draw than explain! I will look for something suitable.
 
I've looked online for a larger stopper but can't find any... I may try my local chandlers this week if I can't find a suitable hook.
 
Tried it vest out again today and it wasn't so bad. I have a new wetsuit, weight belt and weights - maybe that helped. There is a bit too much stretch with the weight vest shock cord so will shorten this.
 
I have the mares vest and used to have the same problem but I was using the vest very tightly fitted - I have found if I actually use it a little bit loose fitted the bungee/stopper wont pull out of my belt. I only have 3 kilos of weight in the vest, not sure if fully loaded it may make the problem worse?
 
I will try loosening the straps as you suggest to see if that makes a difference. The last two dives I have wrapped the bungee toggle right around the belt securing it but defeating the belts quick release.

I use all four weights in mine. It's not nice having that lot slip up and hit the back of the head each I time duck dive. Then when I get to the bottom I waist precious oxygen and time trying to put the vest back to where it should be.

I have a few items here I can adapt into a hook - I'll also see if one these will work.
 
Yes mate mine used to hit my head on the way down - also try actually lengthening the bungee toggle ball thing that helped me get things right so that it stopped being pulled out. Like you said it was interfering with trying to relax when going down, a looser fit worked for me without being annoyingly loose.
 
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Do you have a stretchy rubber weight belt? If not, that might be the problem but if so it should be possible to cinch it in pretty tight - otherwise I find mine normally loosens up during diving. Carry less weight in the vest - might be safer too. You already considered a larger stopper. I too would not fix a weight vest to my weight belt, lest it prevent is being released in an emergency.

This issue explains the design of the Beuchat weight vest: it uses 2 stopper balls, one on each side - which might work better, as most people have a dip between the supporting muscles either side of the spine.

http://www.spearfishingworld.com/beuchat-neoprene-weight-vest.html
weightvestbeuchat2__51562_zoom.jpg
P7302793G.jpg


http://www.scubaland.co.uk/beuchat-neoprene-spearfishing-weight-harness-xml-351_441-48145.html

Another option might be to extend the cord to become a crotch-strap, as there are several ways of making a crotch-strap quick release when the belt buckle is released (I think Omer has such a product but you could probably make your own with hooks or loops).

Personally, I think I would concentrate on trying to getting the existing design to work first though (see my 1st paragraph above).
 
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try making the string/ball thing longer and put it through your beavertail, I suppose once I go from my 3/2 full to the 7mm 2 piece I'll probably need a vest as well :(
minno
 
Hi Simon, did you ever resolve this problem?
 
Hi.

Yes I did. I got nowhere using the conventional method.

I ended up attaching a plastic ring to my weight belt at the back. I then cut a notch in this plastic ring. The cord above the toggle is passed through this to keep the vest in place. To release, the toggle cord is pulled sideways out of the notch. I made the notch wide enough for easy release.

I have tried releasing the vest a few times and it's quick enough for me. If the weight belt is released in an emergency, the toggle will also need to be pulled to one side, or the weight vest released at the same time. From a safety point of view I am comfortable enough with this arrangement.
 
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Thanks Simon :). I have a Mares weight vest now too and sometimes experience the same problem that you described. I really like the ball-stopper idea in principle but I suspect the Beuchat approach (using 2, one at each side) is more effective, because the belt is usually/always tighter there & it provides a degree of redundancy (if one pops out, the other might hold). I'd like to sort this problem out now, as I am thinking of getting another weight vest for my son: I like Mares but the new Sporasub quick release looks like an interesting alternative.

I will probably try the idea of lengthening the elastic (suggest earlier in the thread) first, to reduce the pulling tension. Not sure what sort of plastic band you are using but our idea has made me wonder if some kind of breakable loop (e.g. thick rubber bands or electrician's cable-ties perhaps) fitted on the belt might be a good solution.

BTW Reading another thread this morning (it's raining here!), I discovered that the Omer weight vests clip to a velcro-loop on the belt. I had seen this system in pictures many time but had not realised that the belt loop was only held in place with velcro - I thought they were fixed to the belt, potentially preventing both from releasing in an emergency. The velcro loop makes more sense (and I have some in my workshop :)).
 
...I will probably try the idea of lengthening the elastic (suggest earlier in the thread) first, to reduce the pulling tension...
Actually, there was no spare in the ball elastic, so I've just loosened the should straps to start with, there was about 2" of play left in each & that has lowered the ball enough, perhaps, to make a difference.
 
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