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crotch strap for weight belt?

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

New Member
Dec 9, 2003
25
6
0
I am diving a 2 piece 6.5mm suit and I have been using a crotch strap on my marseilles weight belt for years. But, recently had the buckle break on the crotch strap, and dove without it. I immediately noticed a difference as the belt kept sliding off my hips and over my diaphram to my rib cage. I found this extremely annoying. As of this summer I have starting diving with omer's weight harness, ankle weights and drop weight with weight belt and have found this to be the best weighting system for my diving/hunting styles.

Does anyone elso use a crotch strap with their weight belt? Or, is that considered taboo? Or what other weighting systems are you using?
 
If I wear a weight belt around the small part of my waist, it will inevitably ride up. Then again, I also tend to get stiff in the lower back if I have a belt in this position.

I've had the best luck with pushing my Rob Allen Marseillaise-style rubber belt down over my hips so it's halfway to my rear. I then cinch it up tight so it won't slide when the wetsuit compresses at depth. It doesn't go anywhere, and my back is happy.
 
You've got to stop changing names or handles on me. I had no idea who you were. Anyway crank that weight belt as tight as it will go on your hips and it won't move w/ that shallow diving. I also think that ankle weights are indespensible w/ thick suits. I can't tell you how many times i've tried to wedge my buoyant legs into cracks on the breakwater while trying to stay still. I use one pound on each leg w/ my 7mil suit. Stops the fins from floating up nicley, and I don't see any other way around it.

Hey check out my post in hunting equip., the first photo is the attachment I tried to send in my last e-mail.

-Chris
 
worry ??? who, me????

I'm sure there are more comfortable options for weight placement than a tight rubber belt around the hips, but that is my solution too. What concerns me is the safety / comfort trade . . .how easily can you drop the weight harness if you really need to . . .or release the crotch strap . . . or the ankle weights?
 
both start with C, chafe and smell

Chris and crotch straps, eh? :t

I'm a very big fan of harnesses. My lower three verts are fused and the rest is glued together, so anything I can do to ease the back is fine by me. The really smooth thing about a harness is that you can thread ( I almost said mount, but Ted is out there too,) a larger portion of your weight up between your shoulder blades where it helps you tip over and head down. :cool: a harness requires none of the cranking the straps to get things to stay put and is a blessing for those that think that weights go on the hips. :hmm I used to have to go so tight that I lost bloodflow to my legs :crutch but now it's all good nice and high.

True, it does require you todo some practice getting the thing off, (uh oh) I mean ditching it, but once you develop the "pull the buckle and roll" routine, life is just sooo good.

I can think of zero reasons to have a pound of lead on each ankle- there's enough going on down there that's already tiring you out. You wanna strap on a drysuit, a couple of 120's, an 80 and some gear, then yeah, but not when you're just finning along.
 
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Ankle weights work great in Delaware b/c we dive parallel to a mile long breakwater w/ a ~3 knot current pretty much the norm. I don't kick much at all really. I drift dive the wall, kick down to 15-30' and lay on the bottom or fin slightly w/ the current if I don't hear any fish. The combination of the current from behind me and the extra neoprene on my legs w/ a thick suit makes it difficult to keep my legs down. I find w/ no weight they start to get lifted and I can't put them back down w/out propelling myself forward. A couple of pounds and I don't have this problem. This is better than the alternative of noisyly jamming my legs under rocks to keep them down. I also have 8-10lbs on the belt so if the need arises to drop I don't have to worry about the ankle weights.

Now if I had a long surface swim, or had to make deep dives it could be different. My legs don't get tired and it's just my favorite system for that kind of diving.
 
Point taken. For that type of diving, I think I'd dig out the old Churchill Duck fins! :cool: Maybe even a small pair of Scubapro Jetfins as the weight and small size would be less sail for the water.
I have a real bias here as I don't even like wearing ankle weights with a drysuit and 600 feet of gas...
 
Agree

I had ankleweigts before but noticed all i had to do was move the weights from stumach to hids and the ankleweigts were not really needed at all.
 
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