Omer Weight Vest

[fuzz]

Originally posted by Oldsarge
Nevermind, I finally got a look. Hmmm, 7kg, is that enough ?

Just for reference:
http://www.norcalfreedive.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=30

No one I know that used the harness has gone back :hmm


Probably need to add a few pounds depeding on your preference, but those weights slip on like a normal weightbelt.

 

[Murat]

Still can't see the easy way to take it off in the case of emergency.

 

[icarus pacific]

Originally posted by Murat
the easy way to take it off in the case of emergency.

Answer: quick. :hmm

At 7 kg, I have a few of HanaPa'a's hydro weights threaded onto the waist belt to bring the total up to the 18 pounds I need with a full 7 mil suit. That and if it's going to be a shallow day, I'll add a weight to the Sporasub weight holder(s). The stock weight is a bit much when wearing a three mil, but if/when I get to wear that little rubber :naughty ,on a regular basis. I'll probably mill out a pocket in the back weight and shave the belt weights to get down to the 10-12 pounds that work well.

If there's a downside to the harness, it's that I need to bring a conventional weightbelt on trips that I'm going to be doing the SCUBA thing, as the harness doesn't fit real well under a BCD.

 

[rigdvr]

thinking about that Omer vest...Just started using an Omer 5mil wesuit during the winter and I just cant get used to all that extra neoprene...(go ahead Sven...) The vest is 3 mil...man Im gonna be ready for cali soon.

 

[efattah]

I have the sporasub 7kg harness. Works great for doing static on the bottom of the pool, but it falls all over the place while diving.


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada

 

[Mark Laboccetta]

Hello everyone. These are a couple of the principles and ideas behind the Ocean Mimetic weight vest:

1. To allow the diver to share his weight from his weight belt and redistribute it around his upper body the most comfortable way possible to help achieve ideal buoyancy.
2. takes some of the weight off the lower back redistributing it to ease the strain.

Usually the problem with having too much weight on your weight belt, especially the case winter time diving with a thick wetsuit in water less than 50ft, is that aside from putting all the pressure on your lower back you are awkwardly unbalanced with your top half. Most freedivers use a 5-7mm wetsuit in water colder than 60 degrees and with the farmer john all the neoprene makes you very buoyant up top. It is especially noticeable and cumbersome when trying to stalk stealthily on the bottom trying to keep your body low. You actually strain more energy and waste more air trying to hold and anchor yourself on the bottom with your hands.

The advantage of the vest is that with six velcro neoprene pockets, two in the front and four in the back taking 1-3lbs each, you can fine tune your ballast to dive more comfortably. From a safety stand point you should keep half the weight on your belt and the other half on your vest, so if you use 16lbs, 8 in two's on your belt which is fairly light, and 8 in two's on the vest. Either combination you should still fine tune the weight in your dive to be able to dump either the belt or the vest in an emergency and still be positive. Basically The vest doesn't substitute the weight belt but can make up for up to 18lbs of lead distribution if needed and makes your dive more comfortable. The camouflage coloration also helps add some stealth factor.

I have a commercial affiliation with the product but I use it and I thought this might be useful for some people

Kind regards and clear water,

Mark Laboccetta
Technosport Inc.

 

[icarus pacific]

not a commercial one, but...

I have a smooth affiliation with the product, the weight harness that is, and pure and simple- if I can get any weight off my back, I'm all for it. Hell, I'll pay cash! My comfort level and thus, my times went waaaay up the first time I went with the harness. I can see the vest thing being a help in current as well.

 

[Oldsarge]

Amphibious,
Yup, it's me, all right. I'm currently trying to see how the budget for the August safari goes so as to try and squeeze out the bucks for the May Beginner class. If it's too tight, I may have to wait a year but the Neptunes still meet the first Wednesday at Me'N'Ed's on Carson so I'll schmooze and keep my ears open until I can get in. After all, the closest hunting to Lakewood is only 4 miles south and off the end of the Long Beach jetty! :

 

[rigdvr]

thanks for the input Mark. I am having a hell of a time getting under quietly with the thicker suit. I am weighted nuetral at 25' of so (bluewater hunting) but at the surface it seems like when I kick my legs up to dive I bob at the calves Im thinking that the weight further up my body as on the vest will help my downward momentum so I can get under a little bit quieter(I usually like my fins to be submerged before I start kicking) What do yall think????

 

[fuzz]

I think bobbing upside down gives a nice duck action that the wahoo really go for

 

[Mark Laboccetta]

Well guys, glad to see my ramblings con be useful sometimes.
I never was too keen on the idea of a weight vest until I actually started wearing mine, mostly for inshore diving. Bill Ernst is on his way to Hawaii in a few days to do some diving and he wanted one for that so I think it's not a bad idea for all types of diving.

Rigdvr, try lunging a bit more on your duckdive/turnover so you get more momentum from your weight going into your dive. When you flip the back leg up the front leg in the lunge position works more like a stabilizer and rower. Sometimes guys like to kick up both legs at once but it's not as efficient and it's harder to get your dive going.

I'm thinking about heading down the big easy way as soon as more fish show up...

Mark

 

[rigdvr]

Your not missing anything right now Mark...blowing 30knots seas have been 10-16 ft for a while. We havent made it out in 4 trys since Christmas...

Marcel and I are going with Bill D on Feb 23-24(we try to go with him at least once a year because its always a good time) but have a couple of trip lined up (hopefully) on our boats before then.

Let me know when you come if you need another to fill a spot

 

[TriggerFish]

Ditto to what Mark said. I've been diving with the vest since it arrived in the US last summer. I definately wouldn't think of it as a replacement for a weight belt, but a few useful points that I found through diving the vest:

The two front weight pockets open from the inside front allowing you to add or remove weights while wearing the vest. Very useful when moving from shallow to deep water where I can easily remove the weight and clip them to my kayak.

Also, as according to my club rules while competing, all fish must be strung in the rocks and out of the water after taken (sharky water). Using the front mounted pockets with their velcro flaps, I can stove several cable fish stringers neatly out of the way until needed and recover them along the rocks as I return to the weigh station.

For the traveling diver, it is the only weight vest I have found that allows to leave the weight at home and rent or borrow lead when you get there. I have been able to use two or three pound block weight or up to two pound soft weight per pocket.

Oh yeah, and it looks cool too!

I also should say I have a commerical affiliation, but dive this vest and hope this helps someone.

Dive Safe!

 

[CustomTech]

Have you thought about the Tech V2000 weighted vest thats you cqan get in the us? I bought one and love it. I dont even know im wearing it. I use it for diving and snorkling. check out thier site. it might help.

WWW.Customdivetech.com

 

[Mineme]

Does anyone know if it is available in the U.S. yet?

It is available in US. Check the distributors website Omer