Northwest Dive Club

If you dive with a plate and wing, I'd love to hear how you distribute your weights.

I just got a Hollis plate and wing and need to figure where to put my lead. My steel plate and tank adapter weigh about 6.3 lbs. I need to distribute about 26 more pounds – Ideally part in ditchable pockets.

I realize that everyone's need are different, but if you could reply with your configuration, that will give me somewhere to start.

Thanks!
Nanci

I have about 8lbs permanently poured into the back well of my STA. love it.
YMMV Depending on the size/type of STA.
I use a dui harness for the rest.

I have a ss plate about the same weight with a OMS harness. I use a 12 lb seasoft belt with 14 lb in ditchable pouches (Dive Rite, small) on the belt. My trim has been good with this setup.

For my singles set-up I have my plate and STA at 6.5 lbs, a soft shot spine weight at 3.5 lbs and a 16-22 lb brick lead weight belt (I adjust the weight on the belt depending on what undergarment I'm wearing and the tank I'm diving). Some folks like to add a cam band pocket to shift weight higher on their rig but I've found that I can balance things out by shifting the tank up a bit.

Some people use pockets on the waist band of their BP&W but I like having the belt rather than having all of the weight hanging off my rig.

10lbs on the lowest cam band
The rest in a weight belt.

Your rig needs to float without you with a full tank and all the lead its going to carry on it. The problem with that is you don't need 40+ lbs of lift. tank weight, gas weight, reg, and lead can easily add up to 45 to 50lbs and the rig won't float unless you get a big wing that tacos all over the place.

So you really need to move some lead off the rig to either a belt or a DUI harness to then get a reasonable ~35lb wing that will float the rig.

I have a SS Highland Mills BP , STA, and tank bands. I use a weight pouch on each side of the upper tank band making sure the pouches sit as close as possible to the wing. Each pouch is loaded with 2 lbs. soft weights. My other weights sits on two weight pouches on my waist band placed as close as possible all the way to the back. Each waist pouch carries 5 lbs. of soft weights. All in all, a total of only 14 lbs., excluding the weight of the BP and STA. I use the same weight configuration using either of my drysuits (doesn't matter what undergarment used) or semi-drysuit, and even diving with just shorts and a rash guard. I know I can even use less weight when diving freshwater or tropical dives, but I don't bother to even mess with it.

Did you use a jacket type BCD before you got your BP and wing setup? You may be able to shave a few pounds If that's the case, from your projected 26 pounds to carry.

Good luck!

My single tank setup uses a stainless plate with a pair of weight plates bolted on, for a total of 14 lbs. I add a belt with another 12 to 15 lbs of soft weights, depending on which undergarments I'm using. Sometime I'll add a 3 lb hard weight in a pouch to either the upper or lower cam band for trim. I also use a pair of 1 lb ankle weights.

When I'm in warm water with my Kydex plate, I just use a couple hard weights in pouches on the cam bands. I like having the weight up high on my body in order to counter balance my legs, which are fairly negative.

Singles w/backplate:
My wife uses, a 1lb STA, a ~5.5lb backplate, a 16lb weight belt, and 2 pockets on the cam bands with 2lbs each with Worthington 100's, compressed Bare CD-4 and fleece undergarment, adds 2 to 3lbs if she uses fabers or PST tanks on the trim weight pouches. Basically the same as I used to do, but I haven't dove a single tank in ages. She's pretty happy with this setup, and so was I till I needed more gas. ;-)

Backplate with doubles in saltwater: 5-8lbs non-ditchable lead weight bolted in-between the tanks and backplate, and works to keep me and deco tanks down while empty, results may vary. :P Doubles in freshwater: no added weight.

Single tank diving with a 40lb singles wing:

DSS Steel backplate + bolt-on weight plates = 14lbs
Seasoft Weight harness (ditch-able) = 12lbs
Seasoft cam band weight pockets on upper cam band = 0-8lbs, depending on which undergarment and tank configuration I'm diving

Prior to using the DSS plate, I had a stainless plate + weighted STA that came in at 12lbs total

Thanks for all the advise. I'm still figuring it out - but the info is very helpful. We are SO lucky to have a forum like this and I appreciate all the information I get from the community.