Posted by brianc on November 13, 2000 at 12:32:32:
In Reply to: Re: DIR question posted by Frank on November 13, 2000 at 11:26:22:
I'm not DIR - not a philosophical position either way, I recently moved from warm water to cold and I'm improving my gear as I can afford to do so. I saw improving my weighting system as a high priority.
With full undergarments and drysuit, I need almost 40 lbs (I'm buoyant...). My Zeagle Ranger is rated to hold that much weight in it's pockets, but just try picking up a BC with that much lead on a rocking boat or slippery rocks. I decided to distribute my weights. At the same time I reasoned that I should set myself up so that I could dump weights in increments to avoid blasting to the surface. I cobbled together a suspender system that held my weights fine. When I tested ease of dropping weights, I found that the suspenders would hang up on my bc. That was no good. I rented the DUI system from Moneterey Bay Dive Center for $4/day. I really liked it, so I got one through my shop. (At cost, since I DM for free, but still very expensive - the biggest problem with DUI!)
Depending on the tanks I use I put 10-18% in my bc that can be dumped as a unit, ~82-84% on the DUI system which I can dump 50% at a time, and the remainder as ankle weights.
One problem that I have is that due to the design of my bc, the DUI system sits about 1 inch lower than would be ideal for horizontal trim. This works fine when I need to be planted on the bottom watching over a class. I do tend to hitch it up a bit while swimming. I'm still working on the best overall positioning.
Overall, I really feel comfortable with the DUI system. It is expensive, but the alternative did not work for me. Try renting one for a test if you can.