Posted by John Walker on November 13, 2000 at 14:11:16:
In Reply to: Re: DIR question posted by MHK on November 13, 2000 at 11:43:43:
One of the problems that I see with the DUI weight system beyond the nearly $200.00 price tag is that they are overly convoluted. They sell well cause they look like something Diver Dan would wear, and you know how well gimicks do in this sport.
All of the straps convolute the harness system on the back plate or jacket style bc. The pockets are overly built with bells and whistles also.
The pockets are placed right where your waist strap needs to be on either a harness style backplate or a stab jacket. They are big enough to carry your lunch in (or a 12 pac).
Furthermore they place unessesary stress on a divers lower back. On longer divers this will really be uncomfortable and leave you with a sore back.
This is a unique thing about having a balanced rig which many in our community have a misunderstanding about. For example I only wear about 8 lbs of dichable weight to my single tank rig weraing a drysuit. I know, muscle is heavy!
The Atpac was a system ahead of its time. With a few modes it could have really taken off. The curators certainly addressed the back stress problem by designing a weight integrated system which releaved the stress on the back. Much later Zeagle took off with the concept but continued to add unessesary gimmicks to further market their product. Their earlier units were my favorite up until we started using plate/harness.
The answer I see is to either BALANCE one's rig (which I know you do) or use integrated weight systems which are available through Halcyon for the back plate systems currently in use. This system attaches to the waist strap and doesn't interfere with the rest of the rig.