Loss of weight belt while scuba diving?

Question

Hi,

I'm an amateur scuba diver with limited experience.

What is the best thing to do if one loses their weight belt while down below a certain height?

I would assume that you would become very bouyant, and so be in serious risk of getting Decompression Illness (DSI) due to a quick ascent.

Is there a routine for when this happens? Is fighting the ascent useful at all?

I've had my weight belt come loose before at surface, but I'm very scared of this happening deep below. Hasn't happened yet but it could.

Answer 1

I've been a certified diver since 1975, and I've never lost my weight belt yet. I HAVE had it come loose, however, but it's easy to deal with if you know what to do, and you're prepared for it.

The belt usually comes loose at depth because your wetsuit compresses as you go deeper. The easiest thing to do then is to get into a horizontal position, facing the bottom. Grab the end of the belt that sticks through the buckle, and hold it firmly. Gently open the buckle, cinch the belt tighter, and close the buckle again. That's it. Easy as pie. If the belt somehow comes off your back, you still have it in your hand, and you won't rocket to the surface unless you panic and drop it.

If you do somehow lose your weightbelt, try to grab something to help hold you down - the wreck, the ascent or anchor line if possible, etc. You may be able to swim down yet to get the belt, depending on how bouyant you are and how close you are to the bottom. If you start an uncontrolled ascent, the most common technique I've heard of is to get horizontal again, but facing up, and spread your arms and legs wide to slow your ascent. Dump the air out of your BC as fast as possible to further slow your ascent. Maintain an open airway, or even blow out to help prevent overinflating your lungs and possibly rupturing them.

When you get to the surface, alert the dive boat of your situation. Use the emergency signal of waving your hand if you need to. If you're quick, you may be able to get another weight belt and return to a safe depth. If not, you may get a quick ride to the pot.

Incidentally, I think that the weight-integrated BCs are useful here if you think this might happen. If you have separate weights in several pockets, you have less chance of losing everything at once.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Two GREAT answers so far...

I've been diving since 1989, and I've never had an issue.

The new integrated weight systems are really slick. I still go old-school with a traditional belt, and you do always want to make sure there are no weights at or below your cylinder. Have a quality belt, regardless of style. Rental weight belts are usually pretty crummy. There are crotch straps and other lockdowns that might help your comfort level.

There is the converse to your problem where in a serious emergency, dropping the belt is the protocol, especially in saving a drowning or panicked diver.

I attached an article that talks about risks, and pros and cons of weight systems.

Answer 4

Scuba Weight Belt

Answer 5

There's not much you can do if there's no descent line in hand or you had the sudden inspiration to grab a heavy object from the bottom. If you're lucky, your buddy saw it happen and is there with his BC air dumped and holding you, to slow you down. You're going up as a rule, unless you are carrying other items that are negatively buoyant, like wreck reels or a heavy D cell light and you've dumped all the air out of your BC. Chances are, you'll have some sort of wet suit on as well, which doesn't help you at all in this case. All you can do is slow your ascent, using whatever means at your disposal and remember that the closer you get to the surface, the faster you'll be going. Flaring out your body and fins, whatever you have to do to slow your ascent.
You're obviously an Open water cert, so you shouldn't be any deeper than 60 feet when this happens. A DCS hit won't be an issue but holding your breath WILL be. Just don't forget to slowly exhale as you go up.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

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Answer 8

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Answer 9

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Answer 10

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