Gloves and Weights

If the pro's don't mind answering a few Q's

Whats the preferred thickness on gloves for the north coast? Brands?  Palm reinforcement options? 

Also, all the dive weights I've come accross are crazy expensive.  I'm thinking I can buy the pouches that slip onto the web belt then pour my own flat weights to go in the pouch.  Crazy? Dangerous? Get me by for the time being? Terry Maas describes one and a half pound slim rectangular weights in his bluewater hunting book.  Do people pour these themselves cause I haven't seen them around at all, closest are the 2 lb bullet weights.

BTW the book is a great read.

 

For comfort shot weights do see to be the preferred method. I still use a combination of 2lb bullets and 5 lbs squares. I just can see spending a lot of money on something you would ditch first if in trouble. In my mind the less I spend on it is the less time I will waste thinking about cost should I have to ditch it. If I was in trouble I'd think twice before dropping a 150.00 worth of weights and belt. But I am kind of cheap that way. Also my uncle came across some molds that do 10lbs that he adjusted to sit better on his hips. So there are molds out there as well as other types of weights. If you do go with bullets or squares, etc. consider getting a rubber weight belt. I've been diving with mine for years now with no real wear or tear. On the gloves there are more options than I could list. I like my hands not to get to cold so I go with a 5-7mm. Usually a large zipper and wrist velcro. Other than that I try to stay sort of cheap cause glove and boots just get ABUSED on the north coast and again it makes me sick everytime I destroy some expensive piece of gear. I rather destroy a 30.00 pairs of gloves having fun and replace them once a year then destroy a 100.00 dollar pair any day.

Jeff

I dive in the Gualala to Fort Bragg areas mostly and I really like the Tilos 3mm Titanium gloves with the "dot" palms. Not too terribly thick but plenty warm and cost $25.

Weight for the weight belt - I use plastic coated 6# lead I got from a buddy. I have had to replace some borrowed ones in the past (another story for another time) and found that in my area the soft weights go for about $2.50 a pound. For lead they can be had for about $2.75 for 2#, on up to $8 for a 5# weight.

The guys I dive with all seem to like something different but overall the most common are the hard weights. - http://www.scubatoys.com/store/Scuba_Weights.asp shows both for an idea offering 1-5 pounders.

John

I poured some custom weights for my belt.  They're low profile squares as you describe.  I poured two halves and used stainless screws to screw them together, then painted them hot blue with rustoleum paint so that they're more visible on the bottom.  Blue is the most visible color at depth. 

This was with a plaster mold, but the mold didn't hold up well getting 2lb of lead poured into it at a time.  It cracked and the parts needed touchup.  Lead is also VERY hard to drill, as I found when tapping holes to screw the halves together.

GARAGE SALES or craigslist..... if your talking about getting cheap weights and saving $$.

All the weights I acquired over the years have been purchase at either of these two. This way I don't feel bad ditching them if I get in trouble. Also if you get plain lead weights cheap and want them coated you can dip them in a buddies left over tool dip, it works wonders.

One problem that I have seen in the soft pouches especially when ab diving is they have a tendency to rip open if you get pushed up against rocks. If your ab diving non-yak climbing down rocks during an entry or an exit they get pretty beat up as well.

I personally prefer the 2 lb plastic coated bullet weights.
For gloves, I go thru a lot of them a year. I dive a lot and the gloves wear out quickly (in 3-5 months). The current pair is kevlar, which I hope can last for half a year! I use 3mm. 5mm or thicker doesn't offer as much dexterity. I used to use a pair of 1.5 mm leather palm gloves that I bought from Steele's in Oakland. That pair lasted for about 8 months. It's a bit on the cold side diving locally (in Carmel and North Coast), but GREAT for grabbing lobsters in socal.
I think a perfect pair of gloves is synthetic leather palm + 3mm neoprene on the back, but I've never seen anything like that.

 The shot belts feel good if you have to walk very far, but are expensive. The rubber belts with hard weights will stay snug if you don't have a butt and a gut. I make my own weights and put them on a $5 nylon weightbelt then hide them at my favorite spots so I don't have to carry them back up the hills especially if you have fish too.(I feel old going up the hill!) I use 5# weights with 1.5# and 2# for fine tuning.
  I usually buy dive gloves at the  dive shop, but I found a cheap pair of neoprene gloves at wally world for $13 one year and they lasted a season and fit good.(they were green hunting gloves).When I was a poor student my gloves were more shoe goop than neoprene from all the patches. Gloves and boots are consumables.

I used to see weight belts w/lead for a twenty spot on craigs all the time but there seems to be a shortage as soon as I need one.  Or people only want to sell their gear as a package.  I guess if i wait till the season ends people will be gettin rid of em. 

I'll probably pick up a rubber belt sometime down the line but my goal for now is cheap.  Plus I'm used to the delrin buckle release in case I have to ditch it, the only rubber belt I seen had a buckle just like a normal dress belt.  Are there others?

My big concern was that the shot pouches would be more apt to snag on hooks and line than straight lead would.  I guess if I'm gonna go through the trouble of pouring them myself I may as well make them a thread on.  I'll come up with a mold tonight and see how it works.  Would you guys prefer a few big weights or lots of small ones? 

Thanks for the input guys.

I found a weight belt while grabbing an ab yesterday - want to buy it?   

I don't use gloves - want to see my scars?     Need that skin-sensitivity way back in those holes where old growth abs live...   

I found a weight belt while grabbing an ab yesterday - want to buy it?   

I don't use gloves - want to see my scars?     Need that skin-sensitivity way back in those holes where old growth abs live...   

I'm sorry - I'm in therapy for being a jackass...   

Here's some useful information:  if you're drawn to the comfort of custom type weight belts then just do it - buy 'em, enjoy 'em.  If you're diving responsibly and not going into conditions that aren't beyond your limits then the instance of dumping the belt is very very rare - why factor it into the decision about what to run with?  I'd say most belts that are lost, like the one I found the other day with about 15 pounds of lead on it, probably fell off of the diver, who could've been a novice and just learning.  I know I've had a few dive partners have their belts fall off, and it's happened to me too - we were lucky and able to dive for them (except one time when my buddy Jim - first timer - lost a 20+ pound belt that I loaned him and "didn't even notice" because I was dragging him around through tidepools  ).  But I've never been in a situation where myself or any of my dive partners have elected to ditch the weight belt for a safety consideration.  My dad did get in a situation like that though, and did ditch, so it's not something to take lightly, and I don't.  I'm simply stating:  run with whatever gear you like and can afford and don't factor in the "what if I have to ditch it" cash consideration.

As for gloves, I've owned the kevlar and the rest, and they all wear out.  I found that in a new pair of gloves I was rough and they got "worn in" quickly.  As parts of my palm and fingers were exposed I was more careful and had more sensitivity, so the gloves were working best half worn out!  Then they'd fail and I'd throw them in the "spare diving gear" bucket.  At one point there must have been at least half a dozen sets of dive gloves in there that lacked fingers and palms (scary:  I think it's true for right now - I gotta go look through that gear...  ).  I finally just stopped using gloves, and I like it, but I would need them if the water were cold that day or I was staying in for a long time.  Go with $20-25 sets and replace as needed, I'd say.   And go bare handed sometimes just to check it out - because it's a cool trip in itself 

you can get 5mm gloves but i prefer 3 mm gloves with the palm reinforcement because while diving you hold onto stuff to stabilize if spearfishing and ab diving. one can easily go through a set a season.

i use small 1lb antique weights someone donated to the dive shop and nobody wanted. fits like wearing a belt and is really evenly distributed. with room for a dive knife.

i dont like big weights.

john

www.sierratradingpost.com Check out the bargain barn area. Sometimes they have glove that are ridiculously cheap. That is where I get mine. Booties too.
As for the weight belt; it's just lead! Get whatever will be the most comfortable to you.
Since I cannot put a monetary value on my life ( although the insurance companies can ) I have NO problem ditching anything. If my weight belt was filled with gold and I was in trouble I would not even think twice about letting it go. Way too many dead divers are found with their weight belts on. Since it is impossible to ask them if ditching it would have helped them out we will never know. I would rather not even think about taking the chance.

The 'dress belt' buckled rubber belts release in pretty much the same way as a nylon belt, tug the tag end and the pin comes free - it's spring loaded to pop away from the belt and the whole nine yards will fall free just fine.  Like many things in diving you should just practice a bit (same for getting your knife, retrieving a wayward regulator, ect).

With a heavy belt if you don't use clips on it you can probably disassemble the belt underwater if needed to retrieve it.  Or hook it to a floatline or anchor line.  I often carry a spare weight belt so that I can retrieve my main one if I need to ditch it.

If you don't mind pouring your own lead, I have an easy comfortable style for you. cut a 4 inch piece of 3/4" galvanized pipe (threaded on one end) in half. grind a slot 1/8 inch on each side for the belt to slip through. put a piece of flat bar stock in the slot and screw a cap on the threaded end. pour the lead. you will get nice weights about 1lb each. they fit around your body and are really comfortable. Use a rubber belt so you can stretch it and it will stay put. I think petaluma fish and dive sells the rubber belt bythe foot