Old timer told me to pound my weight belt buckles flat and he was dead right

I was struggling with my weight belt always shifting around on deep jobs off the coast of Galveston. This guy Mike who's been diving since the 80s told me to take a hammer and flatten the buckles so they grip the webbing better. Honest to god I did it on my lunch break and now the belt stays put even through currents. Has anyone else got a random tip like that from an older diver that just works?

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.iris10d ago

I used to think those old school tricks were just guys being stubborn about their gear. I was dead wrong. I had the same problem with my belt slipping on a salvage job near Port Aransas and a guy named Ray told me to put a couple of zip ties through the buckle slots. I laughed it off but tried it after getting annoyed at the drift. Been doing it ever since. Flat buckles or zip ties, whatever works. Sometimes the simple stuff just makes sense.

kaigibson10d ago

Man that zip tie trick is genius. I've had belts that just wont stay put no matter how tight you cinch em. Flat buckles are hit or miss for me. I ended up drilling a tiny hole in my buckle tongue and running a short screw through it. Stole the idea from an old timer who did the same thing with a cotter pin. Simple stuff really does win the day.

sean_green4410d ago

I get what you're saying about old timer tips working out, but I've actually had the opposite experience with flattening buckles. Tried it on a belt a few years back and it just made the webbing fray faster where the metal dug in. Ended up replacing the whole belt sooner than I would have if I'd just left it alone. Those zip ties through the buckle slots sound like a recipe for corrosion and broken plastic pieces floating around your gear bag. Sometimes the simple stuff does make sense, but sometimes it's just a guy who got used to a bad habit and called it wisdom.