Helping divers make informed decisions about training, gear, skills, and safety at every stage of their journey.

Balanced Rig: Understanding Proper Weighting

What Is a Balanced Rig?

A Balanced Rig is a dive setup where you carry only as much weight as needed to compensate for the gas you will consume during a dive. This ensures that, even if your buoyancy compensator (BCD) or wing fails, you can still swim up safely without ditching weights.

Before setting up a Balanced Rig, you must determine your proper weighting. If you haven’t done a buoyancy check and calculated how much weight you actually need, stop now and read our guide on Buoyancy & Weighting. Otherwise, the Balanced Rig concept won’t be useful.

The Core Principle of a Balanced Rig

A properly weighted diver should only need to compensate for the gas they consume. For example, if you are diving a single AL80 tank, you are only compensating for about 5 lbs of gas loss from start to finish.

If you can comfortably swim up that 5 lbs without a working BCD, then you are, by definition, diving a Balanced Rig whether you realize it or not.

Bouyancy of an AL80

The Ditchable vs. Non-Ditchable Debate

The main disagreement in Balanced Rig discussions isn’t about weighting itself, but rather whether divers should carry ditchable weights. This is a risk calculation decision, and there is no universal right answer.

View 1: No Ditchable Weight (Purist Approach)

  • If properly weighted, you should never need to ditch weight in an emergency.
  • Eliminating ditchable weight removes the risk of accidental loss.
  • If your BCD fails, you should still be able to swim up your full rig without assistance.

View 2: Keeping Ditchable Weight (Practical Approach)

  • Ditchable weights provide an emergency option if something goes wrong.
  • Some divers may be overweighted due to wetsuit compression or rental gear.
  • The real-world risk of a BCD failure is low, but the impact can be severe.

Which approach is best? That depends on your risk tolerance and equipment setup.

An assumption is being made that you have an appropriately sized Wing or BCD for the equipment configuration you are diving. If you wear a drysuit with a steel HP100 tank and dive with 20 lbs of lead while only having a 22lb lift wing...then a balanced rig is the least of your concerns. Your Wing or BCD should have sufficient lift capacity to float you and all of your equipment (including the non-ditchable weight) at the surface.

Real-World Considerations for Recreational Divers

For most recreational divers, perfect weighting is not always practical due to rental gear, travel diving, or budget limitations. Here’s what to consider:

  • If you are diving an AL80 and properly weighted, you are compensating for ~5 lbs of gas.
  • If you can swim up with full gear at the end of the dive, ditchable weights are not required.
  • If you need to carry extra weight for trim or exposure protection, evaluate whether some of it should be ditchable.

In my personal experience, I have never had a BCD failure, but I have had an accidental weight ditch on my second-ever Open Water certification dive. The real-world risks of accidental loss versus BCD failure should be part of your decision-making process.

My BPW setup (xDeep Zen) includes ditchable weight pockets, but I don’t use them for quick release. I use them because the tank band pockets max out at 10 lbs (5lb x 2). This is an example of adapting to gear limitations rather than blindly following a rule.

Final Thoughts: Make an Informed Decision

There is no single "right" answer. Instead of asking, "Should I carry ditchable weights?" ask:

  • Have I properly calculated my weighting? (See Buoyancy & Weighting Guide)
  • Can I swim up my rig if my BCD fails?
  • Am I more concerned about BCD failure or accidental ditching?
  • Does my gear setup limit my weight placement options?