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I think you nailed it on the head. I currently have soft weights because they conform better in the weight pockets and are not hard when I bump my arm on them. But they take 2-3 days to dry out after diving, and it’s hard to get all the salt water out, so they leave a salt residue on the table I dry them on. I actually plan to switch to hard weights with the rubber coating after my soft weighs rip a hole and go bad.
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Soft weights to conform but they can also get caught up making installation a bit tougher. They aslo loose the coating off the beads and deteriorate faster because the lead then has greater exposed surface area. Coated lead weights last the longest but because of the coating may be tighter in a pocket. I’ve found that many of the rear BC pockets that are rated for 5 lbs do not fit soft or coated lead weights only the solid version which it seems barely allow the weight to slip in and flaps to lock down. Even the side pockets of many BCD function better with hard uncoated lead weight for the first to slide in as they dont tend to get caught and guide the second weight whether it is solid or soft. When used i a pouched belt soft aids comfort as it may in the BCD overall hard uncoated weights are the most reliable for function and probably will outlast the soft weight. I own and use a mix of hard and soft but when using my dive requires maxing out the rear pockets it’s hard weight and if I need more them 10 lbs between the dumpable side pockets the first weight will be hard. When I dive my Backplate & wing wet I use all soft and with the BP&W using drysuit is the only time I use coated hard weight in the way of 2) 5lb weights on the belt with a pocket in between them that can hold another 10 lbs which I prefer as softweight. So the answer to your question is it is highly subjective to your configuration.
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You may end up with a mix, for my cold water set-up I use soft weights because they are easier on the body. If I’m doing a beach dive with a 3 mil and the steel 72 I only need a few pounds for trim, unfortunetly the small soft weights find their way out of my OMS pockets so I need to use hard weights with that set-up.
As for soft weights taking long to dry, try not to let your dive gear ever dry out :)
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As long as you don’t have to over-load the integrated pockets coated hard weights work fine.
You can easily do 2- 4# and 1- 2# in the pockets, 20# should be pretty close to what you would need even in a 7 mil wet suit.
Try renting both configurations on your next local dive to figure which you prefer.
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I will give them both a try the next few times i dive, thanks guys!
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I like solid weights and they will last forever. Soft weights will eventually wear out and you will start dropping lead pellets into the environment.
For the most part, I use my solid weights with a weight integrated b/c. However, I have boney hips and solid weights bug me if I have to wear a weight belt so I use soft weights in a weight belt with pockets.
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