Wish I could be there to go diving with you guys...
Yep, weight belts work great with backplates and wings... And Halcyon, Oxycheq, and Dive Rite (and many more) all make weight pockets that go on 2" webbing, so if you want to "weight integrate" your backplate and wing like a "weight integrated" BC, that works, too.
...But most people find that they don't need any ditchable weight at all (think of it as "already ditched") in a backplate and wing. That's because you're diving so little of it to begin with.
An example: In a 3mm wetsuit, a stainless backplate and STA, and an aluminum 80, I require no weight at all - and it's not like I don't have any bouyant fat on my body. If I was fitter, I'd actually be overweighted and need to go to an aluminum plate.
The stainless plate's actually worth about 5 pounds, and the STA is another pound... But overall, I'm diving with six or seven pounds total, none of which is on my belt. There's simply nothing to ditch!
In a 7mm suit (thick - the suit's 16 lbs bouyant), I require 8 pounds on each hip in saltwater with the above configuration... A total of 16 lbs, plus plate and STA - a total of 22 lbs, technically speaking - and the heaviest I dive.
The entire rig is totally neutral at all times, regardless of my configuration... The most I would ever be negative, even if I couldn't use my wing at all, is 6 pounds.
...And that swims up very nicely. Swimming up is actually much easier - and much safer - than dumping a weight belt. It's also more sensical, doesn't make you lose weight belts, and doesn't drop weights on your buddy below.
...And it'll never send you shooting to the surface unsafely.
The reason why they teach you to dump weights in class is for the reason that you're mentioning... Because most divers dive oveweighted. It's not uncommon at all to see new divers diving with 30 pounds of weight in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt (Which is anywhere from 25 to 30 pounds overweighted.) If they have a problem at the bottom of the pool and can't inflate their wing, they're stuck, 'cause they can't swim that up... So they're taught how to ditch weights.
...But that's not the real problem. The real problem is that they're diving overweighted in the first place. And think about it... They had to buy that extra weight in the first place, lug it around everywhere, and clean it up and rinse it off when they get home, too. Wouldn't it just be easier to learn how to dive correctly weighted in the first place?
The problem with that is, PADI doesn't want the legal liability of staking one's life on being weighted correctly - they'd rather teach you to ditch weight 'cause it removes the liability for them.
...But the right way to do it - the simplest way, which also has a ton of other benefits to it - is to weight yourself properly and never have to worry about it.
When I need weight, I thread it right onto the harness belt. Since I'll never ditch it, this is the cleanest, simplest rig I know. But if you want pockets (either plain ones to put weights in or actual "ditch" pockets), they make 'em. They're actually pretty doggone good quality, too!
Expect that when you go to your LDS, they're going to give you a whole bunch of stuff about it - you know that, right? It'd be like driving into a Chevy dealership in a Mercedes. If they don't tell you that it's a piece of crap because it doesn't have the latest padded supercushy 60-pound lift bladder and 47 D-ring design, then they'll tell you that you're just showing off "the good stuff" and being arrogant.
I hear it all the time. So does tgreene. And so do all of the other experienced divers out there, who are laughed at by the latest owners of elevator lever equipped poodle jackets.
A year later, of course, they're all out discovering new hobbies like golf and fishing (???) while we're learning to crack the 200' mark or laying new cave line to what was the previous local record or discovering a new shipwreck or whatever.
I'm not trying to be arrogant about it... I'm just tellin' you that when you go to your LDS, expect that they're already not going to like the system because you didn't buy it from them.
If you have ONE intelligent person there who's dived a cave or a cavern or wreck or rebreather or deep or deco or whatever... Then you'll know that you're on the right track when they say, "Wow... Let me see that... Looks just like mine."
They may even get a kick out of the blue wing or the split STA... Both of which are pretty unusual, very usable, and very cool.
Experienced divers always look at my cam bands with great interest (assuming I've got my singles' rig) - expect those to be studied pretty intently.
I can't wait to see photos. Have you seen tgreene's stuff? Also amazing - the guy's already got both a singles' rig and doubles rig already, and he didn't dive a backplate and wing for the first time until about 90 days ago.
I kept telling him not to spend any money... So he figured out a way to start to get stuff for free. I swear, I tried to keep him from getting any more gear...
It's like an addiction...
