Scuba Choice Vinyl Coated Dive Weights

Scuba Choice vinyl-coated weights are a practical upgrade from bare lead, with smooth coating that protects your gear and handle cut-outs that make wrangling weights between dives much less tedious.

Lead weights are about as exciting as ballast gets, but the details matter more than you might think. Bare lead scuffs your backplate, leaves grey marks on your wetsuit, and corrodes into an ugly powdery mess if you leave it in a damp dive bag. The Scuba Choice vinyl-coated range solves all of those annoyances at a reasonable $62 price point. Available in multiple sizes, each weight is dipped in a thick vinyl coating and features handle cut-outs that make picking them up, threading them onto a belt, and handing them to your buddy on a boat significantly easier.

## Overview

Scuba Choice vinyl-coated weights are standard lead dive weights covered in a durable vinyl coating. They are available in various sizes to suit different buoyancy needs, and each weight features cut-out handles moulded into the shape. The vinyl coating is smooth, corrosion-resistant, and colour-coded by weight size in some configurations. They work with standard weight belts, BCD integrated weight pockets, and weight harnesses.

## Key Features

- Vinyl coating over lead for corrosion resistance and gear protection - Handle cut-outs for easy grip and belt threading - Available in multiple weight sizes - Compatible with standard weight belts and integrated weight pockets - Smooth finish that will not scuff gear or wetsuits - Compact profile for their weight class

## The Good

- The vinyl coating genuinely protects your equipment. No more grey lead smears on your BCD, wetsuit, or car boot. After months of use, the coating on ours remains intact with no peeling or cracking, even with regular salt water exposure. - Handle cut-outs make a surprising difference to usability. Picking up a slippery bare lead weight on a rocking boat is unpleasant. The cut-outs give you a secure grip, and threading weights onto a belt goes from fiddly to straightforward. - Corrosion resistance is a genuine practical benefit in Australian conditions. Bare lead left in a dive bag between weekends develops a white oxide layer that flakes off onto everything. The vinyl coating eliminates this entirely. - The compact profile means they fit well in integrated weight pockets. BCD pockets designed for block weights accommodate these without the awkward bulging or poor fit you sometimes get with irregularly shaped lead. - Multiple size options let you fine-tune your weighting precisely. Rather than carrying two large weights and being slightly over or under, you can mix sizes to dial in your buoyancy accurately. - The smooth vinyl surface slides easily on and off weight belts, which makes setup and adjustments faster than dealing with rough-cast bare lead.

## The Bad

- At $62, they cost more than bare lead weights of equivalent total mass. You are paying a premium for the coating and convenience features. Budget-conscious divers who already own bare lead may not see the value in replacing them. - The vinyl coating, while durable, is not indestructible. Dropping weights onto sharp rocks or concrete ramps can puncture the coating, which then allows water underneath and eventually leads to corrosion at that spot. Handle with reasonable care. - Scuba Choice is not a major dive brand in Australia. Sourcing specific sizes locally can require online ordering, and availability may be inconsistent. - The handle cut-outs, while useful, reduce the lead volume slightly for a given external size. This is a minor point, but it means a coated weight with handles is fractionally larger than a bare lead weight of the same mass. - Colour coding by size is helpful but not always consistent across batches. Do not rely on colour alone to identify weight — always check the markings. - If you dive regularly at sites with rough concrete entries like some Sydney rock pools, the coating on the bottom edges will wear through faster. Carrying weights in a mesh bag to the entry point helps preserve them.

## Verdict

Scuba Choice vinyl-coated weights are a sensible upgrade from bare lead for any diver who values their gear and their patience. The coating protects your equipment, the handle cut-outs make handling easier, and the corrosion resistance means your weights stay clean between dives. They cost more than bare lead, and the Scuba Choice brand is not widely stocked in Australian shops, but the practical benefits are real and worth the modest premium. A worthwhile investment for regular divers who are tired of lead oxide dust on everything they own.

**Rating: 4.0 / 5 stars**