For many years I had been using a traditional weight belt and lead weights which had always suited me down to the ground. When I bought my wing and harness system, however, I found that the waist and crutch straps on the harness interfered with my old weight belt, so I was happy to try out the Bowstone weight harness.

The harness consists of two shoulder straps, made from a medium grade webbing, which are comfortable and mould to your torso without being too stiff. The waist strap and pouch retainers are made from a more heavy duty webbing and cordura. The pouch retainers hold the two weight pouches and the quick release fastening. The harness is adjusted on the shoulder and waist straps for a perfect fit. A rear buckle allows the pouch retainers to be positioned from around by the kidneys to above the hips or further around the back. The shoulder straps are ideal for mounting a line cutter or small knife. One of the benefits of the system is that rather than having to invest in new shot weight pouches like you do with some models, you simply use your existing lead weights. The weights are slipped inside the heavy duty pouch which is then fastened by a large velcro flap. The weight pouch is then slipped inside the retainer and a second velcro flap holds the whole thing securely in place.

In an emergency you simply yank forward the large yellow retaining flap and the pouch comes cleanly out of the harness, this procedure also works nicely for removing the pouches prior to passing them into a RIB or climbing back aboard a hard boat. At around £85 the harness obviously costs a lot more than a weight belt but when you take into account that you won't need to change your weights plus the construction, comfort and flexibility I would suggest that this was money well spent. For details of stockists contact Bowstone Diving Products at 0161 442 0272

Review by John Lee