29/71 has already been presented as a great British company in the freediving world. R&D, design and production is all in house and the products are really amazing. The first one we have tried is the Series 2 neck weight, something that has really impressed the Apnea Passion International Team, and which shows how 29/71 is a great alternative to more known companies such as Cetma Composites, C4 Carbon, Molchanovs and others. Let’s se how this adjustable neck weight works.
Design and materials
The 29/71 Series 2 adjustable neck weight is made of a central flexible body made of a void rectangular section tube in rubber. Inside 14 removable led or plastic elements, according to the desired weight, are present. On the sides the glass loaded nylon parts made with 3D advanced technology printer for the locking system are present.
Locking system
The locking system is as simple as it perfectly works. One side of the neck weight has a clip with the design similar to a flat hook. This can be easily connected with the opposite side of the Series 2, where a steel axle is present. The process is simple, fast and safe. The is really no possibility for the 29/71 Series 2 neck weight to open and come off your neck.
Adjustable weight system
What is really interesting is the simplicity and effectiveness of the weight adjusting system. The 29/71 Series 2 neck weight has 6 + 8 removable squared elements. These are both made in lead or plastic. The lead elements weight 95.5 grams while the plastic ones are 8 grams (Apnea Passion measures). Shifting from a lead to a plastic elements changes the weight of the 29/71 Series to neck weight by 88.5 grams.
Simply unscrewing two Allen screws per side permits to extract the side glass loaded nylon caps with a special “net” containing 3 of these elements per side. In such way the leads are kept in place and slide out simply by pulling the two lateral caps, one per side. Once taken out the leads can be changed with the plastic elements, so that the weight of the 29/71 Series 2 neck weight can change from 1500 grams to 900 grams.
Additionally, if 29/71 includes another 8 plastic elements, the Total weight of the Series 2 could go down to around 200 grams. This would be far too low, but thinking of a 500 or 600 grams solution could be an opportunity in some occasions (very thin or no wetsuit) for small physique girls for example.
Once the leads are changed and the final weight of the Series 2 is set, the Allen the two caps are reinserted and the caps put back in position. The Allen screws are tightened and the 29/71 Series 2 neck weight is put back in position. Easy, relatively fast and … economical. A 29/71 Series 2 neck weight costs only 75£ (British pounds), equivalent to 86€, plus shipping. On the market two other adjustable weight solutions for Outdoor apnea are present, the C4 D&D (1030 to 1630 grams for the Outdoor Apnea version), with a cost of 129€, and the Lobster Squid (from 800 to 1300 grams), beautiful but extremely expensive, at 199€, just recently discounted for evident reasons, to 139€.
So, for the best weight excursion, from 500 (or lower) to 1500 grams, and Best Price, only 86€ plus shipping, the 29/71 Series 2 is the best solution on the market. For a higher top weight, a good price and a great adjustable system with no need of screws and keys, the C4 D&D is a great solution at a good price. The Lobster Squid is definitely the best aesthetical design solution, but is the most expensive one and has the most limited weight excursion, except buying the 159€ version, the Sport 1.6 Kg (discounted from 219€), which goes nicely up to 1.6 Kg.
