Blackwood
Contributor
zbskii:
I suppose... I'm used to 7mm, though, so I float with no air in my BC.
BP/W ditchable weight?
- Thread starter zbskii
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I suppose... I'm used to 7mm, though, so I float with no air in my BC.
alpaj
Contributor
Doesn't matter what your diving in (BP/W or jacket/vest (other then a spun brass helmet 
). If you sink like a rock (with no air in your BC) from the surface, you don't know how to weight yourself properly. You are supposed to be neutral, with a normal breath, and NO air in your bc AT the surface. You then release that breath to start your descent. I heard some where a very good statement: "Weights are there to let you sink NOT make you sink". Just as your BC is not there to MAKE you float, though you may use them to help you. BC's are used for compensation at depth due to compression. Now granted you should be five pounds negative at the beginning of a dive because through out the dive you will loose approximatly 5 pounds of air. Thus these five pounds will ensure that you are neutral at the surface at the end of a dive. If you can't kick against five pounds negative you should probably not be diving. IF you are worried about having your BC ripped of you should probably replace it. Come to think about it I remeber talking to one of those "Back in the day we used to..." divers who said that even today he does not dive with a BC. He has made so many dives that he knows how much weight to use for a given depth. He will start positive and then propell himself to depth (kick). Due to wetsuit compression he will then end up positive at the given depth. This of course has its depth limits. But this is arguably safer then weights and bc's. I won't be doing it anytime soon but it speaks to the fact that BC's are not life support.
My two, Happy Safe Diving
). If you sink like a rock (with no air in your BC) from the surface, you don't know how to weight yourself properly. You are supposed to be neutral, with a normal breath, and NO air in your bc AT the surface. You then release that breath to start your descent. I heard some where a very good statement: "Weights are there to let you sink NOT make you sink". Just as your BC is not there to MAKE you float, though you may use them to help you. BC's are used for compensation at depth due to compression. Now granted you should be five pounds negative at the beginning of a dive because through out the dive you will loose approximatly 5 pounds of air. Thus these five pounds will ensure that you are neutral at the surface at the end of a dive. If you can't kick against five pounds negative you should probably not be diving. IF you are worried about having your BC ripped of you should probably replace it. Come to think about it I remeber talking to one of those "Back in the day we used to..." divers who said that even today he does not dive with a BC. He has made so many dives that he knows how much weight to use for a given depth. He will start positive and then propell himself to depth (kick). Due to wetsuit compression he will then end up positive at the given depth. This of course has its depth limits. But this is arguably safer then weights and bc's. I won't be doing it anytime soon but it speaks to the fact that BC's are not life support. My two, Happy Safe Diving
cool_hardware52
Contributor
Well said Alpaj,
What I shoot for when I'm diving singles in a 5mm or 7mm suit:
I want to be neutral at the surface (eyelevel) at the start of the dive with no gas in my wing. Sounds too light, but it's really not.
At even 10' my wetsuit has lost enough buoyancy to offset the 5-6 lbs of gas I'll consume, never has a problem holding a stop even at 10ft.
This of course won't work in a thin suit, or a dry suit, but works great for the local (SoCal) waters.
Tobin
What I shoot for when I'm diving singles in a 5mm or 7mm suit:
I want to be neutral at the surface (eyelevel) at the start of the dive with no gas in my wing. Sounds too light, but it's really not.
At even 10' my wetsuit has lost enough buoyancy to offset the 5-6 lbs of gas I'll consume, never has a problem holding a stop even at 10ft.
This of course won't work in a thin suit, or a dry suit, but works great for the local (SoCal) waters.
Tobin
Blackwood
Contributor
alpaj:
Exactly. That's more-or-less what I was meaning, though you said it better. With my 7mm suit and singles rig, I dive with 4 pounds (HP100), and won't sink if I deflate.
I'm a DUI harness user with a drysuit as well. It's under my crotch strap too. It's not an issue....pull the release handles and the weight is gone.
In a weight suit I just use drop weights on a bolt snap.
In a weight suit I just use drop weights on a bolt snap.
Zeagle also has weight systems made for back plates with zip touch or ripcord releases.
http://www.zeagle.com/index.php?src=gendocs&id=79&category=Accessories
Chad
http://www.zeagle.com/index.php?src=gendocs&id=79&category=Accessories
Chad
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