For tropical diving I don't use any ditchable weight, SS BP is enough to keep me down in a 3mm shorty with either singles or doubles/stages
Is it a bad thing not to have disposable weights?
- Thread starter Progen
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The general question here is "Can I get buoyant in an emergency? Especially if that emergency involves a BC failure?"
One solution is to have ditchable weights, but that is not the only solution...
*Never* depend on a wetsuit as part of your basic buoyancy equation - its buoyancy varies with depth and it doesn't take a whole lot of depth for its buoyancy to evaporate entirely.
So... where does that leave us?
If we're negative without any weight at the surface, then a BC failure would mean we're negative regardless of depth, and as we have nothing to ditch, we need some other way to get positive.
Some options are:
Dry suit
Orally inflatable snorkel vest or "May West" (there are models that can be carried in a pocket)
SMB or Lift Bag - these aren't complete without a little more thought to what we're going to do once we reach the surface, as either will quit lifting the diver some five or six feet short of the surface. We need to not only be able to swim up those last few feet but to be positive *on* the surface while getting to the boat or shore. My personal solution to this problem is to clip my rig off to the lift bag/SMB and leave it below while I swim up (remembering to take my time and exhale - or, here's a case for a seven foot hose on your primary, eh?) and float on the surface. If you're a "sinker" even without your rig than you might want to consider wearing or carrying a snorkel vest. (Some SMB's and Lift Bags don't have an open vent and could be used to support a diver on the surface)
Bottom line, it's wise to have redundant buoyancy. That can be ditchable weight or a secondary lift device.
Rick
One solution is to have ditchable weights, but that is not the only solution...
*Never* depend on a wetsuit as part of your basic buoyancy equation - its buoyancy varies with depth and it doesn't take a whole lot of depth for its buoyancy to evaporate entirely.
So... where does that leave us?
If we're negative without any weight at the surface, then a BC failure would mean we're negative regardless of depth, and as we have nothing to ditch, we need some other way to get positive.
Some options are:
Dry suit
Orally inflatable snorkel vest or "May West" (there are models that can be carried in a pocket)
SMB or Lift Bag - these aren't complete without a little more thought to what we're going to do once we reach the surface, as either will quit lifting the diver some five or six feet short of the surface. We need to not only be able to swim up those last few feet but to be positive *on* the surface while getting to the boat or shore. My personal solution to this problem is to clip my rig off to the lift bag/SMB and leave it below while I swim up (remembering to take my time and exhale - or, here's a case for a seven foot hose on your primary, eh?) and float on the surface. If you're a "sinker" even without your rig than you might want to consider wearing or carrying a snorkel vest. (Some SMB's and Lift Bags don't have an open vent and could be used to support a diver on the surface)
Bottom line, it's wise to have redundant buoyancy. That can be ditchable weight or a secondary lift device.
Rick
Last edited:
No
Thicker wetsuit = more buoyancy = more weight needed
So if you don't have ditchable weight, you're potentially in a worse situation than with a thinner wetsuit (all other things being equal)
As Rick mentioned above, as you descend your wetsuit will compress, losing buoyancy and leaving you more negative should you have a BCD failure = harder to swim up
So the answer is either to have 'balanced rig' which you can swim up from depth (in the veent of BC failure), or redundant buoyancy of some form (drysuit, SMB, lift bag or the 'dreaded' dual wing). Not a thicker wetsuit, whcih will only help once you're back on the surface and/or have ditched your rig/weights
r4e
Contributor
One way to test your balanced rig is to empty your BCD completely at max depth and tanks full. Are you able to swim up? If you are, there is less need for any discardable weight. And, you have a total of four options ascending: fill your BCD, fill your dry suit, fill your SMB, or, swim up.
In the past three years I have been diving with no lead, just a BP plus twin tanks. This works fine with a thin dry suit with a Weezle undersuit (for cold waters) or just a dry suit with swimming trunks and a T-shirt (warmer waters) underneath. However, after a cave course with tanks sucked almost empty, I learned to add 2-3kg as a V-weight between the tanks and back plate for added security and convenience as well. In a cave there might be situations where you cannot fully vent your dry suit and lead becomes very welcome.
I am still without any discardable weight. In a serious situation I would drop my slightly negative camera, canister light, and/or backup lamps. On the surface I would consider getting out of my BM kit, fully inflating my dry suit (like a Michelin man) and letting the BM kit go, or, disassembling the wing from the kit for additional surface buoyancy without the tanks and back plate.
In the past three years I have been diving with no lead, just a BP plus twin tanks. This works fine with a thin dry suit with a Weezle undersuit (for cold waters) or just a dry suit with swimming trunks and a T-shirt (warmer waters) underneath. However, after a cave course with tanks sucked almost empty, I learned to add 2-3kg as a V-weight between the tanks and back plate for added security and convenience as well. In a cave there might be situations where you cannot fully vent your dry suit and lead becomes very welcome.
I am still without any discardable weight. In a serious situation I would drop my slightly negative camera, canister light, and/or backup lamps. On the surface I would consider getting out of my BM kit, fully inflating my dry suit (like a Michelin man) and letting the BM kit go, or, disassembling the wing from the kit for additional surface buoyancy without the tanks and back plate.
