Weights

[wolflegresley]

Honestly,

it it would be well worth toyr money to take buyoancy performance class. 200 cdn dollars and not only do you learn proper weighting calculations and tests, but instructors should focus on your treat as well. Plus you get 2-4 dives out of it!

i highly recommend you consider this option! Heck bring your friends along! It's a course that everybody can Lear from.

 

[Lateralus]

I'll be diving in Cozumel. I will be wearing a 2.5mm wet suit. I'm 150 lbs. What should my ballpark weights be? I will be diving with a regular tank.

On a dive in Florida, my DM told me I only needed 10 lbs in a 2.5 wet suit.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I'll be diving in Cozumel. I will be wearing a 2.5mm wet suit. I'm 150 lbs. What should my ballpark weights be? I will be diving with a regular tank.

On a dive in Florida, my DM told me I only needed 10 lbs in a 2.5 wet suit.

You are in the ball park - I am 175lbs with a full 3 mm suit and used 8lbs using an AL80 in Key West.

 

[Iralub]

I agree with Tbone - but you could try this Estimated Diving Weight Calculator it will get you in the ballpark.

I just tried this and it gave me 12lb with a 3mm wetsuit. I dive with about half that. :-/

 

[KevinNM]

Rent a tank, a strong mesh bag and say 10 2 pound and a pair of 1 pound (if possible) weights from a dive shop and jump in the pool with that wet suit and full gear on. Start with no weights, add a pound (just hold the mesh bag and drop it in) if you don't sink when you exhale. Be sure you don't move your fins. Repeat until you sink. Now you know how much you need in fresh water with a full tank. If you add about 4 pounds you will still be able to stay under water with an empty tank. (it varies by tank, but for an AL80 4 pounds is typical). That should get you the right amount of weight for your weight belt or weight pockets. (You can also do this by adding your weights directly to your weight belt or BCD pockets instead of a mesh bag, but it takes a lot longer to do that way)

You will probably need to add a little weight in salt water, so do a buoyancy check in salt water when you arrive.

Trim depends on how the weight is distributed, so it's a lot more complex to do and a second person helps a lot. It helps much more if they know what they are doing, but just having someone who can tell you you are down by the head and help move weight around helps.

 

[jon84gt]

You can also load some lace through weights up on a belt and go down to the bottom of the pool while holding the belt in your hand in full gear. Let the weights sit on the bottom (upright) and the ones that you don't need will kinda float up especially if you have the lighter ones on the ends. One of my instructors taught me this trick when I was having a hard time trying to figure out what I needed diving with a suit my first time. The only problem you will have then is figuring out how to place the total in your BC ie trim etc. but you can play around with that while in the pool. Like Kevin said in the above post its also easier to have a buddy help. Just remember the near empty tank towards the end of the dive especially aluminum.

 

[Nemrod]

Many people, guys in particular have heavy legs. This is worse with lanky body types or especially those with long(er) legs and short(er) torsos. Then over weight yourself with all that weight concentrated around the hips/waist and guess what, your body rotates to the vertical as you try to walk underwater or bicycle.

Important contributor to bicycling, your arms waving around, arm swimming. Cross them below or in front or latch them to your sides. I cannot count the number of divers I have tried to coach on this who refuse to admit they are arm swimming and they are arm swimming big time. Arm swimming rotates the body upward. Your goal is to be able to maneuver, completely, without any input from your hands or arms---NONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Learn to be still in the water. No movement. Then when you do move, move with purpose and control.

Getting your weight reduced to the bare minimum and distributing some of it forward on your upper camband will help a great deal.

Then learn/work at getting your upper legs to remain parallel to your body and your lower legs pulled up at approximately 60 degrees. The perfect position from which to frog kick. Do not drop your knees, your upper legs and knees must remain in the same plane as your torso. Use your arms as a counterbalance and move them forward.

Since I carry a camera almost all of the time, it counts as part of my weight and trim.

N

 

[Dnaber]

The last couple times I went out with my buddy who is senior in diving skills, keeps tell me I need to add weight. But I don't think so. In my current configuration I'm in a spring, 2.5 mm suit, and a 120 steel tank. With this configuration I dive with 4lbs in the BC weight pockets and 2lbs in shoulder trim pockets. With this I can descend at a controlled rate. Hold a vertical position and ascend by inhaling and descend by exhaling. I don't have to add much air to the BC while diving and I feel pretty good about my trim. His thought is that at the bottom I have an issue with holding the bottom in the current of the spring. Should I add more weight so I can deflate the BC and be planted to the bottom? Is that that important?

 

[emoreira]

There is, what it's called a "buoyancy check", that should be done prior to the first dive of the dive excursion.
Basically you should be completely geared, tank full, BCD completely empty, lungs full of air. Keep your breath for a second and you should be floating with the water at your eyes level. If you exhale, you should sink. In this condition, if water is lower that your eyes, you are underweighted, add weight; if water covers you, you are overweighted, remove weight.

 

[KevinNM]

His thought is that at the bottom I have an issue with holding the bottom in the current of the spring. Should I add more weight so I can deflate the BC and be planted to the bottom? Is that that important?

Why would you want to do this? I'm serious, is there a good reason for this, like you are doing some sort of construction work at the bottom? Or does he just want you to be planted in the mud for "reasons"?