How much weight? And which suit?

I'm headed to Tulum, Mexico for some beach time and snorkeling the ocean a bit (my open water classes start 2 weeks after that - getting back into diving after a 23 year hiatus!)

I've got 2 suits I'm considering taking (both recently acquired):
- 2mm shorty
- 3/2 full jumpsuit

I'm 5'11" and 170 lbs.

Any guesses on how much weight I should take for the salt water?

I bought a soft weight belt with 5 pouches and 12 lbs total of assorted soft weights (two each of 1, 2, and 3 lbs figuring I could dial in really well with that assortment).

Once I get down there I know how to test out my bouyancy and adjust, I just don't want to find myself way underweighted and have to hunt down a dive store.

Also - any advice on the suits? I'm thinking just the shorty, but I read on this forum someone else in Belize uses their full 3/2 all the time for snorkeling/free diving.

I guess "both" is one way to go, but not sure I want to lug that.

Thanks much.

it's such a crap shoot on wetsuits and weights... I was just in the riviera maya and wore my 2 piece 3mil freediving suit.. high waist pants and hooded jacket sans zipper and 4lbs of weight had me about nuetral at -30' or so.. for the shallower stuff I added 2lbs but could have added 1, maybe 2 more and still been bouyant at the surface. I'm 5'10", lean 155lbs. Fresh water I'm in the same 3mil suit, no weights, and nuetral at about -25 to -30 or so. Water wasn't all that warm...the weather down the coast has been unusually cool.. down to 55deg. the other morning at akumal.. my D3 showed 77deg. when usually on these trips it shows 79-81. If you're a soft 170lbs.. take the lead along.. if you're a solid 170lbs.. you could maybe leave some at home. About the full suit, I like being warm and another thing ... my wife and I were waaaaaaaay out there one day and I was hoping to get in some good freediving when we got into some little jellies.. she was in a 3/4 suit and was done.. I never knew they were there..

codecruncher,

I'd take that soft belt back and get a freediving belt, like a rubber Marseillaise belt.

It won't slip around or ride up when inverted and your suit is compressed. It's less bulky as well, and far more durable.

It uses standard hard lead weights, available anywhere. Many freedivers use bullet weights too.

As far as a guide to how much weight, I'm bigger than you but probably proportionate. 6'1" 185 lbs. In salt water with my 3mm suit, I use 6 lbs for deep water, and up to 8 lbs for shallow water. (2 to 3 lbs less for freshwater.)

Chad

First the suit. In this case it can be just as much about protection other than thermal like sun, stings and scrapes so I'd go with the full.

Never went ocean skin-diving in my 3/2 but in fresh water I like 3 or 4 pounds. So 7-8 for the ocean. I'm 5-9 / 200LB FWIW.

Pete

codecruncher:

but I read on this forum someone else in Belize uses their full 3/2 all the time for snorkeling/free diving.

.

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I'm pretty sure it was me who said that. I do wear a full 3 mm this time of year and get cold sometimes (water is about 25C). But in the summer the water is more like 28-30 centigrade and I wear only a 3 mm shortie when free diving.
If you're snorkeling and just looking, well, weights are an option I guess. If you're planning on diving to the bottom and looking around, they're a necessity. I use 8 lbs with a full 3 mm suit. (same with scuba) This allows me to be about neutral once I get to 15-20 feet depth with a full breath. (I'm 6'0", 185 lbs, not much body fat)

With 1/4 full wetsuit I use 16-18 pounds. I'm 5'11", 185, about 10 # above "fighting weight", heh. Normally, 60 feet is my deepest depth with average being about 30-45 feet. When prowling shallow water I add some weight, totalling up to 20 pounds with a thick suit. This allows me to dive under and hang without splashing or arm movements.

With 3 mm suit, let's estimate 8 pounds lead. I like to be neutral at about 15 feet. However, I wear a UDT vest so if there is difficulty reaching the surface there is the option of detonating the CO2 cartridge. The belt is homemade, similar to that which Trident sells. It is cut from a large sheet of 1/16 rubber purchased on EBay. The wire buckle is bent from 3/16 stainless, also from EBay. I might put up some pics on the DIY room but I'm not sure how to describe the method of bending the wire into a buckle. I use an old steel buckle as a model. I use the homemade belt because the Trident design is not quite right. The Trident buckle does not lay flush against the stomach, the end of the release sticks out about a 1/4 inch. To avoid entanglement, something like a shooting line hanging up the buckle, my copy (like the old buckle) keeps the release flat against the belt when locked down.