Weight in 3mil vs. 7mil

Lottifish · Sep 11, 2009

Hello,

Does anyone know what the weight difference should be when diving in a 3mil wetsuit vs. 7mil? I usually dive with 36lbs. in my 7mil but am traveling soon and need to know how much to wear with a 3mil.

Thanks!

joolz · Sep 11, 2009

Two words: buoyancy check

Start around 12-15 and adjust from there

Lottifish · Sep 11, 2009

Wow, really? You think I should start with 21-24 lbs. less?! I had no idea it was such a big difference!

Jim Lapenta · Sep 11, 2009

How old is the 7 mil? The 3? What BC are you using? Fresh water or salt? There is really no way for us to tell you. We can come close but what is close for us may not work well for you. What's your height and weight? Are you overweighted to begin with? 36 lbs is a lot of lead even in a 7 mil. How did you arrive at that number? Did you do buoyancy checks or was that what you were told by someone? Proper weigting should have been covered in your ow class. Empty tank (500psi ), deflate BC, if you descend slowly as you exhale you're pretty close. On the surface holding a breath with the empty BC you should float at eye level. Etc, etc. Doing a proper check is the best way to know.

Lottifish · Sep 11, 2009

The 7 mil has seen about 15 dives and the 3mil is brand new. (Both the exact same wetsuit except for the mil) Using the same BC I always use, a Contour. All salt water dives. I'm 5'6 and weight 232. The 36 is from experience, not what someone told me. What people told me was not enough to get me down.

Of course checks in the water are best but when I'm diving off a boat with a guide it's much easier if I have an idea of what to start with because I may not be able to change it once I'm in.

Thanks!

joolz · Sep 11, 2009

Lottifish:
I'm 5'6 and weight 232. The 36 is from experience, not what someone told me. What people told me was not enough to get me down.

OK, this makes more sense. You're going to have some natural buoyancy, so maybe start around 18-20. This is why the importance of doing your own buoyancy check can't be overstated.

Lottifish:
Of course checks in the water are best but when I'm diving off a boat with a guide it's much easier if I have an idea of what to start with because I may not be able to change it once I'm in.

I can't remember if the Contour has trim pockets at the back, but I think all Aeris BCDs do. This makes it really easy to add up to 5 pounds per pocket even when you're in the water. If you're going to a dive resort, they're used to people changing from their usual weighting and should have a whole stack of extra weight on the boat if you need it.

Tailspin · Sep 11, 2009

For what it's worth, I have two identical model Henderson wetsuits, one 3mm and one 7mm.

I need 26 lbs for the 7mm in fresh water (no hood or gloves). If everything else stays the same, and I simply use the 3mm instead, I need 22 lbs in fresh water.

I use steel 100 HP tanks for all my local fresh water diving ... which also makes a big difference (less weight required) over the aluminum 80's I used in Roatan last March.

YMWV.

GrumpyOldGuy · Sep 11, 2009

Start with 1/2 plus 6lbs. It works for the 3 divers in my family. Nothing beats a proper bouyancy check though.

Note: This makes you a wee bit heavy compared to your 7 mil, but you don't have the suit compression on the 3 mil that you have in the 7 mil to compensate for the air used in the tank while diving.

Buoyant1 · Sep 11, 2009

Hmmm I used 14 lbs, 6 lb back plate, and a steel tank that adds around 10 lbs so that's 30 lbs total with my (4 year old) 7mm, in fresh water.

In salt water in a 3mm, I pretty much used the same configuration and didn't have too much trouble or feel over weighted. One of these times I'll do a weight check

Weight in 3mil vs. 7mil

Please register or login

Lottifish

Registered

joolz

Contributor

Lottifish

Registered

Jim Lapenta

Contributor

Lottifish

Registered

joolz

Contributor

Tailspin

Contributor

GrumpyOldGuy

Contributor

Buoyant1

Contributor

Similar threads