mclir9
Guest
I am 6'4" and 265lbs, 3mm Full Wetsuit, mostly will be diving in South Florida salt water. What is a guesstimated weight to start with??
Weighting Question
- Thread starter mclir9
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
You'll need around 13lbs. As per the "Basic Weight Guideline" 3mm in salt water 5% of your body wieght. Just keep in mind this is a guideline, you may need more or less depending on you BMI
Gene V
Gene V
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
Please do a proper weight check before your first dive. There's no substitute for it. It only takes a few minutes to do one with the help of a buddy.
Garrobo's 10% guesstimate will almost certainly be too much lead for you. There's still a lot we don't know -- size/composition of tank, inherent buoyancy of BCD, your inherent buoyancy, etc. It's a starting point, though, I guess.
Edited later: I just saw GeneV's post. The 13 lbs. is probably a better guess...but you won't know until you do a weight check. FYI, BMI only takes into consideration weight and height. Although BMI is often used as an indicator of body fat, you should know that it will overestimate total body fat in people with a muscular build (athletes) and underestimate body fat in older people and those who have lost muscle mass.
Garrobo's 10% guesstimate will almost certainly be too much lead for you. There's still a lot we don't know -- size/composition of tank, inherent buoyancy of BCD, your inherent buoyancy, etc. It's a starting point, though, I guess.
Edited later: I just saw GeneV's post. The 13 lbs. is probably a better guess...but you won't know until you do a weight check. FYI, BMI only takes into consideration weight and height. Although BMI is often used as an indicator of body fat, you should know that it will overestimate total body fat in people with a muscular build (athletes) and underestimate body fat in older people and those who have lost muscle mass.
Last edited:
I would start with 16 lbs (approx 6% of body weight) and do a bouyancy check, there are a lot of variables as has been said before, and a bouyancy check done properly will get you properly weighted from your starting point. Aluminum tanks vs. steel, BCD style and make etc. that is why the bouyancy check done properly is a critical step
dkktsunami
Contributor
20 lbs.
13 lbs for your weight (5% of your body weight)
3 lbs for your wetsuit (1lb for every mm of thermal protection)
4 lbs for an AL80 tank (asssuming you are diving with an AL80)
13 lbs for your weight (5% of your body weight)
3 lbs for your wetsuit (1lb for every mm of thermal protection)
4 lbs for an AL80 tank (asssuming you are diving with an AL80)
Last edited:
I jumped in a buddies pool over the weekend fully geared, with an Aluminum 80 tank. I started with 14lbs. When holding my breath the water level is mid mask and upon releasing my breath I sink slowly. So I think the 14lbs (maybe even goto 15lbs) is good in fresh water. How much should I add for Salt water??
Bubbletrubble
Contributor
Was the AL80 empty or full when you conducted your weight check?
When you did the weight check in the pool, were you wearing all of the gear that you plan to be using in Florida?
Um. Your BCD was empty when you did the check, right?
When you did the weight check in the pool, were you wearing all of the gear that you plan to be using in Florida?
Um. Your BCD was empty when you did the check, right?
Last edited:
dkktsunami
Contributor
If you were using a full 80 you need to add appx 6 lbs for the air you will use on the dive and the salt vs fresh will add another 6 making a total of 26. This sounds way too high. I know you are a large guy but I can't imagine requiring that much weight to sink. You might ask an experienced diver to help you with the weight check or read up on how it should be done.
Similar threads
