Am I overweighted

I am currently weighted at 16 lbs. I am 6'0 195lbs. This weekend my wife and I went diving and one of my weight pouches gets ripped out while taking pictures during our dive. The only way I noticed it is because I started to roll to my left. I went up to the surface and was able to go back to the bottom to look for it with no problem. But my wife is weighted with 14 lbs and has a problem going down. She is 5'4" 130lbs. I am confused, can someone enlighten us? (Also I am purchasing new BCDs for my wife and I. Weight integrated BCD weights gets ripped out or to much room for human error BP&W is what's next for us and the plastic zippers and breaking to much on weight pouches. To expensive in japan!!)

As to your weighting question, Yes, on the facts you present, you were overweighted. There is no formula tying weight needed to body weight. It relates to body type, exposure suit warn, water conditions (fresh , salinity, temperature), and to a degree gender. A lean, low body fat male of 200 pounds may need very little added weight, while a 130 pound female who is 5'3" may need quite a bit. The thicker the exposure suit, the more weight is needed. It is important to not be overweighted for lots of reasons, including good buoyancy control.
On the integrated BC issue, I have worn one on every dive I've ever had. They are much more comfortable than a belt to me and to my wife. Some are velcro secured, and the velcro can weaken. Some have a snap clip, and seem to be more secure in my experience. Get one that is secure but can still be tugged out in an emergency. I am sure you will find what you need in an integrated BC. I find the SeaQuest product very satisfactory.
DivemasterDennis

DivemasterDennis:

As to your weighting question, Yes, on the facts you present, you were overweighted. There is no formula tying weight needed to body weight. It relates to body type, exposure suit warn, water conditions (fresh , salinity, temperature), and to a degree gender. A lean, low body fat male of 200 pounds may need very little added weight, while a 130 pound female who is 5'3" may need quite a bit. The thicker the exposure suit, the more weight is needed. It is important to not be overweighted for lots of reasons, including good buoyancy control.
On the integrated BC issue, I have worn one on every dive I've ever had. They are much more comfortable than a belt to me and to my wife. Some are velcro secured, and the velcro can weaken. Some have a snap clip, and seem to be more secure in my experience. Get one that is secure but can still be tugged out in an emergency. I am sure you will find what you need in an integrated BC. I find the SeaQuest product very satisfactory.
DivemasterDennis

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We have a Mares Dragon BCD. One thing That did not factor in is that I went from 5mm to a 3mm. Switching to a 3mm from a 5mm will make me drop half of my weight?

For starters if you could still dive with half the weight (except for the rolling due to distribution) you were probably overweighted. Try doing your weight check at the end of your dive with 500psi in your tank. You need enough weight to hold your safety stop with an empty BCD with a near empty tank.

As for the differences in weight between you and your wife, it is what it is. Muscle and bone mass are denser while soft tissues are less dense. Women usually have more soft tissue. Men tend to have denser body mass thus requiring less lead. My Ex was about your size while I was about your wife's weight @5'1"...we both used the same amount of lead 9lbs.

Additionally, the more dive experience you gain, the higher your comfort level and relaxation level in the water and you will probably be able to scale back the lead in small increments.

Your wife may be kicking at the surface, it's human nature. She can probably descend easier if she crosses her feet at the surface. This kicking action however slight keeps pushing you up when you are trying to go down. Make sure the BCD is completely deflated...sometimes if the inflator is held up at an angle with a curve in it, air pockets within the bladder are not able to completely empty. Also starting your descent as you exhale deeply. These are all things I have observed with students and newer divers which you may already be aware of. Sometimes exposure protection needs compressing...my 7mm suit on the first dive when it is dry, it floats like a cork so I usually kick my way down to about 15 ft where I can feel it fill up with water.

Proper weighting is a process of fine-tuning over time and it changes with different environments, gear, exposure protection, and even with those dreaded +5 lbs one gains on one's last vacation but can't lose (...I resemble that last remark :shocked2.

When/if you switch to BP&W, you will start this process over. With a more streamlined system, you will probably dial it in easier.

Antagonist:

I am currently weighted at 16 lbs. I am 6'0 195lbs. This weekend my wife and I went diving and one of my weight pouches gets ripped out while taking pictures during our dive. The only way I noticed it is because I started to roll to my left. I went up to the surface and was able to go back to the bottom to look for it with no problem. But my wife is weighted with 14 lbs and has a problem going down. She is 5'4" 130lbs. I am confused, can someone enlighten us? (Also I am purchasing new BCDs for my wife and I. Weight integrated BCD weights gets ripped out or to much room for human error BP&W is what's next for us and the plastic zippers and breaking to much on weight pouches. To expensive in japan!!)

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Losing 1/2 your weight, and still being able to easily re-descend, does indicate that you are over-weighted.

At what stage in the dive did you lose the weights? More relevant: how much air remained in your cylinder at that time, and at what depth were you?

Whether you cylinder was full, or empty, would make a difference to the impact of losing the weight.. as the air in your tank has a weight value. Likewise, the depth is a factor, as this will determine the relevant buoyancy provided by your exposure suit.

The cast-iron test for weighting is whether you can maintain a hovering safety stop, with minimum reserve air in your cylinder. This means that your exposure suit is at its most buoyant and your cylinder weighs the least. If you can maintain the stop, then you have enough air. On that stop, assess how much air you have in your BCD. You shouldn't really need any air in that scenario. If you have air in your BCD, then remove weights from your rig, until you reach the limit at which you can comfortably maintain your hover. That will be perfect weighting.

Problems with descent, in novice divers, are often linked with either; failure to fully deflate the BCD, anxiety causing heavier breathing (inflated lungs add buoyancy), not fully exhaling and/or subconsious movement of the feet (fining, whilst vertical) which provides upwards thrust.

I'm in the middle of writing a series of blog articles on buoyancy and weighting at the moment; you may find them useful:

Scuba Buoyancy Masterclass 4of9 - Assessing Your Weight Requirements

It is important to know how much gas you had in your tank when you went to the surface, to know if you are overweighted. If your tank was full, the fact that you could still descend has much less significance, because you are carrying around 5 lbs of gas you intend to exhaust into the water. If you went to the surface with 500 psi and then could descend without your weight pouch, then you didn't need it.

As far as the change in exposure protection, yes, a change from 5 to 3 mm can make a significant difference. I need a four pound weight belt in the pool with my 3 mil suit, but I need 8 lbs with my 5 mil -- all other gear is constant.

And as said, people vary in weight requirements. My Fundamentals instructor was appalled to find out I was diving with 28 pounds of lead in a single tank, and told me haughtily, "We'll take some of that off you tomorrow." And, in fact, he couldn't take anything off, because I had done my homework, and 28 pounds was just what it took to sink me and my exposure protection.

The only way to know what correct weighting really IS, is to do a weight check. I like to do them in shallow water at the end of a dive, if possible where there is a hard bottom. Let all the air out of the BC and see if you sink; if you do, take weight off until you are neutral. That's correct weighting.

So, if you were diving an AL80 and it was early in the dive, as already stated above, there was the weight of all the air in excess of 500 psi (~4-5 lbs). Also, the buoyancy rebound of wet suits is usually not 100%, so descending with a just compressed wet suit is easier than descending with a not yet compressed wet suit.

The Dragon has trim weight pockets; was there any weight in the trim pockets? I would have at least 6 lbs (2x3) in the trims and only max 10 lbs (2x5) in the pouches, so for me losing a pouch early in the dive would mean ~ the weight of the air in excess of 500 psi equals the weight dropped, so I would be able to surface and then descend with no problem, and I would not necessarily be over weighted.

mselenaous:

Proper weighting is a process of fine-tuning over time and it changes with different environments, gear, exposure protection, and even with those dreaded +5 lbs one gains on one's last vacation but can't lose (...I resemble that last remark :shocked2.

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Proper weighting shouldn't take "fine-tuning over time." I realize that that's what ends up happening for a lot of divers.
A weight check needs to be done correctly once in order to achieve proper weighting. If a diver changes his gear, then another weight check should be performed. Bear in mind that a neoprene wetsuit will lose its inherent positive buoyancy with use, so this may contribute to a gradual, modest decrease in the weighting requirement over time. Moreover, a diver's lungs can compensate for a substantial amount of buoyancy swing ("full" vs. "empty"). This particular point should be considered when conducting the weight check, i.e., don't do anything "weird" with your breathing or else you'll arrive at an inappropriate amount of lead.

Whether the OP is over-weighted primarily depends on: (1) how much weight was in his lost weight pocket and (2) the weight of the gas in his tank at the time.
One diver's weighting requirements are absolutely irrelevant to another's. (This comment is in reference to the OP's wife's weighting issues.)
If a diver doesn't know how to determine proper weighting in his current gear (conventional jacket-style BC?), then switching over to a BP/W won't really solve his problem. One still has to do a proper weight check with the BP/W.

Isn't proper weighting being taught in OW classes nowadays?
I would think that this should be one of the more important topics taught, since proper weighting impacts buoyancy control...and safety.
My OW instructor had us do at least one weight check at the beginning of a class dive and another one at the end of the dive. By the end of class, we all knew how to conduct a proper weight check.
Since then, I've encountered a surprising number of divers who don't know whether they are properly weighted. Most of these folks don't understand how to do a quick-and-dirty weight check with a full tank at the beginning of the dive. They don't realize that they can compensate for the weight of the gas in the tank in determining weighting requirements (for the typical AL80, that's approx. 5-6 lbs.).

Bubbletrubble:

Isn't proper weighting being taught in OW classes nowadays?

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It was taught in the recent PADI course, and I can't think of why that would be different for any of the other agency. The weight check is very easy to do but, if you can't get the time in the water with full gear on before your dive, it can be very difficult to do the check, and adjust your weight in the time you have. The problem is compounded if you are renting your BCD and exposure protection.

That being said, It is quick enough to do a buoyancy check at the end of a dive, and see if you are over-weighted or not The results will be far more accurate than any scubaboard responses you might get.

For those that don't know, properly weighted = float eye level holding a normal breath, empty (50 bar, 750 PSI or less) tank, and empty BCD, no finning. Double check = slowly sink when you exhale at the end of the check.

Like BubbleTrubble says, add 5 lbs if you do the check on a full tank.

windapp:

For those that don't know, properly weighted = float eye level holding a normal breath, empty (50 bar, 750 PSI or less) tank, and empty BCD, no finning. Double check = slowly sink when you exhale at the end of the check.

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IMHO, this sentence is symptomatic of parts of the "proper weighting" confusions and/or contentions.

"normal breath" -- "empty (50 bar, 750 psi or less) tank" -- "no finning"

Now the first part "normal breath" could better be stated as "whatever size breath you are going to be taking at the end of the tank / end of the dive."

A minimum goal of proper weighting is to be weighted to maintain a no line, hovering/swimming safety stop at 15 ft / 5 m and controlled ascent to surface with a nearly empty tank.

The relaxed and less dive tired "perfect hover and trim" twin has a much smaller safety stop breath need than the somewhat spastic, somewhat winded from the dive, "sculling hover and somewhat had to swim" twin's safety stop breath need.

Now consider having a "buddy" go OOA, fairly late in a fairly deep dive. What if a near panic situation at depth got both of you breathing hard and shared ascending with less than 1000 psi between both tanks? If you are both "just barely" weighted to do the "normal safety stop breathing" at 500 psi, what happens when both buddies are breathing heavy, 20 feet deep with 400 psi between both tanks?

In one school of thought, neutral at the surface with; normal breath, empty BCD and empty tank means, with any depth &/or any tank pressure, one "normally" has easy "controlled buoyancy" and one is also less underweighted in the worst case scenarios.