Am I overweight with this config?

Hi All,

I know there's plenty of these threads going around, been through a few of them but hey everyone's different Hopefully, the experts on this board can give me a pointer.

I'm not too sure about the Summer config since I only started diving back then, but I know with my winter gear, if I drop 1KG to 11KG I have difficulty holding a shallow under 5m dive with a near empty tank. But from reading various threads I get the impression that I should be able to drop some weight.

My height and weight: 186cm / 62KG (~6'1 / 136lbs)
I'm really skinny with almost no fat on me, which also explains why I am constantly cold

Winter Gear:
Trilam Drysuit
200g thinsulate undergarment
full body lavacore / sharkskin
thin wicking long sleeve shirt and long john
Neoprene boots, hood, gloves
12.2L Steel tank

Weight carred: 12KG (~26lbs)

Summer Gear:
5mm Wetsuit
5mm hodded vest
Neoprene boots, hood, gloves
12.2L Steel tank

Weight carred: 9KG (~20lbs)


I fall within acceptable limits if I look at PADI's tables but that's probably slightly overweight I gather?

Everyone is different and generally fall out of any tables set up to determine one's weight.

Even if you're an exact match with someone else's body type, your lungs may be bigger and therefore you're more buoyant because your reserve lung capacity is bigger.

As you get more dives in you'll gain better control over your breathing and can then drop some weight. Until that time comes you should do a proper weight check.

At the end of your next dive when you're near 40-50bar (however much the shop or boat asks you to keep the tanks at)
- Deflate your BC fully at the surface and hold a deep breath.
---> You should be floating eye level or above the surface of the water
- Exhale fully
---> your eyes should sink below the surface of the water, but your full head shouldn't continue to sink far below the surface of the water. It should be near or still at the surface (ie. you can still stretch your arm out of the water)

If you continue sinking you could drop weight, if your eyes don't drop below the water on your exhale you should add weight.
This method is one of several proven ways to ballpark your correct weight. Notice how I say ballpark, you could still require more or less weight. Overall you're the best judge.

g1138 is right to point out individual physiological differences as contributing to proper weighting. I will say you summer gear and body type suggest that 20 lbs is a little heavy. I would expect with experience and improvement of buoyancy skills you'll drop some of that weight as you progress.
DivemasterDennis

Yup. You're skinny. Given the information in your post, there's no way for us to figure out whether you are over-weighted.

The answer to your question is simple: Do a proper weight check.
There is no substitute for doing an in-water weight check with you wearing all of your gear.

If you don't know how to do a weight check, please review your OW student materials. I guarantee it's in there. Once you find the section describing the process, please commit it to memory. Trust me, it will pay off in the long run. You should be doing a weight check whenever you change any piece of gear which could affect your buoyancy (e.g., drysuit, drysuit underwear, tank, etc.).

FYI, using a drysuit (vs. a wetsuit), the weight check process is slightly different, since the amount of gas inside your drysuit will affect the results of the weight check. Also, with a drysuit, it's best to do the weight check in a horizontal position.

Good luck.

People need what they need. I remember, the first day of my GUE Fundamentals class, the instructor talking about how overweighted people dive. He looked at me and said, "I've seen women your size using TWENTY-EIGHT pounds of lead!" I smiled and said, "That's what I use." He said, "We'll fix that tomorrow." But he couldn't, as he learned; I am not a stupid woman, and I had done the weight checks.

It is very important to check your weight in the right way, though. Remember that, if you are holding a stop in the water column, there are many factors affecting your buoyancy other than your weight. For example, if you are in any position other than horizontal, every movement of your fins will drive you up (or down) in the water column -- you can get the impression you need more weight, when what you really need is to hold still. Lungs are big flotation bladders, and any anxiety or worry about holding a stop is likely to make you hold your lungs fuller than normal, which will also give you an erroneous impression that you are too light.

The best way, I think, to check weight, is while shore diving. It can be done at either the beginning or end of the dive*, although the end gives you a little bit more accurate information about weighting at the ends of dives (all air, for example, is out of your wetsuit, and any padding you are carrying is saturated). Standing in water up to your chest, see if you can kneel and then lie down. If you can do this at the end of the dive, while breathing normally, you are carrying AT LEAST enough weight. You can try removing small amounts, and see at what point you can no longer remain submerged. That's your correct weighting. If, using that amount of weight, you have troubles holding a shallow stop, then it is likely that diving technique issues may be playing a role in the problems.

*If you do it at the beginning, add a pound for every 13 cubic feet of gas you intend to use while diving.

First of all, being skinny and not fat have nothing to do with getting cold. Your temperature sensors are on your skin, not in your muscles. Some people will get cold in temperatures that other people have no problem with. Like pain, it can be mental or it could be the fact that one might just be more sensitive. Secondly, if you are fighting to stay down like on a 15' safety stop with an almost empty tank you need more lead. It's that simple.

I would find your perfect weight and then add a couple lbs. It is not a sin to be a bit heavy, but being light will bite you in the arse. Also new divers find creative ways to trap air in their BC or Drysuit.

Thanks everyone for your advice, especially g1138 on the weight check procedures on an empty tank. I've only done a weight check with my instructor at the beginning of my OW course earlier this year and in my drysuit course not too long ago. It was all done with a full tank. I might try the empty tank method and see how I go.

mulla:

Thanks everyone for your advice, especially g1138 on the weight check procedures on an empty tank. I've only done a weight check with my instructor at the beginning of my OW course earlier this year and in my drysuit course not too long ago. It was all done with a full tank. I might try the empty tank method and see how I go.

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That's strange. If anything, I would expect you to be asking whether you are "too light" in your stated gear configurations.

Bubbletrubble - My reasoning is, since I'm still a relatively new diver I was wondering if I should work towards reducing my weight or if I'm pretty much correctly weighted and should concentrate on my other skills. But I'll go an do a empty tank weight check next time I do a shore dive, don't want to hold up the boat trying to do a weight check after a dive.