Diving without Weights

[flexlarson]

Hello guys and Gals.
a Litle background info. I have over 50 plus dives , Im very comfortable and relaxed in the water.
I dive in Fresh water mostly ,and do allot of spear fishing. Most dives are less than 40 feet
I DIve with very little or no weight .
I dont have a problem going down,
Im 5' 8 220lbs and muscular ( Used to do bodybuilding)

What are the negative aspects and positive of diving without weight?

I dont have problems with getting neutral.
when its cold and Im Wearing a 7 mmm I use 6 pounds . Its a older wetsuit

 

[Dryglove]

The only downside i see is not being able to ditch your weights at the surface should trouble arise.

The positives are you save money not having to buy weights. I have seen some people dive with weight belts that cost a small fortune due to all the lead they wear.

What kind of tank, BC, and exposure protection are you diving with?

Hello guys and Gals.
a Litle background info. I have over 50 plus dives , Im very comfortable and relaxed in the water.
I dive in Fresh water mostly ,and do allot of spear fishing. Most dives are less than 40 feet
I DIve with very little or no weight .
I dont have a problem going down,
Im 5' 8 220lbs and muscular ( Used to do bodybuilding)

What are the negative aspects and positive of diving without weight?

I dont have problems with getting neutral.
when its cold and Im Wearing a 7 mmm I use 6 pounds . Its a older wetsuit

 

[flexlarson]

dive with alluminum tanks,Sea Quest BC ....I Generally dive in a 3mm shorty but early in the year use a two piece farmer jon style Wetsuit.
Yes that would be a concern about not being able to dumo weights in an emergency, ..............HUMMM..........OK
Thanks ............Anyone ELse Dive without weight,???

The only downside i see is not being able to ditch your weights at the surface should trouble arise.

The positives are you save money not having to buy weights. I have seen some people dive with weight belts that cost a small fortune due to all the lead they wear.

What kind of tank, BC, and exposure protection are you diving with?

 

[Padipro]

Ever sense I switched to steel tanks and a backplate and harness style BC I haven't needed any extra weight. I usually carry a lift bag and reel just incase I have a BC failure and need the lift to get to the surface. For shallow dives I don't really worry about this much as it's not difficult to make it to the surface after diching all the gear. Most of the guys I dive with don't wear any extra weight either as the tech gear we all wear is fairly heavy to start with.

 

[CAPX28]

if you can stay neutral bouyant it seems pointless to me for you to add weight just so you can POSSIBLY dump them.

but lmaybe its my inexperience talking.

 

[coreypenrose]

Diving with little to no weight can increase your chances of an uncontrolled ascent, especially in those last 20 feet.

It’s good to dive light, but there’s something to be said for having that safety margin of a little extra weight – especially if you switch to a drysuit or forget to completely drain your BC.

 

[glbirch]

dive with alluminum tanks,Sea Quest BC ....I Generally dive in a 3mm shorty but early in the year use a two piece farmer jon style Wetsuit.
Yes that would be a concern about not being able to dumo weights in an emergency, ..............HUMMM..........OK
Thanks ............Anyone ELse Dive without weight,???

When I'm warm water diving (salt water), in a full 3mm suit, I don't wear a weight belt. Steel Back Plate/Wing setup is more than sufficient. Yes, the big downside is not having weight to dump if you have a problem. Upside of course is not having to wear a weight belt.

Not sure, but either you are aging backwards or you need to update your sig line.

 

[donacheson]

if you can stay neutral bouyant it seems pointless to me for you to add weight just so you can POSSIBLY dump them.

but lmaybe its my inexperience talking.

You're right.

 

[Snowbear]

Diving with little to no weight can increase your chances of an uncontrolled ascent, especially in those last 20 feet.

Actually, that's only true if you don't have enough weight. As others have noted, it's possible to be correctly weighted even without carrying extra lead.

It’s good to dive light, but there’s something to be said for having that safety margin of a little extra weight – especially if you switch to a drysuit or forget to completely drain your BC.

By "light," I'm assuming you don't mean underweighted? Underweighted is not good either, that's one of the ways you end up in that uncontrolled ascent you talked about above.

Too much extra weight will actually exacerbate your buoyancy difficulties. Extra weight is NOT the solution to forgetting to dump air from your BC or drysuit!!

 

[scubablue67]

Everyone learns in OW class how to check there bouyancy at the end of a dive. If diving without weights allows you to have proper bouyancy when you end your dive, thats the proper weight.