Disadvantages of not having any weight to ditch?

[RDRINK25]

What are some cons on not being able to ditch any weight? My current setup I can get great buoyancy without using any weight. Is this something to worry about?

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Do you have redundant buoyancy if you primary fails? Lift bags or dry suits are the usual backups.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Congratulations - you have achieved ideal weighting!

 

[Firefishvideo]

I dive steel tanks and don't ever wear any weight unless I have to (wearing Drysuit or diving al tanks.)
The only reason to ditch weight, is bouyancy device failure, or out of air. .....Don't run out of air! If you have air and your bouyancy device fails, you SHOULDN'T be so negative that you can't swim back to the surface.
If all else fails, ditch your gear and do an emergency bouyant accent....but it should NEVER get THAT bad!:cool2:
Diving without LEAD is one of the best things you can do for your enjoyment of the sport.
PS: it would be far worse to add un-needed weight just to have it, and then have to add air to the bouyancy device to compensate!:shocked2:

 

[rx7diver]

What are some cons on not being able to ditch any weight? My current setup I can get great buoyancy without using any weight. Is this something to worry about?

Rdrink25, this is the "Basic Scuba" forum, so my reply is in this regard.

One of the things stressed in many first rec scuba courses is, for safety/emergency considerations, the need to be able to establish positive buoyancy at the surface at any time. Even at the beginning of a dive, when a diver is most negative (because of his full cylinder), he still needs to be able to establish positive buoyancy--even if his BC will not hold air. Many people, myself included, believe that being correctly weighted involves being able to establish positive buoyancy at the surface by simply dropping a weight belt. (Being correctly weighted involves other considerations, too.)

Keep in mind someone else might have to release a diver's weight belt at the surface if that diver is unable to for some reason.

I hope this helps.

Dive Safely,

Ronald

 

[HowardE]

What are some cons on not being able to ditch any weight? My current setup I can get great buoyancy without using any weight. Is this something to worry about?

The cons of not being able to ditch your weight is that: in an emergency, and you need to become buoyant, you might not be able to.

Is this something to worry about? No. The solution is simple. Carry a lift bag, or other device with enough lift to get you to the surface. In most cases, a large safety sausage may even be enough lift to get you to the surface.

 

[g1138]

The cons of not being able to ditch your weight is that: in an emergency, and you need to become buoyant, you might not be able to.

Is this something to worry about? No. The solution is simple. Carry a lift bag, or other device with enough lift to get you to the surface. In most cases, a large safety sausage may even be enough lift to get you to the surface.

Of course the con for that is you need air to fill it

I think in all honesty you should dive within your comfort zone. That extends to your dive site AND your gear configuration.

 

[Rubber Duckie]

I agree with why use any weight if you don't have to. I use little to no air in my bc while diving and never have to add any to ascend. Although I think rx7diver had a good point about being able to stay buoyant at the surface if your BC was unable to hold air.

 

[vladimir]

PS: it would be far worse to add un-needed weight just to have it, and then have to add air to the bouyancy device to compensate!:shocked2:

But it should be noted that there are usually other options, like switching to an aluminum tank, for example.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Well it has all been heard. It is good to have weight to ditch if need be. I however like to carry as little weight as possible so I have invested in heavier gear