Messed up and ascended like a missile

[MichaelMc]

If you have just that much weight, yes. But a belt with a few pounds, or waist pockets on the BP/W harness, would be better as it will make the PB/W a bit easer to move about to new tanks, easier to travel with, and give you more flexibility in the water. Also if you switch to a steel tank, say if that is all that a dive op offers, you will not be overweighted. And the tank is likely not your only buoyant part.

 

[Bubblesong]

Just to be perfectly clear on the buoyancy issue: If an aluminum tank contains 500 psi / 32 bar of air or less, will it float on the surface of the ocean, lake, etc. ?

It will float nose down.

Wait, what?

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Wait, what?

The valve will weigh the nose down... Is that what you mean?

 

[MichaelMc]

At 3:30 shows near empty aluminum and low pressure steel cylinders. AL floats valve down, steel is mostly flat.

Yet this video shows AL floating on surface mostly flat, though it has no first stage and *might* be a 'neutrally' buoyant AL80 which have extra metal on the bottom to make them less buoyant.

 

[boulderjohn]

The valve will weigh the nose down... Is that what you mean?

Yes

 

[Roger Hobden]

IAnd the tank is likely not your only buoyant part.

Correct. A lot of my diving will be done in cold water with a drysuit. So I will need extra weight to cancel that component of positive buoyancy also.

 

[Landlocked123]

You need to defeat that fear. It is my honest opinion that you cant take demons down there with you. Over the years we all uncover our own. Your maskl will flood, if its like mine, constantly. I have gotten so used to diving with a flooded mask its actually silly. My point is you need to harness the beast. Do you have access to a pool? if so get in there, flood you mask and learn to dive with a 100% flooded mask. Clear it, let if flood again etc.. you will soon be so used to what it feels like it wont bother you anymore. That is the approach I suggest. Work on identifying, understanding, and defeating that fear. Whatever fear you have under water... in a controlled safe environment.

 

[KevinNM]

Correct. A lot of my diving will be done in cold water with a drysuit. So I will need extra weight to cancel that component of positive buoyancy also.

Breathable weight is the best weight.

 

[brainii]

I have mastered mask clearing by practising in the open sea with a mask and snorkel and free diving. Here is my technique, a bit different than the one they taught me during OW training:
1) relax - never panic - no reason to - keep breathing - really nothing to it.
2) be level (on a straight line parallel to sea bottom) - dont look back yet.
3) grab mask "manly"/firmly with both hands both upper and lower part of mask.
4) start exhaling strongly through nose before starting to look up, don't exhale through regulator as bubbles might come up to you again.
5) while keeping hold of mask and while exhaling confidently pull bottom of mask slighlty away from face and re-adjust - resit to face (to cover area above upper lip well so that water won't re-enter as/after you clear).This step is what I was not doing I think and mask kept flooding again.

I've practised the above many times, mask always clears, even removed it multiple times and rewore it underwater with no issue at all. It really is a piece of cake once you master it.

 

[Pkishino]

Yes, mask clearing is very easy and as a reply to previous poster, you do not need to do it forcefully, a little air is enough if you have a good mask. When I teach it during OW or in workshops, I make it a small competing, how many times can you clear the mask on one breath. After some practice most can do 4 or 5,I've seen over 10 times.. So you really don't need much