How much weight do you carry (warm water)?

[BRT]

I didn't mean to seem insulting nor dismissive



You are entirely correct,

however...

Most divers I see, who think they are correctly weighted (holding a SS with zero air in BCD/wing) are still over weighted

They are not breathing correctly, generally using the top half of their lungs, thus compensating for the extra buoyancy with extra weight

Holding a stop to within +/- 0.2m (1') isn't magic, its down to correct breathing

When teaching OW, I'm always significantly over weighted, so have a large bubble at the stop, yet I can still maintain it, even while concentrating on students and not thinking about breathing) Because I'm using my lungs effectively

If on your next dives, you concentrate on breathing correctly I'd be surprised if you didn't find yourself slightly overweight From there you can make an educated decision as to how close to ideal you wish to be (I prefer to often be slightly over so I could hold a stop "on fumes" if reqd.)

I'm not interested in breathing from the bottom half of my lungs. 16lb is what I use and it is none too much if I am low on air.

 

[BRT]

If I exhale completely during safety stop at 500 psi left in my tank & still positively buoyant, then what should I do? Keep finning down for 3 minutes in the blue to maintain the 15’ depth? Holding on the rope / bar if available?

Great way to improve your air usage. Take a quick breath and immediately exhale it instead of getting some gas exchange out of it.

 

[drk5036]

I'm not interested in breathing from the bottom half of my lungs. 16lb is what I use and it is none too much if I am low on air.

It’s just shocking to me how different it is, person to person. I use 6 kg (13 pounds) including my back plate, while wearing a 8/7 mm semidry. That’s using a 10 liter steel tank which will be pretty negative, it’s just shocking to me we would wear the same weight when I have so much more neoprene. Interesting.

 

[Altamira]

It’s just shocking to me how different it is, person to person. I use 6 kg (13 pounds) including my back plate, while wearing a 8/7 mm semidry. That’s using a 10 liter steel tank which will be pretty negative, it’s just shocking to me we would wear the same weight when I have so much more neoprene. Interesting.

It is not shocking to me at all. A proficient/advanced (not per an AOW card) who dives frequently, and pays attention to weighting and trim is going to use what is needed for proper buoyancy. It does not matter what the dive buddy or the diver sitting next to on the dive boat needs, or what the DM/Instructor thinks is needed. I chuckle every time one of these polls or questions pops up because comparing weighting is very personal, based on a wide variety of factors mentioned previously. Weight requirements is more like comparing apples and baseballs. They may be similar in size and shape, but one will likely float, and the other sink.

 

[athigunk]

It is not shocking to me at all. A proficient/advanced (not per an AOW card) who dives frequently, and pays attention to weighting and trim is going to use what is needed for proper buoyancy. It does not matter what the dive buddy or the diver sitting next to on the dive boat needs, or what the DM/Instructor thinks is needed. I chuckle every time one of these polls or questions pops up because comparing weighting is very personal, based on a wide variety of factors mentioned previously. Weight requirements is more like comparing apples and baseballs. They may be similar in size and shape, but one will likely float, and the other sink.

The poll is not for comparison, it just helps me learn the diversity. This topic is pretty sensitive and I agree that some people really need that much weight to compensate their positive body physics. Although, I feel the need to point out that there are some apples out there that might be thinking they are baseball, in which proper training and experience are needed to help them realize that it is not the case. True overweighting is not an option since it is bad for both the divers themselves and for the environment as stated in (I think) every agency's OW book.

 

[drbill]

6' 1" 225 lbs 20 lbs of weight (I overweight myself for stability)

I don't see that any advice others can give you would be relevant. Too many variables. Do a weight check.

 

[MiloR]

18# with Shorty 2mm - 5'10", 280#. Could have probably been fine with 15# -16# but did not want to play with adjusting this week. Next trip I will take the time to try some other weights.

 

[Jcp2]

4/3 full suit, jacket BC, AL80, 14#.
3/2 full suit, back inflate BC, AL80, 12#.
3/2 full suit, back inflate BC, HP100, 8#.
3/2 full suit, Al BP/W, HP100, 5#.
Dive skin, Al BP/W, HP100, 0#.