Weighting whats in your wallet :)

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mainedvr

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Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
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Location
Southern CA
# of dives
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Ok, got a new dry suit Undies they are a BARE thinsulate 200g, I really like it very comfy under my suit and actually not so heavy that when its hot out that I am dying right away. Anyhow, so did a really good weight check with a few of my different set ups and man it seems to need mucho lead to achieve neutral buoyancy with an empty wing and nearly empty suit.

Just curious what others need for weighting. (I am 6' 1" about 235 and have some buoyancy lol but not a ton.)

So I had my double AL 80s down to 200 psi wing empty and very little air in my suit just enough to kill the squeeze. I have a DUI TLS350 the Bare 200g undies and a medium weight base layer.

I found that in the pool to descend to 9ft and hold a good stable stop I ended up with the following, which puts me about at about 40lbs of negative items give or take. Again not questioning the weighting cause it is what it is and feel its not excessive, I couldn't even submerge until I started to add extra weight and ended up with the 10lbs outside of the v weight, plate, light and regs.

10lb V weight
6lb plate
5lb canister light
Regs are HOG about 5-7lbs or so for the set up
and needed to add 10lbs of lead

Again t his is in a pool fresh water.

P.S. funny thing is with a single tank set up using a steel LP85 at about 800psi same clothing needed about 30lbs total.
 
Again not questioning the weighting cause it is what it is....
As freshwater diver, I don't have much to say about this other than salt water and drysuits seem to need a lot of lead I spend a week or two diving in BC every year and with my 400 g undies and a SANTI suit, I need 40# of lead to sink with a steel 100 and a few pounds more than that with an AL 80. Regardless of your build, you're a big guy and you displace a lot of ocean.

At the end of the day, you summed it up pretty well.... "It is what it is." I think you'll find that those undies will squish up some after a bunch of dives. My 400 g SANTI undies are three years old and I suspect they're 2/3 of their original thickness and have been for a long time.

As long as you're satisfied you are weighted properly, who cares.
 
As freshwater diver, I don't have much to say about this other than salt water and drysuits seem to need a lot of lead I spend a week or two diving in BC every year and with my 400 g undies and a SANTI suit, I need 40# of lead to sink with a steel 100 and a few pounds more than that with an AL 80. Regardless of your build, you're a big guy and you displace a lot of ocean.

At the end of the day, you summed it up pretty well.... "It is what it is." I think you'll find that those undies will squish up some after a bunch of dives. My 400 g SANTI undies are three years old and I suspect they're 2/3 of their original thickness and have been for a long time.

As long as you're satisfied you are weighted properly, who cares.
Thanks for your post, yeah I was just curious what others are using, for weight, I know my weighting is good and sure it will shed a few over time. But haven't had to use that much weight since OW more surprised that the 200g undies had that much loft to them....Thanks again
 
Ok, got a new dry suit Undies they are a BARE thinsulate 200g, I really like it very comfy under my suit and actually not so heavy that when its hot out that I am dying right away. Anyhow, so did a really good weight check with a few of my different set ups and man it seems to need mucho lead to achieve neutral buoyancy with an empty wing and nearly empty suit.

Just curious what others need for weighting. (I am 6' 1" about 235 and have some buoyancy lol but not a ton.)

So I had my double AL 80s down to 200 psi wing empty and very little air in my suit just enough to kill the squeeze. I have a DUI TLS350 the Bare 200g undies and a medium weight base layer.

I found that in the pool to descend to 9ft and hold a good stable stop I ended up with the following, which puts me about at about 40lbs of negative items give or take. Again not questioning the weighting cause it is what it is and feel its not excessive, I couldn't even submerge until I started to add extra weight and ended up with the 10lbs outside of the v weight, plate, light and regs.

10lb V weight
6lb plate
5lb canister light
Regs are HOG about 5-7lbs or so for the set up
and needed to add 10lbs of lead

Again t his is in a pool fresh water.

P.S. funny thing is with a single tank set up using a steel LP85 at about 800psi same clothing needed about 30lbs total.

Given your size and the aluminium cylinders that sounds ok. The undersuit can make a huge difference though.

Why not steel cylinders? Then you could probably get rid of the weight belt or the v weight, and have more gas.
 
Given your size and the aluminium cylinders that sounds ok. The undersuit can make a huge difference though.

Why not steel cylinders? Then you could probably get rid of the weight belt or the v weight, and have more gas.
I have steel 100s also just getting the different tanks I dive figured out with the new undies. And actually like the way the AL80s trim out don't need more gas than that right now typically, but as I said was kind of surprised by how much loft the new undies have.
 
Drysuit weighting is more art than science. Remember more weight = more air = more warmth, though thinsulate is pretty good at holding its loft compared to other materials.

One thing I'd recommend is do your weight check in a horizontal position. In a vertical position it is really hard to judge if you have the correct amount of air in the suit. Your feet will be squeezed and there will be a large air bubble around your neck when you are hanging vertical.
 
Drysuit weighting is more art than science. Remember more weight = more air = more warmth, though thinsulate is pretty good at holding its loft compared to other materials.

One thing I'd recommend is do your weight check in a horizontal position. In a vertical position it is really hard to judge if you have the correct amount of air in the suit. Your feet will be squeezed and there will be a large air bubble around your neck when you are hanging vertical.

Thanks, absolutely always horizontal, my weight check is not only about being able to descend but I typically let as much air out of my tanks and hold a stop at around 10ft, and then task load myself with a few things to see if I am stable. My biggest thing was how much more weight (10lbs) it took just to sink the new undies. I have a DUI fleece and it did not take that much. I know there are differences but the thinsulate material I guess I just thought would be warm with less buoyancy than my other undies. I know if you do good weight check and know what your doing (and I do) the lead you need is what you need. Of course over time it may reduce some but that's why I do them on occasion. Thanks for the input. I do like the BARE undies very comfy.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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