What message for brand-new diver you...?

[lowwall]

You have just pointed out the "very little" part.

For some reason, I've found it can make a considerable difference.

 

[David Novo]

You have just pointed out the "very little" part.

That "very little" part can make a huge difference, specially if your limbs are long

 

[AdivingBel]

If you cannot stay horizontal without finning or moving you need to adjust the lead on yourself. It has very little to do with technique or skill.

I disagree. While proper weighting and weight placement are integral to good trim, trim is also effected by propulsion technique, breathing technique, comfort in the water and situational awareness to name a few others. If you don't have the latter two, it can effect the others. There are lots of little body motions and tensions that if you aren't aware and can't/don't control can effect trim. If it was as simple as weight placement all divers could do it and I've dived with plenty of divers (some very experienced) that at times can have challenges. It's like saying a golf swing is just physics and body positions...yeah, but can you do it? All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[FishWatcher747]

Trim is like a teeter totter at the playground. If the weight is balanced on each side it is in trim. Propulsion has nothing to do with it. If you have to kick to maintain horizontal trim when you stop you will be out of trim.

Test it for yourself. Get in a horizontal position with your upper legs straight back and your lower legs up at 45 degrees. Arms in front relaxed with elbows bent at say 135 degrees. Can you stay there? Or do you become foot heavy or head heavy?

Trim is trim.

 

[AdivingBel]

LOL...Guess we disagree on what diving in trim looks like. If all you want to do is hover...well ok. I'm not talking about kicking to stay in trim. Poor propulsion technique (as well as the other things I mentioned) will immediately put you out of trim hense not diving in trim. Sorry, I guess I misread your intention.

 

[jonhall]

when you first started learning, what would you tell your younger self if you could go back?

"Assume you are going to do more diving than the few dives you thought you would be doing." I became certified so I could dive on my first trip ever out of the country (Grand Cayman) during a spring break. The only dives I did during the trip were my checkout dives. I really didn't know if I would ever dive again after that. Fortunately the opportunity presented itself again (7 years later) and now I have been able to dive in some pretty neat places, none of which have been in the continental U.S.

What advice would you give?

When you have the opportunity to practice setting up your gear in class, go over and over it, and remember it. That may give you a little more confidence when you're setting up your gear the first time out on a boat (or on shore) and you won't look so much like a rookie. Hopefully there won't be 7 years between your checkout dives and first real dives - I remember thinking about which hoses go on which side and looking at everyone else's setup. Same goes for breaking down your gear.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I was a dirt-poor college student when I bought gear. My mistake was buying the cheapest options. My first BCD lasted 10 years, my second lasted 20. The latter was more expensive, but not twice as expensive. And it had a lot more bells and whistles. My first dry suit had a complete detachment of the neck seal on about my 4th dive. My current suit has 250 dives and zero repairs to date.

Buy the highest quality you can afford.