Mark Duddridge:
So far, I've been using ankle weights, but I've seen a few posts on SB that suggest many people feel ankle weights are not necessary and are just a "band-aid" to improper trim technique.
TsandM:
I don't wear ankle weights, but my husband has pointed out (pointedly) that I do wear Jet fins with spring straps, which are a couple of pounds negative.
As the responses indicate there are a number of solutions to the problem of feeling ‘foot light’ in a drysuit. Some find the problem more pronounced in drysuits with integrated boots, and migrate to the neoprene socks and overboots, whether they be ‘true’ drysuit boots (e.g. Rockboots) or something as simple as Chuck Taylors. If you are using integrated boots, possibilities include heavier fins (Jets are very popular), gaiters on your lower legs, or ankle weights. I tried ankle weights at first (I have integrated boots), and ultimately ended up with a combination of Jet fins (with steel spring straps) and gaiters. Some find ankle weights to work best (e.g. almitywife), while others don’t seem to care for them. Another possibility is to consider tank type, length and position, as several have suggested. If you are using an AL tank, a steel tank may be an option to consider, particularly a longer tank (e.g. a HP 120) if you are tall. It may be a matter of controlled trial and error to find what works best for you. In addition, your leg and foot position may make a difference, and some find that drawing their legs in a little (bending a bit at the waist) to help, even if it isn't as streamlined as might otherwise be desirable.
Mark Duddridge:
I have trouble at the surface with my BCD pushing me too far forward. … I'm diving a Sherwood Axis (rear-inflate/weight integrated).
RJP:
Sherwood site says Axis has "rear-mounted trim weight pockets." Where are the "shoulder pockets" you mention in the original post - front or back?
I wondered the same thing as RJP, specifically about how high the rear trim weights might be. When I started diving a drysuit I was using a Zeagle Ranger, and felt a sensation of my face being pushed forward into the water. Ultimately, I concluded the problem was a combination of being rather significantly over-weighted, and the mechanics of a back-inflate, weight-integrated BC. I was over-weighted because of 1) general lack of diving experience (I had less than 50 dives at the time), 2) inexperience with the drysuit, and 3) the relatively positive buoyancy characteristics of the Ranger. So, at the surface, I would add air which would go to the very top of the bladder, and I had a lot of (aka too much) weight in the integrated pouches (which naturally migrated to a position of equilibrium directly below the point of maximum lift, and I consequently rotated face forward. The fact that I was over-weighted caused me to add even more air at the surface, which exaggerated the problem. I switched to a SS backplate and that made a considerable difference. With the drysuit, BP, and a single HP120 I may need 10-12 lbs, whereas before I was using 26+.
I suspect you may find the problems improve to an extent over time, even without any equipment changes. For example, it is all too easy to enter the water with some residual air in the drysuit, have trouble initially descending, add some weight which contributes to general overweighting, find you need to add air to the suit at depth, which ends up in your feet and makes you feel you need ankle weights, or find you need to add more air at the surface, which creates the face-forward rotation, etc. Most people who move to a drysuit have similar experiences, and their technique, and trim, improves over time. But, there may be some equipment adjustments (type of BC, type of tank, etc.) that help.
