Ankle weights

[Soggy]

Id go as far as to say thats absolute rubbish. In a perfect world where everyone has perfectly fitting suits, boots and undergarments maybe but in reality people with air spaces in the legs, boots and so on may well find floaty feet problems that cant be comfortably addressed by repositioning weight for trim, or put another way the best positioning for a "trim" weight is on the ankles so becomes an ankle weight.

Disclaimer: I truly and honestly don't mean to be insulting in any way, shape or form with the following statement...

Look at your own avatar. Maybe that isn't a typical shot of you...maybe you were posing...maybe it's an old shot, but you aren't even *close* to being horizontal in the water (unless the photographer was upside down and below you).

Why buy jet fins? They arent for everyone and are no different a solution than ankle weights - different kit to do a different job, they're nothing magical. Not once the rabid propaganda is cut through anyway.

Jet fins serve a real purpose...they are made of stiff rubber and allow you to do kicks much more efficiently than any other fin out there. The fact that they have a slight amount of weight to them is a minor benefit. Even with light fins, with proper body positioning, there is no reason for ankle weights.

 

[ScubaTwo]

My fins are positive. I bought them before I knew I had floaty legs lol. Hubbys are negative. I tried them and they made enuff difference for me that Im getting the jet fins and the ankle weights will continue to hold down the tent. to me personnaly the ankle wights were just a hassle and not very comfy. But hey whatever works right!
I would try and practice without them. I moved my tank down just a couple inches and that helped too. And I mean my legs float very bad. Even when I dive in a swim suit.

 

[Soggy]

Just to understand where I'm coming from, I dive double 130s (very top heavy) with a Bare ATR-HD suit that has those ridiculous vulcanized boots that you could do a cavern dive in. They are 7mm neoprene, full of empty space and ridiculously floaty.

If I can trim out without ankle weights in that configuration, anyone can...

For a number of reasons, I am having them replaced (in the shop right now) with DUI Turbo Soles.

 

[DYOUNGER]

I gave up ankle weights this weekend. I had been dry suit diving with my son who also wore ankle weights so we were equally outfitted and performed the same underwater. Diving with my son I did not realize how little I was getting on each kick. I dove with my wife this weekend who dives wet with no ankle weights. I could not keep up with her and I am the stronger swimmer. Exhausted we surfaced and I transferred my ankle weights to the BC. WOW! What a difference it made, again I had to slow down for my wife, my trim was not really affected and my legs felt as though I had changed from running in steel toed work boots to running barefoot. What freedom. I just thought I needed the ankle weights. It was all in my head. Weight placement is the solution.

 

[Greg D.]

I dont think this thread was intended to be a debat on weather or not he "needs" ankle weights but what people who use them wear and if he could make them himself and what to use

 

[ScubaTwo]

I dont think this thread was intended to be a debat on weather or not he "needs" ankle weights but what people who use them wear and if he could make them himself and what to use

Good point. Okay the ones I did buy were very cheap from the LDS. Probobly cheaper then making them.

 

[String]

Disclaimer: I truly and honestly don't mean to be insulting in any way, shape or form with the following statement...

Look at your own avatar. Maybe that isn't a typical shot of you...maybe you were posing...maybe it's an old shot, but you aren't even *close* to being horizontal in the water (unless the photographer was upside down and below you).

(i) i was posing (ii) i wasnt wearing ankle weights anyway.

Jet fins serve a real purpose...they are made of stiff rubber and allow you to do kicks much more efficiently than any other fin out there.

For certain people maybe, others with different physical makeup/muscle distribution truely hate jet fins. They arent for everyone. There are plenty of other negative fins on the market, my own mares ones are fairly negative as the one 20m under the sea after it fell off the boat can vouch for.

The fact that they have a slight amount of weight to them is a minor benefit. Even with light fins, with proper body positioning, there is no reason for ankle weights.

Again, disagree. Different suit sizes,fits,cuts,undergarments can all mean some form of weight is needed to keep legs down.

 

[Derek S]

Just to understand where I'm coming from, I dive double 130s (very top heavy) with a Bare ATR-HD suit that has those ridiculous vulcanized boots that you could do a cavern dive in. They are 7mm neoprene, full of empty space and ridiculously floaty.

If I can trim out without ankle weights in that configuration, anyone can...

For a number of reasons, I am having them replaced (in the shop right now) with DUI Turbo Soles.

I have vulcanized "fisherman's" boots on my OS Systems drysuit as well. I hate them with a passion. As soon as I get down to my "fighting weight" and get a custom cut suit, the OS will be sent out to have Turbo Soles installed.

That being said, I agree with Soggy. I dive a Faber Steel 95 with Jets and have little trouble getting in horizontal trim. Leg placement is paramount as he previously stated.

Different strategies work for different people. I'm not going to have disdain for someone who wears ankleweights, but it's a crutch that divers can do without IMHO. I will admit that I do own a pair, put them on once, walked out into about 2 feet of water on a shore dive, hated the way they felt on me even before I went below, and threw them back in my trunk. They've sat there ever since, right next to my Twin Jets.

 

[matt_unique]

Ankle weights are tools which can serve several purposes in diving. One of them is trim for those who's body type or gear configuration require it or prefer it. Another purpose is to shift lead load from your mid-section.

For those looking for honest opinions from personal experience beware of the divers who say anything like "if you use X you don't know how to dive yet". It's usually complete bull***** and they often have no idea what they are talking about.

--Matt

 

[Derek S]

Ankle weights are tools which can serve several purposes in diving. One of them is trim for those who's body type or gear configuration require it or prefer it. Another purpose is to shift lead load from your mid-section.

For those looking for honest opinions from personal experience beware of the divers who say anything like "if you use X you don't know how to dive yet". It's usually complete bull***** and they often have no idea what they are talking about.

--Matt

Don't you mean that ankle weights are tools used by LDS'es to help people attempt proper trim that they didn't bother to show them in the first place?