Another one with heavy legs

[rongoodman]

What kind of fins are you using? OMS Slipstreams or Dive Rites are stiff enough to do the cave kicks efficiently, but lighter that the Jets.

 

[Sirto]

I tend to be feet heavy as well. I found that moving some of my weights to the top of the tank (I use an extra BCD cam band for that purpose but you can also use a small weight belt) and wearing my bc as high as possible by cinching up ther shoulder straps gives me a good horizontal trim.

 

[likestodive]

Alot of weight integrated BC's, especially if it fits 'long', carry the weights low and therefore lead people to think their feet / legs are heavy. It is one of several reasons I don't use a weight integrated BC. I use a weight belt. If I want my legs higher I simply move my weight belt a bit higher - which naturally puts my head lower and feet higher. Your trim has alot to do with where your weights are located. Think about it.

Also, air in your BC - even a little bit - will tend to make your upper body float high and your legs low. This has to be compensated for by either moving your weight belt or ideally 'getting the lead out' if possible.

I wonder if you are a bit overweighted, are putting quite a bit of air in your BC, and have a weight integrated BC that keeps the weight low. This combination would definitely make you 'head up and feet down'.

 

[mistressmotorsports]

I like to use Bio Fins, which are really negatively bouyant. Combined with my bicyclist legs and couch potato gut, I also found it hard to solve a feet heavy position, especially when traveling and using rental alum 80s. Wound up getting some 7mm booties, which solved the problem pretty nicely. As a side benefit, my feet are always toasty now.

Mike

 

[String]

Lighter fins, neoprene boots but mainly move some weight up. Try putting 2-4kg of weight on the TOP cam strap of your BC. I have very negative legs especially wet and have a 2kg block either side of my tank on my top cam strap for singles and this cures it.

Even in a drysuit on a single i have heavy feet.

 

[stairman]

I dive sidemount 85's and dont need any weight to sink but have double ziptied hard weights to my harness straps above the d rings to get properly trimmed. Surprisingly I tried a pair of knee pads I actually use at work and which many sidemount especially sump divers wear and they really got my feet up well and I dont even realize theyre there. I plan on getting a pair of 7mm booties as well in hopes of shedding some or all of the harness weight. Some BC's will float you on the surface where others will tip you over facefirst and the latter is more desirable for swimming IMO.

 

[danvolker]

I have very heavy legs (i.e. dense) and can't maintain proper trim with wetsuits. My legs start sinking immediately when I stop paddling:
- My trim is perfect in a dry suit, in fact I use ankle weights.
- I sink like a rock in a bathing suit even with a full lung
- I have 6 lbs of weight in my shoulder pockets already (with wetsuits only)
- I have read the previous posts to no avail
- I tried everything from moving steel tanks up and AL tanks down, over changing the BCD position, bending legs etc. Nothing works, even in combination.

Now, when I was in Roatan I met an older diver (with more than 1000 dives) who had two self-made acrylic cylinders (I'd say 2-3 lbs of lift each) strapped to his fins. Needless to say it looked pretty dorky. But now I am beginning to think that this is the only solution for us few negatively buoyant divers. So, my questions:
- has anybody seen anything commercially available that I can strap to my legs (to avoid the laughter), which gives about 4-6lbs lift? Of course it needs to maintain its shape/lift under pressure.
- any other ideas?

Your ideas are greatly appreciated.

One thing you shoulkd be aware of, is that GUE has trained thousands of divers and left them with ABSOLUTE, perfect trim. This includes many with extreme, elite level fitness. Many of their students were very heavy into the gym, and very heavy into cycling.....in other words, as far as density of your legs is concerned, there is next to no chance that they have not worked with many divers with equivalent leg density, and ended up with perfect trim ( and never using a non-solution like adding floats to a diver's legs).

Now you have Errol offering to help for free, and he happens to be a very good GUE instructor...and elite level Triathlete ( read as very dense legs and no fat).

I recommend you see what he can do for you

Regards,
DanV

 

[webjester]

Ok, sorry for not replying for a while. There was just to much going on in my life. However, I figured it out. Just came back from Belize and the trim was perfect. The difference? This time I brought my own booties and fins. Last time I sacrificed those to the airline weight/baggage limitation BS and rented some closed heel fins without booties. Never thought this would make such a difference. Though my Atomics are quite heavy, the positive buoyancy of the booties make more than up for it. Case closed (for me anyway).

 

[Peter_C]

Awesome! Thanks for following up and letting everyone know what solved it for you.