"Don't worry, we'll get your weight down"

[terrasmak]

I agree. 22# seems like alot of weight for a 3mm. I have no doubt that the weight will come down as you get comfortable.

Got my vote too , i dive with 12 in the summer with my 3mm and 18 in the winter with my 7mm.

 

[espenskogen]

and in THAT detail they don't teach you during your OW course... seems it's something you either figure out later or learn from someone else

i love learning... thanks mark

Jag

Some instructors do - I believe it is in the Padi books (Don't remember off the top of my head), but I have a feeling it doesn't explain thoroughly WHY the pressure change is greatest during the last 10 meters.. Which of course makes it confusing, unless you have a decent instructor to explain it.

E

 

[DandyDon]

Got my vote too , i dive with 12 in the summer with my 3mm and 18 in the winter with my 7mm.

And you're a slim fellow. Us stout bodies guys often require more, altho it does vary.

22lbs in a 3mm wetsuit is a huge amount of weight in my opinion. I looked back and even on my very first salt water dives I used 14 in a full 3mm. Today I use between 10-12 and I am 5'11, 215 and wear a knighthawk.

I'm 6' x 215# and use 16-18# in salt with a 3 mil long jump suit. Part of that could be my Oceanic Probe BC, as it is a lot of BC.

But like Mark suggested, I do like a couple of extra pounds to ensure I can stay down and get back down, especially on shallow reef dives. I still shudder about the sightseeing pleasure boats I saw sailing between dive boats on Molasses Reef last month. :11:

 

[Web Monkey]

It takes whatever it takes.

Just do a proper buoyancy check and see what it takes to get you eye-level in the water with an almost-empty tank (500PSI) and an empty BC (you might want to cross your legs to prevent unintended finning)..

Whatever number you come up with is what you need right now. As you dive more this will probably drop, but there are no prizes and a number of risks for being underweighted, so there's no reason to rush things.

Terry

That's what my buddy is telling me. Well, I wasn't worried but now I am puzzled.

In a 3mm full Hyperstretch in saltwater, I carry 22 pounds. As my tank empties I have a real problem holding the safety stop. If I carry 20 punds, I cork with 500 psi.

I don't mind carrying an extra couple pounds, so I wasn't worried to begin with. But now I wonder HOW my buddy thinks I can reduce the weight. Does the weight a diver carries have ANYTHING to do with experience (I'm a newbie, he's experienced) or is it just physics and physiology (he's trim, I'm ...er...bouyant)?

I did some bouyancy work in the pool a couple weeks ago and I certainly have better control now (finally gave up the death grip I had on the inflator) but I can't see how that could translate into less lead. I think I'm missing something here.

Also, the typical bouyancy test of floating at the surface in an empty BC and adding weight until the water is halfway up the mast doesn't register with me either. If I am balanced like that with a full tank of air, what's to stop me from corking once my air gets down to 500 psi? Is it that my wetsuit is less bouyant because it is still somewhwat compressed from depth?

I appreciate any help in understanding all this jazz.

Thanks

 

[tparrent]

I also have an Oceanic Probe BC and it IS a lot of BC. Very comfortable too.

 

[H2Andy]

i am 5'10, 175 lbs.

with my bp/wings (aluminum backplate) and 3 mil farmer john, i use 4 lbs
of weight in salt water. i could get away with 3, but feel just a tad light
at the end of the dive

once, i used 17 lbs and i thought i could never dive with less than 15

trust me... as you relax in the water and learn to work with your bouyancy,
it will happen. you will shed the weight

two things:

you don't need as much weight as you think to sink. empty your lugs
(but keep your airway open, just in case), stop kicking, and you will sink.

watch the air on your BC. any air will EXPAND LOTS when you get close
to the surface, and once you build up upward momentum, it'll be
impossible to stop. stay ahead of the curve and get that BC empty.

 

[midwayman]

Ive consistantly dropped weight since my ow training. started out at 21lbs in the same 3mm suit and found it difficult to fine tune bouancy with so much air in my BC. Over several dives Im down to 16lbs dropping a 1lb or two at a time and guaging how I do at the safety stop. I figure that I can get rid of 2-3 more lbs pretty easy. Im 5'8" 195ish so no lightweight and this was with a al80 and standard bc.

 

[lorien]

As you learn to relax and breathe slower with nice easy deep breaths you will find you are less buoyant. Likewise most new divers tend to move their hands a lot and move their fins even when they think they are keeping them still such as during checking your weighting on the surface, while trying to descend and on a safety stops all of which messes up your buoyancy and tends to make you add more weight as you think you cannot get under the water. Try crossing your arms and legs when trying to descend and at your safety stop and see if you don't sink more than you did before. Also just try to relax and breathe normally. Often new divers breathe off the top of their lungs so they never really exhale and that added air in your lungs also adds to your bouyancy, just as air in your BC would. Also, I agree, when doing a weight check at the surface, if you do it with a full tank you need to compensate for the fact that at your safety stop you will no longer have a full tank. Always better to recheck it with a low tank at the end of the dive to see if your weighting is good with 500psi.

 

[Wristshot]

tparrent,

First and foremost, remember INAC. It's Not A Competition. Everyone is different, and everyone needs different amounts of lead. There are a bazillion variables that make different people need different amounts of lead. Some people are naturally more bouyant than others, some gear is more bouyant than others. Air trapped in a wetsuit (or hood) is also sometimes a factor. Don't be driven to beat the amount of weight that your buddy, or anyone else uses. Use what you need to use.

But that wasn't your question. Yes, there is a newbie effect usually. See Charlie's answer above, the best one given so far (IMO). As you get more confortable and relaxed, you will not be holding as much air inside. Once you learn to cease motion, you will require less lead to stay down.

You have completed the first step. You have recognized the issue. Now you just need to work on it.

Remember above all else to use whatever it takes to do the job. If you rocket to the surface after a dive, or if you can't maintain a SS, then that feeling of accomplishment from decreasing your lead gets replaced by some less wonderful feelings. Work on your self and your trim and your comfort level, and then decrease the lead, staying with whatever is appropriate for you at the time.

It is okay to listen to people that tell you "that sounds like too much", but take it with a grain of salt, and not as an edict.

Wristshot
Charter Member INAC Club

 

[creamofwheat]

i only have 12 dives. i have already shed 5 lbs and can still descend easily and maintain fairly neutral buoyancy at the end of a dive at 20fsw. i am pretty sure i can drop another 2-4lbs eventually as well. (i dive in a neoprene dry suit with a fleece underlayer, for reference)

you'll drop the weight whenever you need to. use whatever you need to use for now, and you'll start shedding pounds before long.