Freedive weighting?

[sarita75]

Hi there all. Trying freediving this weekend for the first time during an abalone camping trip in N. California. Curious about the weight required (vs scuba diving). My husband scuba dives with 30 # of lead and I go with about 24-29 depending upon which tank I am using, etc. Is there any easy way of determining the best amount of weight one should wear when free diving?

We will be wearing our scuba wetsuits (7mm one piece, hood, gloves and boots). Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!!

 

[BidAndDive.com]

Hmm...I'd go with about 10 or so. I usually use 1/3 of what I normally dive with when I dive with a 7mm.

 

[Thalassamania]

I wear what it take for me to float at eye level, that's usually just a couple of lbs less than with an AL80.

 

[freediver]

Any idea what depth you are diving to? As a rule of thumb, I weight to be neutral at about 10 meters. If you're not going to that depth or beyond, I would say, to be safe, go with half or 2/3rds of what you use while on scuba.

 

[sarita75]

Any idea what depth you are diving to?

I believe that we will be between 15-20' for the majority of the time. Just off shore slightly.

 

[spectrum]

I scuba dive with mostly PST E7- 80 cylinders and I wear the same weight for skin and scuba diving, 26 pounds. The negative buoyancy of my cylinder is what gets me down and keeps me down as a scuba diver.

If like many you dive an aluminum 80 cylinder then you have about 7 pounds extra to offset the cylinder properties so subtract 7 pounds from your scuba weight.

There are a few other small variables like BC and regulator buoyancy that get into the mix but all things being equal that's my experience.

Pete

 

[Thalassamania]

Any idea what depth you are diving to? As a rule of thumb, I weight to be neutral at about 10 meters. If you're not going to that depth or beyond, I would say, to be safe, go with half or 2/3rds of what you use while on scuba.

Most of the abs are in 5 to 15 feet of water, the current can be strong and the waves are often 10 foot or more. Being light is often not a good idea.

 

[freediver]

Most of the abs are in 5 to 15 feet of water, the current can be strong and the waves are often 10 foot or more. Being light is often not a good idea.

Hmmmm..ok, considering your factors listed above, why would it not be a good idea to use 12 - 15 pounds as opposed to the full amount of weight?
Something else I have used is a weighted rope/descent line attached to a tethered buoy when diving shallow near shore. This "disposable" weight allows me to reach target depth without unnecessary struggle to surface.

 

[spectrum]

Is there any easy way of determining the best amount of weight one should wear when free diving?

Also FWIW I find that the same bobbing at eye level test works for me on skin-diving. That will demonstrate slight positive buoyancy at the surface. I seem to go fairly neutral in full 7mm a little past 15 feet done this way.

After that you can fine tune for the dive site to conserve energy at your working depth.

Pete

 

[dumpsterDiver]

You should start out with about 4-6 lbs less than you scuba dive with. Be ready to adjust the weight when you are on site.