Weights

[Wojo]

I did a search for weights, and it came back with more than I have time to sift through. So, I am posting here in the hope of some responses.

After snorkeling/freediving in Saint Thomas this past month it quickly became obvious that I need to add some weight. I would greatly appreciate the feedback/opinions of experienced freedivers on your favorite manufacturer/model for adding weight, and why? What features/benefits make your favorite...well, your favorite?

I've added an underwater housing for my digital camera to my gear bag, and I've missed some potentially good shots while trying to fight my own buoyancy. I also know that my bottom time is suffering from expending extra oxygen while trying to stay down.

Thanks in advance to all.

 

[shotgun.tycoon]

I like the belts with pockets you fill with lead shot because it is so comfortable and doesn't slide around. But most important is the buckle - be sure you can open it easily and it drops clear. Most people find the metal buckles are more dependable to not unexpectedly open.

One other tip on weighting: I think the most common approach is to weight yourself so you are neutrally buoyant at 1/2 the depth you are diving. That is, if you are diving 30 ft to the bottom, then add enough weight so you are neutral at about 15 ft. This is a good compromise because it means you will be negatively buoyant at the bottom which gives you some stability, and positively buoyant on top for safety. When you leave the bottom to surface, you need a few really strong fin strokes to start up, then buoyancy will take over and you glide to the top saving O2. Now figuring out what will give you neutral buoyance at 1/2 takes some experience, but by settling on regular gear and keeping notes with different wts, you will figure it out. That's my 2cents.

 

[ScubaBasics]

Check out the Pinnacle Weight belts they are very comfortable and have a metal buckle.

 

[nereas]

Durable pouch weight belts are best. You really only need 2 pouches on either side. You can use hard weights in these or soft bag-weights. A metal buckle and metal keepers survive longer than plastic.

Figure out what makes you almost neutral in a swimming pool, then add about 6 lbs for the ocean. In reality, you want to be only slightly positive.

If you also get a DPV, then it can pull you down, and save you even more effort, extending your breathhold time, and pull you back up again. My favorite way to do it.

Check out some of AG's DVDs on freediving with the X-Scooter!

 

[Wojo]

Thanks much for the info...just what I need!

Are any of you freediving in both fresh and salt water? How much difference is there in the amount of weight you need to add? I'm asking because I will mostly be snorkeling/freediving in freshwater quarries in Ohio and WV, but once or twice per year I will be going to someplace tropical.

Thanks again!

 

[wkyongae@aol.com]

Soft weights are more comfy but are also more costly. Also, if you are wearing a wet suit or anything else that makes you float more you will have to add weight to compensate for the extra buoyancy.

I free dive both and yes there is a huge difference. Same 7mm wet suit minus about 10 lbs. for fresh water add weight back on for the Puget Sound and add about 5 lbs. more weight for ocean. Trial and error works best. When I and my teenage kids started free diving we spent 2 whole dives just working on weight and still had to adjust after that for individual taste.

 

[OceanObsessed]

If you also get a DPV, then it can pull you down, and save you even more effort, extending your breathhold time, and pull you back up again. My favorite way to do it.

You aren't kidding... scooter freediving rocks! I just purchased a scooter for freediving and it is a blast. We just dove a local wreck with the scooters a couple weeks ago. Be careful that you don't take your scooter deeper than you are capable of swimming yourself and the scooter back up by fin power. I have talked to some people that have had them conk out at depth .

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Telling someone who doesn't even know how to weight themselves for freediving to use a scooter to take them underwater is a bad idea.

Secondly, I know not one freediver who uses soft lead-shot pocket weight belts. They slide around, are uncomfortable compared to a decent RUBBER freedive belt with hard lead and they do not adjust for compression of a suit or a diver.

As for weighting to be neutral at 1/2 max depth, that is a good place to start.

 

[Wojo]

Thanks all for the info. As for the scooter, I'm sure they're fun and convenient...but I'll be holding off until I move past the novice stage. Thanks again!

Dave

 

[DanLVolker]

I'll make a slightly different recomendation....the advice so far is excellent for scuba divers, but for freediving I would suggest one of the freediving specific rubber belts that stretch quite a bit, and you slide the old style lead weights on them. When a freediver takes a deep breath, his stomach needs to expand to draw extra air in--for this to work optimally, the weigh belt needs to stretch--otherwise it would have to be so loose that it would instantly fall off your waist. This will also be lower drag than a scuba style weight belt with pockets.
Scuba divers typically do not consider drag as a big factor, but to a freediver it is a huge issue.

As for how much weight, I like to be just slightly negative on the surface--as long as I am slowly kicking, my body planes enough to copensate without my having to fight any weight ( I don't feel negatively bouyant). I freedive off of Palm Beach, so I use a suit that is probably a 3 mil thickness, but it is warmer than scuba suits--it is a Sporasub freedive suit, with integral hood. The surface is much slicker than a scuba suit, and it slides through the water better. When I jacknife at the surface, put legs into the air, and drive down....I'll kick 3 or 4 times and be at 15 to 20 feet--from here I would be getting quite negative, and would begin a rapid freefall with no more kicking required--so it is easy to slow your heart rate ( which you HAVE TO DO HERE).
On a reef like Breakers or Horseshoe, you drop in freefall mode to about 40 feetdeep, and then begin to flare--level out...and then crusie along the reef for a while with very slow heart rate. While you are negative at this depth, with decent freediving fins, you don't actually feel the weight, with the large amplitude, slow frequency kicks holding you on a plane with forward motion.
Heading up is just the big slow kicks, and maybe some large amplitude dolphin kicks, and again, the weight does not feel like weight. As you approach the surface, your speed is much faster than any scuba diver could swim, with zero effort on your part.
You do need to go to a store that actually caters to freedivers. There are a couple in Miami, and there is one just north of Riviera Beach ( Florida Freedivers).
Remember, "most" dive shops are inclined to sell you what they have--not what is best for you as a freediver.

Dan