Patrick Star
Contributor
At least to me it is...
Hello All,
I did an ocean dive last Saturday with 18 lbs. on my weight belt. I was wearing a 1.5 mil wetsuit, a 2/5 mil hooded vest, and a 5 mil wetsuit over all of it. Warm as toast, by the way, with 50 degree water.
I had enough trouble descending that my dive buddy suggested that I needed a little more weight. However, once I worked at it and was submerged for a while, I found 18 lbs. to actually be a bit too much. When fully exhaling, I could lay on the bottom and stay there while breathing. So I don't want more weight.
What seemed to do the trick was giving up on a vertical descent and just diving down, headfirst, with a few fin kicks. Releasing air from my BC was also easier because I used the release valve at the bottom of the vest since it was then closest to the surface. That method seemed more foolproof than getting the hose extended just right and hoping no air was trapped someplace.
My guess is that I had all kinds of air trapped in my suits which was eventually squeezed out by the pressure. I also assume my breathing got better as I relaxed and that helped too, but I suspect air in the suits was the main culprit.
Is getting down with a few fin kicks and head down frowned upon? Is there a better solution you would recommend, given my situation? I am open to any and all suggestions...except for add more weight.
Thank you all.
Hello All,
I did an ocean dive last Saturday with 18 lbs. on my weight belt. I was wearing a 1.5 mil wetsuit, a 2/5 mil hooded vest, and a 5 mil wetsuit over all of it. Warm as toast, by the way, with 50 degree water.
I had enough trouble descending that my dive buddy suggested that I needed a little more weight. However, once I worked at it and was submerged for a while, I found 18 lbs. to actually be a bit too much. When fully exhaling, I could lay on the bottom and stay there while breathing. So I don't want more weight.
What seemed to do the trick was giving up on a vertical descent and just diving down, headfirst, with a few fin kicks. Releasing air from my BC was also easier because I used the release valve at the bottom of the vest since it was then closest to the surface. That method seemed more foolproof than getting the hose extended just right and hoping no air was trapped someplace.
My guess is that I had all kinds of air trapped in my suits which was eventually squeezed out by the pressure. I also assume my breathing got better as I relaxed and that helped too, but I suspect air in the suits was the main culprit.
Is getting down with a few fin kicks and head down frowned upon? Is there a better solution you would recommend, given my situation? I am open to any and all suggestions...except for add more weight.
Thank you all.