BPW Weighting: Overweight with no Lead

[dmaziuk]

... I could use the BCD to compensate for the weight, but thought that was not a good practice to follow.

At 6' your lungs should be big enough to compensate for those few pounds, but why? It may be just me, but I find it much more relaxing to be a couple of pounds overweight and not have to exhale all the way while finning upside-down at the safety stop. (I've actually done that so I know I can.)

As others suggested, get a soft plate to shed a couple of pounds, though I suspect your "calculated" numbers are a bit off and you'll be fine with what you got. (I'm 6'1" and used to weight 185 lbs and your AL80 numbers sound about right and I'd guess you won't be 8 lbs overweight with a steel 100.)

 

[Nemrod]

You do not want to have to depend upon air in your wing to support you at the end of a dive. I have always been a proponent of ditchable wight. Many heavy plates when used in tropical waters with little or no neoprene will result in the diver being negative even at the end of the dive and even more likely with a steel 100. Many a time I have had to wait 30 minutes for a pick up. Sure is nice being able to establsih positive bouyancy with my wing but if the wing were to fail for any of a variety of reasons I can get neutral or even positive at any point in my dive. I would sure hate to have a torn elbow attach, empty wing, 300 psi in the tank and the boat off picking up another group while I would then essnetually be treading water. Anyone okay with something like that, by all means continue tempting fate. Mr. Fate may never catch you but all of the anecdotal I did not die so it is okay stories does not mean he may not knock on your door next time. As long as you have a plan that is workable --- . We do or could carry a sausage, double failures are exceedingly rare. All of the preceding refers to recreational diving. Tech diving has different approaches to redundancies.

 

[jellycatsdad]

You’re gonna have to do some weight checks and have a willing buddy watch you dive. FWIW, I’m now at the 14lb mark for weight using a aluminum backplate BPW with HP100 steel tanks and 7mm wetsuit, before that I was using as much as 26lbs of lead on a Hydros Pro with a Al80. In a swimming pool with just swim trunks or a dive skin, I won’t need any weight with steel tanks or 5lbs with an Al80. I’m 5’8, about 185-190lbs for reference.