"Correct Weighting" Identified as #1 Needed Improvement in SCUBA Diving

[The Chairman]

but certainly some of the other old timers.

And some of our more recent additions as well.

The interwebs are full of people who are, uh, full of themselves (including me). They'll tell you a piece of gear is "crap" without every having dove it. They are on every forum known to man and seem to congregate on Facebook. Quite often, they're the brand spanking new convert, er diver or instructor, who KNOWS how we should all be diving and what gear we should be using. Forget that I've been diving longer then many of them have been alive. They aren't wrong, and they aren't completely right either. Most of us who've seen our sport mature over the years, know that we're still figuring this sh*t out. We've seen the gear improve to the point that we shake our head at the reliability. Today's worst reg far, far exceeds our best reg of yesteryear. Classes are quicker, but they are also far, far more efficient. I dove for years without getting certified because of the draconian methods I witnessed first hand. Diving is far gentler and kinder today and I like it that way.

 

[KatieMac]

@Marie13 and @KatieMac if you think this is bad you should have been here when "vacation diver" were curse words.

Everybody here has been kind and helpful. Should I expect different?

 

[The Chairman]

Should I expect different?

If you get anything different, please hit that report button.

 

[lermontov]

ive found not only reducing weight but redistributing weight makes a difference- I managed to shave of 2kg just by moving it to different locations

 

[uncfnp]

Everybody here has been kind and helpful. Should I expect different?

On a slightly more serious note, yes at times you need to be rather thick skinned to participate in some of the forums although it does seemed to have mellowed a bit over the years and with the banning of certain individuals. But in case you don't know, there are special rules for some of the forums that make them "flame free zones." Other areas allow a bit more *spirited discussion* and then there is The Pub where just about anything goes.

 

[Marie13]

I was SO pysced out on my last dive trip to try and shed weight as my primary learning goal for the week. I use 16 lbs integrated in my newish BC and dove always in shorts and a rash shirt. On this trip, I decided to buy a pair of Sharkskin pants....UTHO! (supposedly neutral buoyant)?

So eagerly I add 8lbs per side and jump in and immediately realize this aint gonna happen! I informed DM prior that I was going to work on weighting and he had and added 2 2lbs into my wing pockets. That worked out fine

So, instead of less, I dove with more that week. Just goes to show.....with every added piece of equipment, weighting is a moving target. I'm still on a mission to shed weight...my goal is 12LBS for no other reason than to want to try it. I didn't try, but should have come to think of it diving without the Sharskin that week, but I looked so cool

There is a big push for "less is more" when it comes to weight, but sometimes you DO need more! Two months ago, I dove at a regional quarry. I was wearing a certain combo of dry suit undies for the first time (Fourth Element Arctic over FE Xerotherm) and didn't realize how much extra weight I would need. First dive was a struggle to stay down (only did one that day was it was an afternoon dive on a winter day). Next day, we added something like 6 lbs - for a total of 22 lbs on top of BP and 5 lb STA insert. I stayed down. I'm very floaty. My aim is to get my weight down this season (first class coming up in a month is Advanced Buoyancy).

 

[Joneill]

There is a big push for "less is more" when it comes to weight, but sometimes you DO need more! Two months ago, I dove at a regional quarry. I was wearing a certain combo of dry suit undies for the first time (Fourth Element Arctic over FE Xerotherm) and didn't realize how much extra weight I would need. First dive was a struggle to stay down (only did one that day was it was an afternoon dive on a winter day). Next day, we added something like 6 lbs - for a total of 22 lbs on top of BP and 5 lb STA insert. I stayed down. I'm very floaty. My aim is to get my weight down this season (first class coming up in a month is Advanced Buoyancy).

As long as you have ditchable weight, i think it is better to be a bit overweighted than underweighted if you have added new gear. Once you understand the impact of the new gear on your trim and buoyancy over a few dives, you can figure out how to best reduce/redistribute weight for best performance.

Also, as much as instruction is important, the diver has to care and take responsibility for their own improvement. I just spent 5 days in Aruba and I saw divers with excellent technique and divers with horrendous technique (vertical trim, standing on the bottom, kicking the coral and generating massive sand/silt clouds). Some people care and some, unfortunately, do not.

I was trained executing most skills kneeling on the bottom, but have strived to improve my technique as I want to be the best diver I can be with the least impact on the environment. After OW and a few dives, I did PPB and spent time watching other divers and YouTube training videos and read books/online tips on the topics. I'm now at 50 dives and the DM on this last trip commented on how good my buoyanncy and control was - she thought I had been diving much longer than I have.

 

[soggybadger]

Correct weighting was #1 on a list of "DAN’s Top 10 Most Wanted Improvements in Scuba Diving"

(#1)

Correct Weighting
Diving with the correct weights is critical for safe diving. We hear that over and over again yet it still frequently becomes one of the triggers for a diving mishap. If you read the annual report you will find case studies of divers being grossly over weighted. One of the fatal cases concerning a diver using a steel tank found on the bottom after being observed sinking from a safety stop. The diver was found with a fully inflated BCD and he had removed his weight belt. However, this was not enough to become positively buoyant at the depth he was found. Investigation showed that the diver had 50 pounds of weights but only 17 pounds of that was on his weight belt. Another drowning case had a diver 20 pounds over-weighted.

You will also see cases where divers ran into trouble being under-weighted. Mostly these led to DCS when the diver was unable to maintain a safety stop and to control their rate of ascent.​

This quoted from the article:
DAN's Top 10 Most Wanted Improvements in Scuba Diving – DeeperBlue.com

I believe the most effective solution would be to return to old way where divers first learn to dive with a tank on a simple backplate (no BCD). Proper weighting to within -+1 pound becomes very important to planning a successful dive. Once that level of weight tracking is ingrained to near OCD behavior levels, then the divers can learn to dive with a BCD as a specialty. What do you all think?

This is because BCDs are unstable. The more air in the BC the more unstable it is. Also, the more shallow you are the worse it will be, so deco and safety stops are especially bad. If you have a lot of air in it, you will have to constantly fight its instability adding and removing air from the BCD.

Controlling your buoyancy becomes trivial if you are neutral when the BCD is empty. This is an analog for diving without a BCD.

The truth is, if a diver is proficient at diving without a BCD, they will likely be able to dive with one without problems. If they cannot dive without a BCD, they will likely struggle to dive with one for the exact reason you described above. They will likely dive with too much weight and struggle to stay ahead of the devices inherent instability, wasting air in the process and making accurate gas management more difficult (another DAN point for improvement in the previously quoted article).

I can't dive without a bcd but I'm diving fine with one. Can't see why I should need to learn that way just because a couple of idiots have sunk like a stone due to being massively overweighted. I may be very wrong but the op seems to be addressing a problem that i just don't see. Maybe it would be more constructive to address the issue of people trying to do things that they are just not cut out for. Stupid people do stupid things all the time.

 

[soggybadger]

Sorry If that came across as rude or ignorant as it was not meant to be.

 

[REVAN]

ive found not only reducing weight but redistributing weight makes a difference- I managed to shave of 2kg just by moving it to different locations

Yes, this is something that is generally not taught. I usually dive with 4 to 6 pounds of removable weight on my neck. The process of weighting is not just a one time thing. It is a library of knowledge that you compile over time and continually refine as your gear changes. Changing from one regulator to another can influence the amount of weight is ideal for "this dive". Changing dry suit undergarments or wet suites is likely to be a much bigger impact still.

It's not about some kind of pissing contest to see who can dive with the least amount of weight. This is about the process of weight tracking and knowing what you need in order to optimize your diving performance and experience.

Some have the attitude of taking more than enough is the best way to never be too buoyant. That is just not an optimal way to approach diving.

A little reductio ad absurdum is that a diver could adopt the policy of taking four 80s (2 on back and 2 under arms) to make sure they will always have enough air for their dive. Most will agree that this is not a very good gas management policy. It will make simple recreational dives difficult and un-fun, while at the other end of the spectrum, there are dives one could embark upon where this would not be enough gas. Point is, it makes far more sense to calculate the gas required for this dive and configure your kit for what you need. Weight management is no different.

The catch is that you need to be able to predict the weight configuration you will need. This only comes from practice, and if the BC is used to habitually avoid the process of practicing accurate weight management predictions, those skills may never be developed.