Determining weight needed

[BRT]

I don't find as much difference as I would expect between a neoprene 3mm and a Lavacore.

 

[Bob DBF]

Everyone's body makeup is different of course

Not to mention BC, age and condition of thermal protection, and type and size of tank. My old jacket was the worst, 5# positive after a good dive, closer to 10 when dry, needless to say it is gone now in favor of a BP/W.



Bob

 

[boulderjohn]

Everyone's body makeup is different of course. We used 8 lb. and 12 lb. soft belts for the pool sessions. I used a 12, which was a bit heavy, but 8 was not enough. That's with the shorty.

John-- I assume a big part of how much weight each student used has to do with student's size. When you started your most needy ones with 10, how much of that did they shed during the course?
There's a big difference between 10 and 0. Also, was the student with the 7 mil using a farmer john and in salt water (I assume fresh?)-- man, 10 pounds for that? Or maybe it was a one piece 7 mil?

Everyone's needs are indeed different. A well muscled male with a 3mm suit will be a bit overweighted with no weights at all. Someone with a lot of body fat will need a fair amount of weight. Lean-bodied children need next to no weight.

I usually get the students close to the right weight immediately, although a little heavy early in the course is OK. Remember that I do not teach the students on the knees, which demands that the students be overweighted so they are stable while planted firmly on the bottom. If you are teaching them while they are neutrally buoyant, the closer to correct weighting the better. I have written about this before--the primary reason almost all new divers are overweighted is because they are instructed on the knees. When I posed for the pictures for the PADI professional article on neutral buoyancy instruction, I had to more than double the weight I was carrying in order to pose for the comparison pictures of instruction on the knees.

I personally teach pool classes overweighted so that I can descend quickly in case of an emergency or control students if the need arises. With a full 3mm wet suit in a pool, I use 8 pounds, which is, as I said, intentionally overweighted. I am about 6-0 and 220 pounds.

The students with the 7mm suit was in a 7mm full suit, not a farmer john.