Drysuit Weight Addition

[sbrooks]

Hey All -
I'm currently diving in a 7mm 2 piece wetsuit and i'm using 20 lbs of lead in fresh water. I've got a Bare CD4 (compressed neoprene) drysuit and turtle jets on order. All my other equipment (BCD, light, etc) will be the same. Any estimate on how much additional weight I'll need?

Thanks..

S.

 

[Matt S.]

I think it depends too much on your body type for anyone to guess. However, I have the same drysuit and fins and in sw I need 41 lbs when I use an old steel 72. (which is about -5 to 0 lbs buoyant depending on pressure) I'm 5'9" and about 210.

 

[mikerault]

Let's see, diving a vest type BCD I needed an additional 8 pounds (24 pounds) using a weight belt. Using a back inflate with weight pouches I dropped to the same weight as when I dove with the vest and 5mm wetsuit (16 pounds) with a BP/W (aluminum with a 50# Oxycheq wing and single tank) backup up to 25 pounds. This was using a Bare Nexgen Trilaminate dry suit.

You need to plan on it being more due to the trapped air volume, how much will depend on how well the suit fits and whether you control on you BCD or BP/W or with the suit.

Mike

 

[theskull]

The biggest variables will be how thick your undergarments are and how much air you use to inflate your drysuit.

With 200G undergarments and only inflating the suit enough to keep the squeeze off I would expect you to need about the same weight as you use now.

And if that is so, you will probably be best served by adding 4-6 lbs. at the beginning until you get used to the suit and adept at managing the amount of air in it during the dive.

If you were my dive buddy, I would want you to bring an extra 10-12 lbs. with you (just in case) and we would start by doing some buoyancy checks and adjusting both how much weight and where to put it while diving in 10-20 ft. deep water.

Good luck. I know you'll love diving dry!

theskull

 

[sbrooks]

Thanks for the responses!
Looks like I'll need to dust off the ol' weight belt again.. Don't think the integrated will quite handle it!
S.

 

[spectrum]

Thanks for the responses!
Looks like I'll need to dust off the ol' weight belt again.. Don't think the integrated will quite handle it!
S.

As mentioned your undergarments and your desire for loft (warmth) are the real wildcards.

With all of that exposure protection keep an eye on your weight belt fit. If your hips become too padded to securely hook the belt consider a DUI weight harness. The other benefit this has is letting you hang your weight below your hips making the need for ankle weight much less likely.

Pete

 

[theskull]

Thanks for the responses!
Looks like I'll need to dust off the ol' weight belt again.. Don't think the integrated will quite handle it!
S.

Great. But don't put it all on the weight belt. Some in belt, some in integrated pockets, some in trim pockets. Especially in a dry suit do you not want the possibility of all your weights being lost at depth because of a loose buckle/narrow hips/unsecured integrated pouch.

Have fun and enjoy your new suit.

theskull