How much weight can you swim up???

[james croft]

I also have a large collection of lost weights, pockets and weight belts i have found. I am fairly certain they were not deliberately ditched.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I am working up some bouyance calculations and was curious as to how much weight some of you consider swimmable from say 100 fsw. Consider a situation where you have a major failure to your BC, can you swim 10 , 15 maybe 20lbs. to the surface? Thanks!

Most divers could likely swim up 10 lbs negative without major issues.

But really, its a pointless question. This is what buddies or liftbags are for...

Here are a couple more. Assuming you swim the weight up, how do you stay up once you reach the surface? If you're swimming 20 lbs up, then on the surface you must labor to continue to remain on the surface while 20 lbs negative.

Then again, trying to swim any significant amount of weight up puts you in position for CO2 loading. One of the results of heavy CO2 loading is blacking out...which is more hazardous than being over-weighted. Why plan to swim up excess weight when there are so many better options?

As far as your calculations are concerned, 10 lbs is likely not a problem. More than that and you need to start calculating instead why you're planning to dive in this configuration or respond to issues in this manner in the first place.

Regards,

Doc

 

[ArcticDiver]

I am working up some bouyance calculations and was curious as to how much weight some of you consider swimmable from say 100 fsw. Consider a situation where you have a major failure to your BC, can you swim 10 , 15 maybe 20lbs. to the surface? Thanks!

By now you have some opinions and some information on what other people can do. The information is useful because it gives you some ideas. But, in the end it is what you can do that counts.

Regardless of diving philosophy the thinking diver makes good decisions that are appropriate for themself. In this case some of the factors are:
-Since uncontrolled ascent can be very dangerous, how do I make sure I don't accidentally lose added weights?
-How do I configure my rig and any added weight so I can always swim my rig to the surface and stay there without swimming?
-If when I get done with all my calculations and experiments I find I need so much additional weight I can't swim it to the surface? (My answer would be to reconfigure till you can AND to work on physical fitness)
-How often do you dive? A person who dives weekly, or many times a week, like some who have posted, can indulge in a more complicated rig than a person who is forced to do their diving in batches throughout the year.

The discussion about how much weight to carry and how to carry it is ongoing. This is not the first thread. Nor, is it likely it will be the last. Given the importance of the subject that is a good thing.