How much weight do YOU use?

[Tassie_Rohan]

With a Aluminium cylinder I carry:

1) Nude: 6 lb (can be hard to find attachment points though...)

2) 3 mm: 9 lb

3) 7 mm semidry: 15 lb

4) Drysuit: 18-24 lb (depends on what I'm wearing, or not wearing, underneath)

Weight distributed through assorted belts, backplates, pouches, etc.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[Nemrod]

Lycra dive skin with steel 72 I use no weight, with an aluminum 80 I may use as much as 3 lbs. This is with a plastic BP. If I use my aluminum BP then no weight.

My 3/2 Body Glove wet suit, I use 3 lbs with the steel 72 and maybe 4 with an Al 80 with plastic plate and maybe 3 lbs with Al 80 and Al BP.
N

 

[Mike Veitch]

No offense meant but this thread just goes to show what i see everyday with part time divers. Everyone loves too much weight, seems to be like a security blanket or poor training. I see so much reef get trashed from overweighted, fin straight down divers who want to kick to stay up off the bottom instead of adding air to off set too much weight.
As i said, no offense, just a huge pet peeve!

BTW,
7mm suit, was 6lbs but just noticed i lost one from my pocket last week when i left it open and have done 10 or 12 dives since, sooo 4lbs. AL80 single tank, jacket BC

 

[vjongene]

Depends on the tanks and on fresh vs seawater, of course...

1) Tropical/warm water set-up, skin suit or no suit, single tank. Al tank, T-shirt & shorts, seawater, 4 kg. Steel tank, 2 kg.

2) Mild water set-up, 3mm full suit, single tank. Al tank, seawater, 6 kg

3) Cool water set-up. 5mm-7mm suit, hood and gloves. Again, single tank. Steel tank, fresh water, 6 kg. Or 3 kg steel BP and 3 kg weights.

4) Cold Water. Dry suit, hood and gloves. Single tank. Steel tank 3 kg steel BP and 7 kg weights.

 

[Jafo123]

2) Mild water set-up, 3mm full suit, single tank. 18lbs

3) Cool water set-up. 5mm-7mm suit, hood and gloves. Again, single tank 30lbs

4) Cold Water. Dry suit, hood and gloves. Single tank. 28lbs last time.
I don't have this one nailed down just yet.

 

[scubamate]

Just an informal question. Given below the different basic set-ups, how much weight do you dive with?

I know there are many variables, just give rough numbers. Add or leave out what you don't know.

1) Tropical/warm water set-up, skin suit or no suit, single tank.

2) Mild water set-up, 3mm full suit, single tank.

3) Cool water set-up. 5mm-7mm suit, hood and gloves. Again, single tank

4) Cold Water. Dry suit, hood and gloves. Single tank.

5) Tech set-up. Dry suit (or wet), bp/w, doubles, hood and gloves and stage bottles.

Yes, yes, I know, "Yeah, but I dive with ____." Don't worry. Choose which catagory it could fit in and lets hear it!

Thanks!

Darin

Option 1. 4 pounds in salt water, 0 in fresh
Option 2. 6 pounds " " " 2 " "
Option 3. 8 Pounds " " " 4 " "
Option 4. 14 Pounds " " " 10 " "
Option 5 N/A

BTW, I do purposely overweight myself a couple of pounds when I'm working with students. The extra weight is distributed so as no to cause my fins to drag.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

No offense meant but this thread just goes to show what i see everyday with part time divers. Everyone loves too much weight, seems to be like a security blanket or poor training. I see so much reef get trashed from overweighted, fin straight down divers who want to kick to stay up off the bottom instead of adding air to off set too much weight.
As i said, no offense, just a huge pet peeve!

What do you consider part time divers? I think your assumption that just because some divers carry a lot of weight automatically makes them poor divers is a bit off the mark. Thats like saying black people are good at playing basketball.
This whole thread is about how much weight you carry, not your physical condition, physical size, or how many dives you do or a number of other factors that may shed light on whether a diver is over weighted or not.
You are right, most divers have not learned proper bouyancy controls. But how many know how to weight themselves properly to begin with? How many are wearing equipment that may be not the right fit because the shop that sold them the classes also sold the gear?
Reefwreckers because of finning? How about the folks who dive fresh water and never learned how to dive salt, much less tropical? They show up in some tropical local and think its ok to LAY DOWN on the reef, or grab it to peer in a hole, or stand on the coral.....

 

[Kim]

Tropical water - 3mm Shortie - (two years ago) - 5lbs

Sub tropical/Cool - 5mm Full (now) - 10 lbs

 

[jonnythan]

2) Mild water set-up, 3mm full suit, single tank.

6 lb in an SS backplate, nothing more (Al 80 tank).


3) Cool water set-up. 5mm-7mm suit, hood and gloves. Again, single tank

Last time I did this, I wore 24 lbs with an Al 80 and 2-piece 7mm suit.


4) Cold Water. Dry suit, hood and gloves. Single tank.

20 lbs all inclusive (backplate, channel weight, weight belt, can light) with an Al 80, drysuit, and Thinsulate undergarment.

 

[Darin]

Alright....

I kinda had a feeling that comments would be made about divers using "Too much weight". That's part of the reason I posted this thread.

The other reason is to see where I stand with other divers in the same configuration. I am a bit overweight but am nearly negative. For instance, In 2), I am almost way overweighted with 10lbs in salt water. I was cool water diving as in option 3) and was told I needed at least 32lbs. I sank like the proverbial rock. I ended up giving 4 lbs to another diver and I was still over weighted.

This is a good example of how weight "charts" are a rough estimate only.

Darin