How much weight?

[DESIGNERDIVER]

Hello everyone,

I am getting certified in 3 weeks and I KNOW they are going to over weight me. I understand you have to "experiment" and see how much weight you need as you become more experienced but I am looking for a guide line.

when I did my pool dives I wore 3mil and had on 4 lbs of weight

i will be doing the OW dives in a 5 mil and of course have to take into consideration the salt water................and i think my physical type plays a role.............I am 5'4" and aprox 135lbs
pretty average
so can anyone give me an educated guide line or will it just be trial and error as i go along?
thanks all and HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!

 

[seaducer]

A very general guide would be approximately 6 pounds added for the salt, and 3-5 pounds for the thicker wetsuit. Of course you should try to do a bouyancy check to make sure you have enough to get down, but not so much you need half your tank in your BCD to stay off the bottom.
Good luck with your checkouts!

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I start my students out with 2 extra kilos over their pool weight and do a buoyancy check. That is if the gear and exposure protection is the same. They may have to add 1/2 to 1 kilo after that, but it is usually right on. After the first dive, they may even take off a half or whole kilo, but that is typical here in our salt water. Remember, you should Not sink like a rock on your exhale, but gently, light a feather.

 

[fisheater]

If you're worried about being overweighted in your OW cert dives, I've got two pieces of advice:

(1) Relax like a dead man when you descend. This'll be very hard for a beginner (sure was for me!) All your life, you've taken a big gulp of air when going underwater. Now, you'll need to learn to exhale fully as the water closes in over your head. It's not natural, but a necessary skill if you want to descend without being overweighted.

(2) Discuss all this with your instructor early in the morning before your dives.

 

[Puffer Fish]

A very general guide would be approximately 6 pounds added for the salt, and 3-5 pounds for the thicker wetsuit. Of course you should try to do a bouyancy check to make sure you have enough to get down, but not so much you need half your tank in your BCD to stay off the bottom.
Good luck with your checkouts!

Excellent advice.. given her small size.. would expect that to be pretty spot on.. unless she is adding thicker boots, gloves and a hood...then it might be a couple more pounds.

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

elax like a dead man when you descend. This'll be very hard for a beginner (sure was for me!) All your life, you've taken a big gulp of air when going underwater. Now, you'll need to learn to exhale fully as the water closes in over your head. It's not natural, but a necessary skill if you want to descend without being overweighted.

+1

Recently, I tried an experiment: I went to the pool in my 3 mil wet suit with a six pound SS backplate and an AL80 tank. I had been carrying another four pounds of weight. I left the weight on the pool deck and hopped in the water. I floated. Hmmm. I then relaxed completely and tried to breathe normally. Lo and behold, I began to sink, and now I actually feel overweighted with the backplate on.

Relaxation is key.

 

[dkktsunami]

An approximation: add 6 for the salt water and 4 for the thicker wet suit. I would also venture a guess that in the pool you did not breath the tank down to 500 psi so you will likely need a couple more pounds. I would try 16 lbs total.

 

[SkipperJohn]

If you dont mind my asking... where are you doing your OW dives? Certainly not on Long Island?
Any chance you are with Swim & Scuba in Lynbrook/Rockville Centre? (That's where I did my work, but went to Aruba for my OW dives).

Your assumption that you will be over-weighted may not be true. I was under-weighted for every dive I relied on someone else to set me up.
Your checkout dives, if like mine, weight is a small issue and your instructor will adjust your weight if needed (3 of my 4 dives I had people adding weight to me at depth).

Just be sure and log EVERYTHING in your log book (suit, weight, etc). On my first OW dive I saw someone refer to his log book to determine how much weight he would need, I was impressed and did this too. I pretty much know now what weight I need (but I suspect this is a learning experience that will continue)

 

[DESIGNERDIVER]

Thanks for the advice everyone.............i will certainly discuss this with my instructor.
2 things..............PUFFER...........thanks for the small size comment (didnt think that was small LOL) and SKIPPER.............no way im doing them on long island friggin freezing LOL. I did the PADI course at seascapes in syosset and doing my certification dives in Key Largo(cant wait!) im cold when it is 72 degrees out so the keys will be fine.

thanks again everyone for the input

 

[SkipperJohn]

It would have to warm up A LOT to be freggin freezing here.
Good luck and HAVE FUN!