More experience = Less weight

[Bob DBF]

First do the weight check I describe in post #22 with the kit you are going to wear in the water and do the check after the dive at your safety stop. Don't try to convert weighting from one medium or kit to another, too many assumptions. You need to know what you need for weight, everyone that tells you is only guessing and it dosen't affect their dive. I do not know all your particulars, but depending on how your BC traps air in spaces other than the airbag, how empty the airbag is, and how much the suit lofts while on the hanger but it shouldn't be more than weight of the air in a full tank. I dive a BP/W so I don't have anywhere to trap air so I can sink when underweighted, which is a PITA when surfacing.

Another tip is that I have 1#, 2#, 3# as well as 5# weights for subtracting and adding during my check so I have finer control of my buoyancy during the check. Get your own weights and use them when you can, because I haven't found a lot of weights that were actually up to their stamped weight and they vary, yet another reason to add a pound or two when using other peoples weights.

Let me know how it works out.


Bob
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“One thing is for sure you can't lie about your skills when you get in the water. The water tells everything!!! “ Mayor

 

[ScoobaChef]

DD - you're right, in the grand scheme of things it's really no big deal. I'm comfortable with the weighting I have, don't go smashing into reefs or doing polaris missile impressions, etc. it's just in my nature to pick things apart and work out the little details in everything. God knows as a child I disassembled pretty much every mechanical and electrical appliance in the house(some of which still worked when I put them back together)

Coulda been worse though, at least I didn't ask if a full bladder affects my buoyancy more than an empty bladder. Now THAT'S fanatical attention to weighting. :-D

 

[Bob DBF]

All kidding aside.. the whole idea of a fanatical attention to ballast is ridiculous! We have BC's and it is fine to carry 2-3-4 lbs more lead than the absolute minimum. Having a couple lbs of extra ballast allows us to hang onto something on the bottom and hide in the current, it allows us to hold down an SMB while on a hang (while low on air), and might be useful if we intend to dive very shallow like 10 feet or something and it allows us to start a descent a tiny bit easier. It could also be important if we are 3 feet from the surface and boat comes in with a prop turning.... it will be much better to be able to sink than to float up from a depth of 3-4 feet.

A couple of extra lbs is NOT going to make a bit of difference to a good diver.

It is always better to be a few lbs too heavy than a few lbs too light.

Divers wearing thick wetsuits in cold water are going to undergo pretty radical swings in buoyancy when making significant changes in depth...a few lbs to these folks is going to be zero hindrance to good diving. If you are diving in warm water with zero compressible wetsuit, you may be able to dive with close to zero air in the BC and if your weight is fine tuned, you might hardly have to touch the BC during the dive. A few extra lbs for these people may be more noticable.. but again. it is not a competition and good divers don't care about this stuff.

Being grossly over weight makes it much harder to dive and many divers are taught to dive with way too much lead... but this whole discussion reminds me of two anorexics arguing over having either one or two carrots in their salad.

Couldn't agree more, I'd just like people to do a good check first before adding the weight.

And no, I think I should pass on the second carrot, it's a bit much on the way out later.


Bob
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and as the world turns, so do the days of our lives….

 

[ScoobaChef]

First do the weight check I describe in post #22 with the kit you are going to wear in the water and do the check after the dive at your safety stop. Don't try to convert weighting from one medium or kit to another, too many assumptions. You need to know what you need for weight, everyone that tells you is only guessing and it dosen't affect their dive. I do not know all your particulars, but depending on how your BC traps air in spaces other than the airbag, how empty the airbag is, and how much the suit lofts while on the hanger but it shouldn't be more than weight of the air in a full tank. I dive a BP/W so I don't have anywhere to trap air so I can sink when underweighted, which is a PITA when surfacing.

Another tip is that I have 1#, 2#, 3# as well as 5# weights for subtracting and adding during my check so I have finer control of my buoyancy during the check. Get your own weights and use them when you can, because I haven't found a lot of weights that were actually up to their stamped weight and they vary, yet another reason to add a pound or two when using other peoples weights.

Let me know how it works out.


Bob
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“One thing is for sure you can't lie about your skills when you get in the water. The water tells everything!!! “ Mayor

I'm going out tomorrow so I'll have a chance to play around a bit. I dive a bp/w as well so that's at least one variable addressed. I'm definitely gonna get a my own weights, for better fit in the pockets if nothing else.