My first drysuit - question about weight

[ZzzKing]

All too true, especially that your lead depends on the undergarments.

dkatchalov is absolutely dead on when they mention better too heavy for the first dive or two, than too light.

Here's what happens when you are a pound or two "too light":

• You are just barely able to get underwater, mostly by milking the BC empty and smashing the suit onto you like shrinkwrap
• The shrinkwrap makes you colder
• The shrinkwrap constricts your chest and makes breathing a chore, at worst forcing you into claustrophobia
• You can't move much and swear out loud
• The dive eventually feels just a wee bit better until...
• The cylinder gets about half empty, and becomes light
• You now feel yourself definitely on the verge of floating despite sculling with your hands, and you swear some more
• Eventually physics wins and you do float, undignified-like and helpless, to the surface
• You exit the water determined to sell the POS drysuit to the first person that waves a $20 bill at you

Whew. Take what you think you need and add 4 lbs. You'll shave it off later.

BTW, just from your first post, my gut reaction was to add 10 lbs at least.


All the best, James

I did this exact same dive this afternoon with the exception of the last bullet. (I can't afford to give up $1700. That and I look like such a stud in the suit. I'm thinking of wearing it to work tomorrow...)

Dive 2 went better because I added 6 lbs. I ended up monkeying around with my drysuit inflator and eventually corked on that dive as well. Fortunately I was in the shallow end of the quarry for both dives.

 

[Anti-Hero]

All too true, especially that your lead depends on the undergarments.

dkatchalov is absolutely dead on when they mention better too heavy for the first dive or two, than too light.

Here's what happens when you are a pound or two "too light":

• You are just barely able to get underwater, mostly by milking the BC empty and smashing the suit onto you like shrinkwrap
• The shrinkwrap makes you colder
• The shrinkwrap constricts your chest and makes breathing a chore, at worst forcing you into claustrophobia
• You can't move much and swear out loud
• The dive eventually feels just a wee bit better until...
• The cylinder gets about half empty, and becomes light
• You now feel yourself definitely on the verge of floating despite sculling with your hands, and you swear some more
• Eventually physics wins and you do float, undignified-like and helpless, to the surface
• You exit the water determined to sell the POS drysuit to the first person that waves a $20 bill at you

Whew. Take what you think you need and add 4 lbs. You'll shave it off later.

BTW, just from your first post, my gut reaction was to add 10 lbs at least.


All the best, James

That sounds familiar.

10 lbs. on top of the 32 I normally use? That is a lot of weight. Even though most of my diving is Nor. Cal ~50 deg. I don't really get cold too easy. I'm comfortable in that temp in a 7mm wetsuit.

 

[almitywife]

you guys are using that much with wetsuits??? are you diving steel tanks at least?

 

[dkatchalov]

you guys are using that much with wetsuits??? are you diving steel tanks at least?

FWIW, the LDS I used to use gave me a 12kg weight belt when I was a noob (ok, when I was more of a noob that I am now). This was for a 7mm+5mm wet suit configuration.

After being hopelessly overweighted I worked my weight down to 6kg and could hold a SS with no trouble.

I wouldn't be surprised if other new divers suffer from similar problems.

 

[almitywife]

yeah.... arent we all overweighted when we start i nag hubby over dinner when he has a OW class coming up to not do this to his students but he wont tell me what he does (hmmm)

my FIRST drysuit dive.. i was totally clueless!!!

i piled on an extra 20lbs as ive never dived dry before and turtled with an audiance watching... i should have had my c-card taken off me then and there!

 

[dkatchalov]

yeah.... arent we all overweighted when we start i nag hubby over dinner when he has a OW class coming up to not do this to his students but he wont tell me what he does (hmmm)

my FIRST drysuit dive.. i was totally clueless!!!

i piled on an extra 20lbs as ive never dived dry before and turtled with an audiance watching... i should have had my c-card taken off me then and there!

I was totally clueless as well on my first DS dive.

Now I wear my evo 2 and the undergarment on 30 degree (celcius that is) days (water temp 17 degrees though mind you) and love it.

The amount I paid for this thing I should be wearing it 24/7 and not buy any clothes for the next 2 years.

 

[pacchill]

I'm standing by for my TLS350 Signature right now. It will be my first DS too. I was going to do some looking on weight as well. I'm good with 14lbs, 6 on my back (SS BP) and 4 on each side, in my 3.4 full, with a 3 mill hooded vest under that. This is not counting the rest of my rig though. Steel single, AL80 doubles. I'm thinking maybe 10 on my waist, and kicking up to HP100 steels on the back, with a 300g under garm. How’s that sound to start? Which besides being warm in So Cal... The double steels were a huge factor of getting into a DS. I'm lucky too, LDS is giving me the DS class for free with the DUI. Pretty stoked about that. I'm nervous as hell too lol. Can't wait.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

well I have a dry suit class this weekend in 40 degree quarry. we see how this weight think goes also my first dive with back plate and wing if I get it riged up in time.figure might as well task my self all at once get it done.

 

[Zinc]

well I have a dry suit class this weekend in 40 degree quarry. we see how this weight think goes also my first dive with back plate and wing if I get it riged up in time.figure might as well task my self all at once get it done.

Regarding the backplate and wing:
I don't know that you'll experience this with a drysuit (b/c drag), but my first dives on SS backplate/Wing with nothing else but a single 12' piece of 2" inch webbing were incredible.

I slipped through the water smoother than any dive in my old Jacket style BCD. One size fits all, and it did fit like a glove. The backplate fixed firmly to my body throughout the whole dive and my tank never rose off my back when buoyant (crotch straps are great, properly placed). The one-size fits all simplicity of the single web backplate system, the everlasting durability of a stainless steel backplate, plus the no-limit combinations of buoyancy wings you can attach makes the backplate system, IMO, superior to the jacket style BCD's I see out there... usually like floating junkyards of clutter.

 

[dkatchalov]

bp/w is not one size fits all. thats the point you adjust it to suit your body & exposure protection and you dont need to keep readjusting it.