Overweighted???

[diver 85]

Agree with cool hardware---------------& you're probably real close to the weight you need-------but the ultimate test is how you are @ ~15 feet with 500 lbs or less in your tank---ie if you're wanting to 'float up' a bit, add a couple more lbs-----Get rid of any ego UW...You'll also probably do 'a lot better' with more dives under your belt......

 

[dmoore19]

I went from 14 down to 8 in about 30 dives. New wetsuit played a role in that I think, along with getting more comfortable and confident of what I was taught.

 

[BRT]

Quit worrying about it and tell the weight nazis to take a hike. Being overweighted is much safer than being underweighted and I hate having to hold a safety stop by breathing at the bottom of my lungs.

 

[RJP]

What do you all think?

How's your trim?
Do you have happy feet?

A great many divers spend the whole dive "feet down" and kicking like crazy. This results in two things:

1. They find it hard to descend, since they're kicking UP while trying to go down
2. Since they swim at a 45deg angle, they need extra weight to keep themslves from swimming to the surface instead of maintaining a constant depth

I just spent ten days on a liveaboard trip where a relatively small woman wore 20lbs of lead and - although she was vertical and finning up like mad the whole dive and actually had to hang on to the deco bar to keep from sinking straight to the bottom during her safety stop - she INSISTED that she needed even more weight.

---------- Post added March 13th, 2015 at 12:38 AM ----------

Quit worrying about it and tell the weight nazis to take a hike. Being overweighted is much safer than being underweighted and I hate having to hold a safety stop by breathing at the bottom of my lungs.

Being PROPERLY weighted is always an option.

Ich bin nur sagen...

 

[Z Gear]

I would really make sure that your BC is releasing all the air properly. It can totally throw your weighting off. If there is any air trapped (significant amount) in your BC and it is not released when you purge it will definitely hamper your efforts when trying to achieve your ideal weight.

My advice is to check out the BC first and make sure this is in order.

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

 

[JohnnyC]

I'm a fatty and dive with 8 pounds in a rasher and shorts. A friend with similar body type dives with 14 in the same. If diving with 16 is the right weight for you, then it's the right weight. We're all different, and being properly weighted is what's important, not what someone else thinks you should be weighted at.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Adding weight to overcome poor technique is not without risk. Proper weighting is worth the effort. Overweighting is a significant contributor to recreational dive accidents.

I'd suggest determining the buoyancy of each element independently.

How buoyant are you in just your swim suit? Get in the water and see if you really need XX lbs to sink if you exhale. If you do this in fresh water expect to add ~1 lbs for every ~40 lbs of diver if you dive in salt water.

Take your bc, empty the bladder, see how much lead is required to sink it.

Same for your Exposure suit. Roll it up *wihout* trapping a huge air bubble and see how much lead is needed to sink it.

Al 80's are ~+4 empty and -2 full in salt water.

Do the math. For example if *you* are 2 lbs positive, your BC is 4 lbs positive (with an empty bladder), your suit is 4 lbs positive and your tank is +4 empty then you should need about 14 lbs of things that don't float to go diving……..

If you need a lot more it's either technique (finning, poor trim etc.) or a BC that's trapping gas. You can force yourself to stop finning by crossing your ankles when you try to descend.

Tobin

 

[flyin01]

Were weight checks done when you took OW? 26 down to 12 pounds is hard to explain. If you only need 12, were you not bouncing up & down with more than twice that? I've lost 4 pounds over my 10 years. Can't recall from back then for sure, but I don't remember doing a weight check at the ocean checkout dives-maybe it was done and I was good enough to begin with.

During my open water class 20 years ago the weight check was complete when we were firmly planted on the bottom. After about 10 dives it looks like I started to learn buoyancy and dropped 7lbs.

 

[UserNameBella]

Thanks all for the responses.

My trim is pretty good. As evidenced by video, I am horizontal. I hold my fins and exhale to descend. I am going to try some of the weighting exercises once I am off vacation mode. I did a 100 foot wreck dive today and didn't feel like I was descending too fast. I can't "duck dive down" because I need to look up when I equalize (otherwise the tubes don't open, probably because of the way I'm built, it is what it is)

I think I'm going to tell the weight nazis to chill and wear 16 lbs. When I wear 14 the DM has to hold two for me to do my safety stop with, which can't be fun for her.

On another note, I just did my 35th dive. I've only been diving two months, but I've learned a lot. I'm doing 20 more here in Utila and 30 in Roatan next month. I hope I can get some weight off by then, but if not, I'm just going to keep on I guess with the 16 lbs.

It is what it is.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Thanks all for the responses.

My trim is pretty good. As evidenced by video, I am horizontal. I hold my fins and exhale to descend. I am going to try some of the weighting exercises once I am off vacation mode. I did a 100 foot wreck dive today and didn't feel like I was descending too fast. I can't "duck dive down" because I need to look up when I equalize (otherwise the tubes don't open, probably because of the way I'm built, it is what it is)

I think I'm going to tell the weight nazis to chill and wear 16 lbs. When I wear 14 the DM has to hold two for me to do my safety stop with, which can't be fun for her.

On another note, I just did my 35th dive. I've only been diving two months, but I've learned a lot. I'm doing 20 more here in Utila and 30 in Roatan next month. I hope I can get some weight off by then, but if not, I'm just going to keep on I guess with the 16 lbs.

It is what it is.

This occupation with lead is crazy! Why not strive to do something fun like take pictures, video, collect shells, learn fish or invertebrate identification and start a list of species you have seen?


Scuba is supposed to be the vehicle that gets you to the wreck, reef or ecosystem. The sooner you learn to disregard the gear and just dive, the more fun you will have. It reminds me of some tourists driving through the mountains on a sight seeing trip and instead of looking at all the mountains, and forests and vistas.. they are worried about how much time they spent in third gear.