Overweighted???

[Z Gear]

Which is where proper weighting comes into the game...
Assuming you're diving a single tank with a cheap 7mm neoprene suit, you might end up 5-6kg negative at 30m if you manage to get a complete failure of your bc straight as you descend. 5kg, I know for sure I can kick that up, it won't be fun, but I'll get there. Once on the surface, I can cut away the gear since there's nothing in there useful to me (if your bc doesn't make you float, might as well ditch it). If you drop your weights at the bottom, you're in for a fast ride to the surface.
If I am a few kg overweighted, I end up kicking 8-9kg to the surface, which seems more of an issue to me. And people being 3 kg overweighted are not rare in our area, that's for sure.

That's why I'm a "weight nazi" and can "piss off" according to this thread, but I'd rather have someone do a complete check and think about what they're doing, even if it means being aware of your breathing for one dive, than telling her not to worry and keep going the way she does (which could be wrong, or right !). If after having done a check and actually being aware of how big their lungs are (and how they use them!) they still need 16 pounds for a 2mm shorty, I'm fine with that.

To get the air out of your BC, look at its shape, it should make you understand how to easily dump all the air out of it.

Telling her to take a second look at her BC is actually very reasonable advice. It good that you are reminding of this fact. The importance should not be over looked.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Weighting is a very individual thing. At first glance, describing your size and equipment use, the weight seemed high, but hey, USE WHAT YOU NEED, and what you need is to do a safety stop without any problem with a near empty tank. AN extra pound or two is better than being a little light. I suspect as you gain more experience you may lighten up on the weight a little, but don't worry about it. Wear what you need to wear.
DivemasterDennis

 

[BabySweetlipsLover]

Saw this posted on facebook. Thought this might be helpful!

Dive Training Tips | How Much Weight Do You Need for Diving? | Sport Diver

 

[shaundives]

UserNameBella, I had the same experience when I went to Utilla last year. Now, I am a bit larger then you, and it was my first time diving in warm water, but when I told them the weight I was using and how much I calculated I needed in warm water (a few less layers) they scoffed and told me way to much weight. (I did the buoyancy check with 3 different people just to be sure) So I went with a bit less then I should of, and on the dives I had the dive master come over to me on a few occasions to try to empty my BC with the dumps and after that they gave me more weight, and let me be.

Now, when all was said and done I was able to shed a little of the weight because I was really new to diving, but after my first dive I stopped worrying about the weight and focused on my skills.

I hope you had a great time in Utilla and Roatan, I know I can't wait to go back!

 

[EFX]

I have been trying to get my weight down because every divemaster and instructor I meet say I am overweighted. I currently dive with 16lbs, but I can dive with 14 lbs.....but I have a horrible time descending and burn through a lot of air trying to descend by just emptying my lungs, oh yeah and I can't hold a safety stop without using a lot of air because I have to keep my lungs empty the whole time and end up breathing rather quickly trying to keep my lungs empty enough to stay down. Otherwise at 700 psi I pop up to the surface no matter what.

A lot of good advice has already been offered but I want to focus on the procedure for establishing proper weight. Your response in bold above indicates to me you are underweighted. I would stop listening to your instructor/DM and do the following starting at 16 lbs.:

1. At the end of the dive with 500 lbs hold onto a line or bar at 15 ft (safety stop depth).
2. Empty your BC.
3. Cross your ankles. This keeps you from finning.
4. Take normal breaths. Hang as long as possible to get relaxed.
5. Let go of the line and remain still.

If you immediately sink you are too heavy. Shed 2 lbs. on the next dive and repeat the above. If you ascend you are too light. Add 2 lbs. for the next dive and repeat. If possible have the instructor/DM/buddy take a couple of 2 lb clip on weights with them. If you are too light these weights can be clipped on and you may find your ideal weight during that dive. If you have a choice between being slightly heavy or slightly light, choose to be heavy.

Once you achieve your proper weight it's time to work on trim. Achieve a horizontal trim position in the water at depth. Do normal breathing. Absolutely no finning or hand sculling. Remain absolutely still and see where you go. If you go head up, move some weight from your waist to upper pockets on your BC. If you go head down, move weight from the upper BC pockets to your waist. To check for horizontal trim rest your chin on your chest and look underneath you past your fins. You should see directly behind you. If you see the bottom you're head up. If you see the surface you're head down.

At the risk of sounding like a weight nazi I think you should work on this sooner than later. Commit yourself to this task and don't take it casually. As previously mentioned, overweighting is a main contributor to accidents. Underweighting makes uncontrolled ascents easier and on some dives (drift, deco, high boat traffic) more dangerous. Achieving proper weight and trim will make your diving more effortless, safer, and more enjoyable. Have fun.

One caveat: if you still find it hard to descend at the start of the dive or find it uncomfortable descending with lungs nearly empty holding your breath you should add 2 lbs and recheck.

Note: you need to do a weight check initially with each change in exposure suit. I'm a pretty big guy and need to add 8 lbs. going from a 2-1/2 mm shorty to a 5 mm full, and then another 4 lbs. going to a 7 mm full. This is all in fresh water. For salt water in the shorty I need 16 lbs. vs. 12 for fresh water. Your weight requirements will be different.

 

[DocCarl]

.....I have been trying to get my weight down because every divemaster and instructor I meet say I am overweighted. I currently dive with 16lbs, but I can dive with 14 lbs.....but I have a horrible time descending and burn through a lot of air trying to descend by just emptying my lungs, oh yeah and I can't hold a safety stop without using a lot of air because I have to keep my lungs empty the whole time and end up breathing rather quickly trying to keep my lungs empty enough to stay down. Otherwise at 700 psi I pop up to the surface no matter what.....

Hi 'Bella,

As several others have said: It takes what it takes.

It's true that you can do a whole bunch of math and try to predict precisely what you need. When it comes down to it, however, the only way to know if you calcu-guess-ta-lated right is to do a proper weight check.

Unfortunately, different folks are taught how to do weight checks different ways. Although theres a few 'good' ways to do them, some methods are crazy-complicated while others are just flat-out wrong.

Here's how I do mine: How Much Lead Do I Need?

Do a weight check using that method, and let us know how it turns out!

A couple of tips:

1.
Focus on being completely still when trying to do a weight check. Most newer divers are surprised to discover how much they tend to move their fins and hands subconsciously. Every time your move a fin or a hand during the check, remember that you're probably generating some thrust that's pushing you towards the surface. It's VERY common for people to misinterpret this as being "too light".

Lol. I once has a friend give me her fins during a weight check in the pool because she wouldn't stop (unknowingly) treading water. She was quite surprised to see 4 more pounds come off her weight belt!

2.
Once you get a good, tested number: write it down! Not only do you want to write down the amount of lead you needed, you want to write down the type of tank you're using as well as the thickness of your wetsuit and type of BC. This may seem excessive at first, but it will helpful to refer to this info later on down the line when you're using a different piece of equipment.

 

[Trevor11]

All good advice but from what I read your problem really is about relaxing in the water and not breathing too quickly to the point where there is so much air in your lungs that you will rise no matter how much weight you think you need. I speak from experience as I had exactly the same problem for most of my first 100 dives and even now when I am getting near to my 500th dive I still hyperventilate for the first one or two dives of a trip. my trick is to relax as much as I can on the surface and convince myself that I really can breath underwater and really empty my lungs and when I have done that I give another push because there is more air in there than you think and do not think about breathing until I am at least 6 feet below the surface and then breath slowly. Once I mastered that I started to take off weight but not too much and do it slowly and do not worry about it particularly at the end of the dive breath slowly and relax after another great dive. After all we dive because we enjoy what we see and what works for you works for you. There is enough completion in life and diving is not part of that world. Relax and enjoy yourself.

So here is my stats- I wear a 2.5mm shorty in salt water. I am around 145lbs give or take (I haven't stepped on a scale in a while so that is a guess) I dive in a regular BCD setup, nothing fancy. I am not overly muscular and a natural floater.
I am diving with an aluminum 3000psi tank.

I have been trying to get my weight down because every divemaster and instructor I meet say I am overweighted. I currently dive with 16lbs, but I can dive with 14 lbs.....but I have a horrible time descending and burn through a lot of air trying to descend by just emptying my lungs, oh yeah and I can't hold a safety stop without using a lot of air because I have to keep my lungs empty the whole time and end up breathing rather quickly trying to keep my lungs empty enough to stay down. Otherwise at 700 psi I pop up to the surface no matter what.

The question is, am I as over weighted as these people say I am (one person thought I could dive with 8 lbs which seemed a little comical to me) and should I keep practicing the techniques I need to practice to get my weight down or just dive with what works for me?

From what I can tell how much weight one person wears isn't just based on their weight, it might actually have something to do with their density....I keep trying to tell people that I am about 35% body fat, not 12 % like they are and even though we are the same weight fat floats, but no one agrees with me.

I have done the eye level test with both 16 and 14 lbs as well after a dive on 500 psi. I stay at eye level on 14 and on 16 lbs I am about an inch below eye level. I am very still when I descend, so that isn't an issue.....
What do you all think?

 

[AQUAALEX]

It does not help to dive under-weighted, in fact my personal opinion is that 1 or 2 kg over-weighted is much better than even 1kg under-weighted.

When we are underweighted we have to swim to keep ourselves down which increases air consumption and can also lead to faster on gassing, we might also struggle or be unable to do safety stops. These are all unsafe practices and should be avoided.

When we are lightly overweighted we only need to add a bit more air in our BCD for neutral buoyancy which wastes a little air, but is much safer and easier to maintain deco/safety stops.

To check your weight I would suggest: Do a buoyancy test in shallow water with a 50 - 70 bar cylinder and make sure you can maintain a stop depth of 4m - 6m for about 3 - 6 min. ( 1m = 3.28084 feet, 1 bar = 14.5037738psi )

The more we dive the less weight we tend to use, but within reason. Remember body composition, wet suit, fins, breathing, ... all play a factor. But the most important thing is that you are comfortable underwater and can maintain a depth easily whether it is during a dive or a safety stop.

I also recommend to all divers to always do a head up descent, at start of a dive we should always be overweighted as our cylinder(s) are full so descending heads up should be easy.

 

[SaintAugustineDiver62]

I weigh 230 I use. Scuba Pro Knight Hawk first dive I use 20 lbs second dive I'm down to 18 lbs with no problems on my safety stop

 

[spectrum]

I have been trying to get my weight down because every divemaster and instructor I meet say I am overweighted. I currently dive with 16lbs, but I can dive with 14 lbs.....but I have a horrible time descending and burn through a lot of air trying to descend by just emptying my lungs, oh yeah and I can't hold a safety stop without using a lot of air because I have to keep my lungs empty the whole time and end up breathing rather quickly trying to keep my lungs empty enough to stay down. Otherwise at 700 psi I pop up to the surface no matter what.

The question is, am I as over weighted as these people say I am (one person thought I could dive with 8 lbs which seemed a little comical to me) and should I keep practicing the techniques I need to practice to get my weight down or just dive with what works for me?

From what I can tell how much weight one person wears isn't just based on their weight, it might actually have something to do with their density....I keep trying to tell people that I am about 35% body fat, not 12 % like they are and even though we are the same weight fat floats, but no one agrees with me.

I have done the eye level test with both 16 and 14 lbs as well after a dive on 500 psi. I stay at eye level on 14 and on 16 lbs I am about an inch below eye level. I am very still when I descend, so that isn't an issue.....
What do you all think?

You have pretty much answered you own question, in the here and now you need the 16. The defining moment is that safety stop with a near empty cylinder. You need to be able to hold the stop without parlor tricks.

That being said there may be some opportunities. Make sure that you are truly getting all of the air out of your BC for the stop. Sometimes you need to roll to an odd position and be sure to hold your inflater high to get a pressure differential to the outlet.

If you are set-up for the end of the dive correctly you will be able to start the dive with those extra 5 pounds of air in the cylinder. if your BC is especially buoyant a duck dive may be needed to jump start the process though a deep relaxed exhale usually does the trick.

Over time you will probably carry less lung volume lowering your average buoyancy and the weight required. This is one reason why you want to do periodic weight checks.

More here.

Pete