Question Trim position in a BPW?

[gmerick]

Get a pair of the small trim pockets that hold up to 5 pound hard weights and put them on your upper cam band

anchor the trim pockets to shoulder straps at the top of the plate.

 

[lowwall]

anchor the trim pockets to shoulder straps at the top of the plate.

Have you tried this? Seems like that would cause the straps to tend to fall behind the plate, making it harder to put the harness on.

I'm thinking of this setup (jump to 1:30):

 

[crofrog]

Please look at this thread I just posted in basic scuba. I think it could potentially help you. If nothing else, assessing your static stability might help you find some answers.

Fixing diver trim and weight placement

I added this to a post in the cave diving forum a while ago, but it seems common enough that I wanted to post it here in basic scuba as well, to hopefully prevent people from chasing their own tails as I did for a while. One common issue I encounter with divers working on their trim...

scubaboard.com

 

[jellycatsdad]

Please look at this thread I just posted in basic scuba. I think it could potentially help you. If nothing else, assessing your static stability might help you find some answers.

Fixing diver trim and weight placement

I added this to a post in the cave diving forum a while ago, but it seems common enough that I wanted to post it here in basic scuba as well, to hopefully prevent people from chasing their own tails as I did for a while. One common issue I encounter with divers working on their trim...

scubaboard.com

I read that - it sounds a little confusing.

Today in the pool, I found out I didn’t need any additional weight, I wasn’t wearing a wetsuit, just trunks. Positioned the tank higher towards my head, and pulled the crotch strap down. Noticed I was trim and able to frog kick. I’ll try it out next time in the ocean.

 

[jellycatsdad]

There is something wrong with these measurements. If only the tank is different, there should be about 4.5 lb difference in lead between these cases. Could be different amounts of gas in the tank, incomplete venting of the wing, trapped air in the suit, or different amount of air in lungs. ETA: I'm assuming Faber LP95 and Luxfer AL80.

This can be easily verified with a luggage scale and weigh them in the pool. Air weighs 0.08 lbs per cuft, if you need to compensate for differing amounts of air in the tank.

So this weekend - I needed no additional weight besides my tank. I did a check at 500psi, and a “full” 2400psi tank. Both are Faber LP95s.

 

[jellycatsdad]

Went for a weekend of dives at one of the local spots, I had my dive buddy take a look at me in the water and she signaled for me to hover and get neutral, we added 2lbs of weight on my shoulder D-ring and I felt myself level out a little to the point where I can hover but still scull the water. I made a mental note - I had 18lbs of lead on me, now diving a Faber HP100. On Sunday morning, I took off 2lbs off my weight belt and moved it to my upper cam band - 12lbs on weight belt, 6lbs for trim. While I was still noticing I needed to hit the LPI I didn’t need to do it as much, and I was working on trying not to use my hands to stabilize myself on the rocks or the ocean floor. But, I did notice it was easier to hover and frog kick, also felt I wasn’t bicycle kicking as much. On the second dive, I decided to drop 2lbs more for 10lbs on weight belt, and 6lbs for trim. Still had no issues decending but it was much easier for me to get into trim, hover and frog kick.

I’m still going to play around on my next dives with weighting. I think a steel backplate is the next move down the road. Then I can cut down the lead to 10lbs in total with a HP100 and 7mm wetsuit(or drysuit).

 

[Landau]

If you dive like a sack of lemons hanging from a hook well that's how you will forever look

I never thought I’d use a quote from @happy-diver in one of my classes but this one I love! I’m going to use it on the next diver I see that goes totally limp and descends butt first, feet up until their tank hits the bottom.

Also to the OP: whatever you finally end on make sure you have enough ditchable lead to float and breath comfortably in choppy water even if your wing fails or dry suit gets a major leak.

 

[jellycatsdad]

Also to the OP: whatever you finally end on make sure you have enough ditchable lead to float and breath comfortably in choppy water even if your wing fails or dry suit gets a major leak.

Yea, I’ll have a bulk of it on my weight belt or in ditchable pockets. For now, I’m amazed and shocked for my weight, the typical rule of 10% wasn’t the case at all. I felt much better hovering and achieving near-neutral with 16lbs of lead. I feel like I can drop a little more down to 15lbs with my current BPW setup.

I’m also going to hunt down another HP100 and sell my LP95s. I think using that tank helped me trim better.