Trying to get my weight right

[mridude]

I am 5'10" 170 lbs. Very fit. Diving with a 1 mil wetsuit in Cozumel. Atomic aquatic fins weigh 4.5 lbs out of water. I am carrying 12 lbs of lead. I add quite a bit of air to my BCD at the beginning of the dive, but at the safety stop I have no air in my BCD and float perfectly neutral. 12 lbs just seems like a lot and I will need more when I go to a 3 mil this winter (Cozumel). Any suggestions/opinions?

 

[BRT]

Yep. You will need more weight with a 3 mil. Be careful that you don't set yourself up so you are neutral at 700 lb and too light if you are trying to hold a safety stop with 300 lb. That will be the dive you really need to do the safety stop on.

 

[LowDrag]

Have you done a proper weight check at the end of a dive with 500 PSI in your tank? This is the first question I have seen on any of these types of posts. First do a proper weight check then go from there. When switching from your 1 mil to a 3 mil if your current weight is correct then you should need to add a few more pounds.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I am 5'10" 170 lbs. Very fit. Diving with a 1 mil wetsuit in Cozumel. Atomic aquatic fins weigh 4.5 lbs out of water. I am carrying 12 lbs of lead. I add quite a bit of air to my BCD at the beginning of the dive, but at the safety stop I have no air in my BCD and float perfectly neutral. 12 lbs just seems like a lot and I will need more when I go to a 3 mil this winter (Cozumel). Any suggestions/opinions?

I'll echo the "have you done a proper weight check" reply.

12 lbs with a 1 mil wetsuit and your stated height and weights seems a little high, but maybe not. We all have different body compositions, and simple height and weight numbers do not address those differences. Which is why it will always come back to doing a careful in-water test.

Your ballast weighting will vary with the buoyancy of the gear you bring into the water with you: Use a different wetsuit and you can expect a change in ballast requirements. The same goes for changing to a different BC (they vary in inherent buoyancy depending on design and materials), different tank size and type (aluminum vs steel), and if you gain or lose body weight, etc.

If you dive different wetsuits, be sure to record the correct weighting for each suit you use.

Best wishes.

 

[Frosty]

I am 5'10" 170 lbs. Very fit. Diving with a 1 mil wetsuit in Cozumel. Atomic aquatic fins weigh 4.5 lbs out of water. I am carrying 12 lbs of lead. I add quite a bit of air to my BCD at the beginning of the dive, but at the safety stop I have no air in my BCD and float perfectly neutral. 12 lbs just seems like a lot and I will need more when I go to a 3 mil this winter (Cozumel). Any suggestions/opinions?

12lb/6 ish kg of lead seems a bit much but if that's what it is then that's what it is.
Others have already asked you if you have done a proper weight check. That's going to be your first step.
Incidently re the 3.0mm suit. I found with a 3mm that for the first dive day I add 1kg/2lb then if im constantly diving I drop it off again after that. Might be my suit is getting old.

 

[The Chairman]

Everyone is different. Use the weight that works for you, not the weight others think you might need. You can overweight yourself a bit as long as you can manage the resultant bubble in your BC. The smaller the bubble the easier it is to affect your attitude.

 

[mridude]

12lb/6 ish kg of lead seems a bit much but if that's what it is then that's what it is. Others have already asked you if you have done a proper weight check. That's going to be your first step. Incidently re the 3.0mm suit. I found with a 3mm that for the first dive day I add 1kg/2lb then if im constantly diving I drop it off again after that. Might be my suit is getting old.

I have done a weight check at 15' with 500 and am perfectly neutrally buoyant at that point. It still seems that at the beginning of the dive I have to put tons of air in my BCD and I drop like a stone!

 

[RJP]

You can't really look at "weight" separate from trim and propulsion... they are the holy trinity of scuba diving.

It's very common for divers to be overweighted... and make up for it by swimming around at a 45deg head-up angle for the entire dive.

Conversely, it's very common for divers who are weighted perfectly to think they are underweighted... because they are swimming "up" at a 45deg head-up angle the entire dive.

 

[The Chairman]

He says that only because it's true!

 

[RJP]

It still seems that at the beginning of the dive I have to put tons of air in my BCD and I drop like a stone!

Then you are overweighted.

I have done a weight check at 15' with 500 and am perfectly neutrally buoyant at that point.

At that point are you also horizontal... and perfectly still?

I recently dove with someone who insisted they were "perfectly neutrally buoyant" at the end of the dive. Meanwhile they were hanging off the anchor line like an orangutan to keep from plummeting to the bottom.

Compare the picture above to these good looking fellows...