Very heavy feet in drysuit, both single tank BM and SM

[Marie13]

Brief background: I got certified OW and drysuit at the same time in Oct. 2016. Lost enough weight that original drysuit was too big. I've been diving wet for a year. Have a Fusion on order, Aqualung is taking their good old time, and my shop gave me a loaner Fusion out of their rental fleet. I have good trim diving wet - see my avatar pic (that was about a month ago).

I've got 8 dives under my fins with the loaner Fusion. I am turning out to be very foot heavy. Will try to hover and my legs just drop. This is happening in both single tank BM, as well as SM. I did a session with SM instructor Saturday. First time SM in a drysuit. He noticed the heavy feet and signaled for me to add some air to my suit and go upside down to get some air in my feet. Helped some.

Single tank BM:
HP80
Halcyon BP/W with weighted STA - 12 lbs total
16 lbs of added lead, distributed evenly between both hips and 2 pockets on cam bands (so 4 lbs x 4), so 28 lbs total
Deep 6 Eddy fins

SM:
2 x HP80s
Hollis SMS75
NO additional weight
Deep 6 Eddy fins

The Eddy fins I have are the S/M, so they are a bit softer than the larger sizes.

Besides getting some air in my feet, what else can I do? I'm going to try dropping 2 lbs this weekend (Lake Michigan wreck diving, 3 charters so 6 dives total) from my hip pockets. I'm on the lake at every opportunity the next few weeks, unless we're blown out and then it's the quarry.

It's extremely frustrating, as I'm up to just over 150 dives now, and it feels like I'm starting from scratch. I know you need about 20 dives in a drysuit for it to be sorted, but this is just making me go Grrr, Grrr, Grrr. I can just imagine having to add air to my suit and doing a "handstand" while on the line descending to a wreck!

 

[ChuckP]

Any chance you have a weight belt too tight restricting airflow to your lower body? Where's the tank at on your body, can it come up a few inches?

 

[Marie13]

Any chance you have a weight belt too tight restricting airflow to your lower body? Where's the tank at on your body, can it come up a few inches?

No weight belt. Tank can't come up any higher. HP80s are very short and bottom cam band is just above tank boot (I'm not taking the boots off as no boots and boat diving don't play well together).

 

[Glen Stone]

This is just adjusting your trim. Maybe you need to move some of your weight higher on your back. Maybe your tanks are too low? Get rid of your boots and lower the bands. Tanks with no boots are fine on boats, either they are strapped in or they are laying down. No need for a boot.

 

[Marie13]

This is just adjusting your trim. Maybe you need to move some of your weight higher on your back. Maybe your tanks are too low? Get rid of your boots and lower the bands. Tanks with no boots are fine on boats, either they are strapped in or they are laying down. No need for a boot.

On my boat, there *is* a need for a boot. There are none of the tubular racks. It's flat - so boot needed.

 

[GJC]

Move more weight off waist onto upper cam band (10 lb total) or more.

Move some or all remainig waist weight to lower band. Some may not think this a good idea as you then have no ditchable weight.

Move some weight to shoulders. I personally dislike shoulder weight and avoid it.

 

[Marie13]

Move more weight off waist onto upper cam band (10 lb total) or more.

Move some or all remainig waist weight to lower band. Some may not think this a good idea as you then have no ditchable weight.

Move some weight to shoulders. I personally dislike shoulder weight and avoid it.

I dive wet without ditchable weight, so that doesn't bother me. Moving weight to lower cam band is probably my preferred strategy.

 

[Andy in Gap]

Lose the 8 lbs on the lower camband. Seems like a lot of lead for a BP/W setup? Are you sure you need it all? I dive 8-10 lbs in a drysuit and I'm a bigger guy.

 

[Marie13]

Lose the 8 lbs on the lower camband. Seems like a lot of lead for a BP/W setup? Are you sure you need it all? I dive 8-10 lbs in a drysuit and I'm a bigger guy.

I'm very floaty naturally. I need 22-24 lbs in my 7mm, single tank. You guys seem to often underestimate how floaty women can be. Lynne (dearly departed TS&M) posted once that she needed nearly 30lbs when diving (doubles, I assume). Some guy online thought that was unlikely, until he encountered her while diving and realized it was true. She looked to be rather petite from pictures. I'm short, but I've got my fair share of bioprene (although it's shrinking! )

 

[Andy in Gap]

I'm very floaty naturally. I need 22-24 lbs in my 7mm, single tank. You guys seem to often underestimate how floaty women can be. Lynne (dearly departed TS&M) posted once that she needed nearly 30lbs when diving (doubles, I assume). Some guy online thought that was unlikely, until he encountered her while diving and realized it was true. She looked to be rather petite from pictures. I'm short, but I've got my fair share of bioprene (although it's shrinking! )

If you need the lead, you need the lead. Your fins are good, that's what I dive because I had heavy feet too. Get a little air in your feet, move your tank up, put your lead as high up as you can. Maybe a weight on your tank valve? Keep your hands out in front of you to help maintain trim. It pays to be tall, we have a longer fulcrum to work with