Weight belts for leg weights

[love2godeep]

I have discovered through trial and error, and very perceptive Dive Instructor in the Philippines, that I need to carry weights on my thighs in order to have maintain good neutral buoyancy.

I sewed some little neoprene pockets on my shorty, and put a 1-1/2 pound weight in each one. It worked perfectly.

However, I ran into problems in Hawaii, as my 3mm shorty wasn't enough exposure protection. I couldn't use the dive op's 5 mm wet suit, as I needed the leg weights. So I ended up layering my shortie over my 1 mm microprene suit. I suspect that this made the descent difficult, as air was being trapped between layers. (I had to go down head first, which exacbated problems with clearing my ears.) Once I was down (and had more water in my suits), I was fine, even at the end of the dive when the tanks were more buoyant.

I'm looking for some sort of weight belt or band that could be strapped to the upper legs. Is such an item available for sale? If so, where could I get it?

Thanks!

 

[ShakaZulu]

Didn't you just get certified??? I think with time you'll realise you don't need those weights. Work on that boyency some more..........

BTW, What is your dimensions, which BC are you using, how much weight, and lastly, how is the weight distrubuted???

 

[MyDiveLog]

One way to adjust trim is to add weights at different points in your body. I'm betting that you are addressing the symptom of 'incorrect trim' in the water rather than addressing the problem. This same thing happens all the time to beginniners, where another diver, meaning to be helpful, suggest that they wear ankly weights...which quickly exhaust a beginner and, again, don't really solve the problem. This happened to me when I first started. Shakazulu asks some good questions that are really needed to know what the problem is. Without these answers I'll share some thoughts:

- You may be wearing bouyant fins ... I'm not a big fan of these because a little bouyancy, placed at the far end of the fulcrum, does a lot to upset your trim. If this is the case, try negatively weighted fins and see the difference.

- You may be (probably are as a beginner) over-weighted. To compensate you add air to your BC which, if it's back inflated, pulls your butt & back up, resulting in a need for "thigh weights." Unless you are going really deep (say 100') you shouldn't be adding more than a couple of short puffs of air to your BC to be neutral at depth.

- You may be wearing your tank too high in your BC ... is the 1st stage bumping you in the head? The top of the tank valve should be level with the bottom of the "U" between your BC straps when you install the tank. Once you have your weighting correct, a small adjustment in where you place your BC strap should be all you need to adjust your trim. I even have a mark on my tanks so that I get it the same every time.

Good luck!

Phil

 

[Green_Manelishi]

It's probably your TRIM that is being adjusted by the pocket weights. I'd suggest a DUI 'weight and trim' system. It will
allow you to place weight VERY low on your body but you'll
still be able to dump it if necessary.

I have discovered through trial and error, and very perceptive Dive Instructor in the Philippines, that I need to carry weights on my thighs in order to have maintain good neutral buoyancy.

I sewed some little neoprene pockets on my shorty, and put a 1-1/2 pound weight in each one. It worked perfectly.

However, I ran into problems in Hawaii, as my 3mm shorty wasn't enough exposure protection. I couldn't use the dive op's 5 mm wet suit, as I needed the leg weights. So I ended up layering my shortie over my 1 mm microprene suit. I suspect that this made the descent difficult, as air was being trapped between layers. (I had to go down head first, which exacbated problems with clearing my ears.) Once I was down (and had more water in my suits), I was fine, even at the end of the dive when the tanks were more buoyant.

I'm looking for some sort of weight belt or band that could be strapped to the upper legs. Is such an item available for sale? If so, where could I get it?

Thanks!

 

[love2godeep]

Sorry, guys, I didn't explain that we'd considered many of the possibilities you so kindly mentioned. I probably sounded like I'd just stepped out of an OW bucket shop. I'm far from being an expert diver, but I've worked A LOT on buoyancy and trim, and continue to do so on every dive. I keep off the bottom, keep off the inflator/deflator buttons, and can do a safety stop without a line.

Anyway, since you asked.....

1. I tend to be naturally quite buoyant, although I'm on the small side. 5'5, 122 lbs., fairly evenly distributed.

2. I am quite sure that my gear has something to do with this development, as the problem didn't surface (heehee) until I got my own equipment. I have a SP backinflate LadyHawk BC (which I really like, anyway). I seldom add any air at all to my BC; if anything, a tiny puff or two as I get deeper. I have excellent air consumption. I am guessing it is something about the placement of the weight pockets in the BC that is causing my feet to want to rise. Depending on exposure protection, I put 4-5 lbs in each side of the BC, and 1 - 1 1/2 pounds on each thigh. I don't believe this is overweighted; I have done a lot of experimenting with this on the bottom, adding and subtracting weights; and I can hover just off the bottom, with little or no air in my BC, with this amount of weight. I suppose I could go back to using the weight belt, but frankly, they are uncomfortable and I don't care for them.

4. I put the weights at the top of my legs, not on the ankles. I don't have any appreciable leg drag with the weights in that position.

5. I've always been told I have excellent trim.

6. No, the tanks are not too high. I set them quite low.

7. My fins are neutrally buoyant. But if I got big, heavy, negatively buoyant fins, wouldn't that be like having ankle weights? Why not just put the weight where it's more comfortable?

So, back to my question. . . . anyone have a source for. . . .

Never mind. I think I'll stay with the nice little neoprene pockets. Hey! Maybe I could sell them! Nah, no time. Anyway, thanks again for the input.

 

[rjchandler]

To address your question:

Softweights might have something - but it would depend on the size of your thighs. I think any thing with a belt would be cumbersome and prone to slip off.

Dive right makes thigh pockets to hang from their harnesses - might fit on a ladyhawk.

Perhaps a pair of long shorts with pockets sewn in them. This would be non-ditchable, but might work when you needed to use rental suits.

 

[MyDiveLog]

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Two other thoughts...

1) Make sure you aren't cinching up the front straps on your BC too much (or maybe even at all)...this might be pulling your weight pockets forward towards your head, and even a couple of inches may throw off your trim. I used to have this problem, because I'd cinch them tight for surf entries. Once I learned to adjust them to be more loose after I'd descended (I actually have to tug down a bit on my BC to get it to ride lower) my trim returned to 'normal.'

2) My experience is that NO ONE (at least those who are not really obese ... and, from your note, you certainly aren't) is inherently bouyant. You might want to play around in a pool with no scuba gear, working a bit on relaxation techniques. Perhaps you are breathing from the top of your lungs rather than the bottom, which causes people to hold air in their lungs, which makes them either float head up or have trim issues underwater. It's amazing to work with students on this. I had a student this week that was convinced she couldn't sink, then when she relaxed a bit and exhaled she sank a bit, but was head up at the bottom of the pool (shallow end). After a couple of pool sessions she really learned to relax and can lie flat on the bottom easily.

Take care & good luck!

 

[cornfed]

I have discovered through trial and error, and very perceptive Dive Instructor in the Philippines, that I need to carry weights on my thighs in order to have maintain good neutral buoyancy.

That certainly is a "solution".