Weight to Add w/ Wetsuit?

[beachlawyer]

I dove in the keys in June and had on a dive skin only, no neoprene, but the DM got me from 26 lbs in Cozumel (3/2 wetsuit) down to 10 lbs w/ just a skin in 2 days and she said my bouyancy was great. Question going diving in Wilmington NC with a DM at the end of July and was wondering if I go back to the 3/2 (recc) how much weight should I realistically add back and not be overweighted? I know I saw a chart somewhere but just don't remember where....

 

[on_two_wheels]

If it were me, I'd actually go back to square one. Unless you lost 16 lbs of lead because you LEARNED how to effectively dive without it. Besides, better to have the weight to keep you down than to need it as you ascend faster than you wanted to for some reason. If you go back to square one, work on losing weight in the same way you did in Coz.

 

[vicdiver656]

I would say the same as On_Two_Wheels. Get the DM you're diving with to help you. I know that when I dived in Maui with a 5mm shortie, I needed 12lbs. In the West Coast of Canada, with a 7mm 2 piece, I need at least 22lbs. You see how much it varies. If you told me how much you weighed, I could figure it out for you, and also how much your tank weighed when empty, and when full, and the weight of your gear. Then, and only then, can you make a good guess as to how much weight you need.

Hope that helps,
Taylor
Vicdiver656

 

[highdesert]

Even when knowing someone's weight, you can still only "guesstimate" the lead required. When a diver's body fat percentage could be somewhere from about 6% to 25% or more, the weight requirement can change a lot. Hence we have "floaters" and "sinkers".

 

[Charlie99]

IF you are using the same tank, then changing from a skin (near zero buoyancy) to a 3/2mm will add somewhere around 5 or 6 pounds of buoyancy.

If 10 pounds worked for you with a skin, then I'd try either 16 or 18 pounds with the 3/2 (IF everything else stays the same -- both in saltwater, both with the same tank, etc.).

18 pounds will probably have you overweight by at least 2 pounds, but it is better to be a few pounds overweighted than to be underweighted.

 

[nereas]

When you are renting gear, this is always a trial and error process. If you own your own wetsuit(s), then you can measure buoyancy in a swimming pool, and simply add 6 lbs for seawater.

You should take your fins, mask, snorkel, and wearing a swimsuit, go to a swimming pool and figure out what neutral buoyancy requires, first. This is defined as floating vertically at eye level with the water-line while breathing on your snorkel, which will be sticking out of the water over your head slightly. (A lot of people have gotten rid of their snorkels because they don't think they look cool with a snorkel. I hope this is not also your problem, however; I hope you still have your snorkel.)

For me, neutral buoyancy in a swimsuit requires about 2 lbs in a pool. I am "a floater." You may be "a sinker," however. Everyone is either a floater or a sinker.

Then add the dive skins. For me, in dive skins, neutral buoyancy requires about 4 lbs in a pool. You may only require 2 lbs, however.

Now add 6 lbs for seawater. 10 lbs is what you got including your tank at the Keys, strictly by trial and error. This is a fairly general rule, for skinny divers, or young and skinny divers. For me, it takes 14 lbs, for the Keys, with 1/2 mm dives skins and an aluminum tank.

You need to adjust for the buoyancy of the tank. Most rental tanks are aluminum, therefore you will need to add about 4 lbs to compensate for an almost-empty (500 psi remaining) aluminum 80 tank. That is why I need about 14 lbs to dive in the Keys with dive skins and an aluminum tank, and why you need 10, based on the components. Everyone is different.

You can do the same trials in a pool with a 3mm suit. And then add on, for seawater, and for an aluminum tank.

Or you can do the test first with your dive skins on, and then with your 3mm suit on, in the pool, then subtract the difference, and add this weight difference to 10 lbs, which you used in the Keys.

The ideal would be to do the pool trials complete with all the gear you will be wearing, and then add 6 more lbs for the sea. However if you are renting gear, you cannot. But you can, as much as possible, with your suit(s) alone.

And always keep a logbook and write your weighting down, and your suit and tank configuration, so that you have a record. They you can look back into your logbook in the future.

Have fun!

 

[don Francisco]

Assuming that you have the suit, but haven't ever dived in it, you can test the bouyancy of any wetsuit by putting it in a mesh bag with some lead and experimenting until you know what it takes to sink it.

The suit will have the same bouyancy with or without you in it.

 

[mistressmotorsports]

I also use 10 lbs with a skin. I need to add 4 when I wear my 3/2. My 7 mm requires 22 lbs with the same tank. To be safe, you might want to start with 6 add'l lbs since not all wetsuits are the same, but you might be able to take some off. You can even go with up to 8 as Charlie99 suggests, the worst that happens is you find you are a little heavy and adjust next dive.

 

[Osseous]

I dive a 3/2 bare suit, and I use 18 lbs. Of course, your other gear will play a factor, as will your own personal buoyancy. Start w/ 20 on the first dive and see how it goes? If you sink like a stone, back it off to 18~

 

[beachlawyer]

Thanks for all the advice....This will help me get in the pool and try to get a closer estimation before I get on the boat! Thanks again!