Weight to use?

[CuriousRambler]

I've been away from diving for a while, and a couple weeks ago when a friend and I attempted a dive around San Diego, both of us were extremely underweighted. Last time I dove salt water I was in 7th grade and a whole heck of a lot smaller than I am today, so that weight won't help much at all...Last time I dove fresh water I was diving a different rig and wearing less neoprene.

I understand how to figure your buoyancy and adjust your weight, but to save myself time and just skip ahead to the fine tuning part of it, I'm turning to you.

Specs on me:
6'1" roughly 190 pounds
7mm full suit, gloves, boots, and hood
halcyon ss eclipse 30# bpw
al80

Not hauling any extra gear along, just enough to survive the dive and try to reacquaint myself with being underwater before I try anything more complex.

 

[ZzzKing]

How much weight were you using when you felt light?
How much too light did you feel? A couple of pounds or a whole heck of a lot?
Could you submerge at the beginning of the dive and then were unable to stay down later? If so, How much air was left in your tank when you corked?

We need a little more info here.

When I dive roughly this same rig I generally have about 8 lbs on a belt and I'm a little smaller than you but not much.

 

[CuriousRambler]

Going into the dive I thought I was going to be way too heavy...I don't remember exactly what I threw on, and my logbook is in my storage unit in town.

To get down initially I had to head down and fin for the bottom...I was a little over determined since we'd just swam a good bit off shore for the dive. Around 15ft I realized it wasn't happening and just popped back to the surface. It truly was a comedy of ridiculous newbie errors and ignorances. I feel stupid just for admitting it haha, but what better way to learn than mistakes?

I was considerably too light...I wish I could remember how much weight I had on.

 

[Teamcasa]

I've been away from diving for a while, and a couple weeks ago when a friend and I attempted a dive around San Diego, both of us were extremely underweighted. Last time I dove salt water I was in 7th grade and a whole heck of a lot smaller than I am today, so that weight won't help much at all...Last time I dove fresh water I was diving a different rig and wearing less neoprene.

I understand how to figure your buoyancy and adjust your weight, but to save myself time and just skip ahead to the fine tuning part of it, I'm turning to you.

Specs on me:
6'1" roughly 190 pounds
7mm full suit, gloves, boots, and hood
halcyon ss eclipse 30# bpw
al80

Not hauling any extra gear along, just enough to survive the dive and try to reacquaint myself with being underwater before I try anything more complex.

My brother is just a touch heavier (210) but with a similar gear configuration, 8lb BP and 7mm full and al80 tank he uses 22lbs on his weight belt.

 

[BeaverDiver1]

if you are using a BC, it may be better to use a bit more than you think is needed, the BC will allow you to surface even if you end up being over-weighted. Often when you are in an uncomfortable environment you take deeper breaths, giving you more flotation. I dive around Vancouver Island, I started with 40lbs, and now I dive with 27.5lbs.