ahereng
Contributor
I have found this tank-buoyancy calculator to be pretty helpful for this:
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17lbs negative seems like a lot.I sink like a stone. As mentioned before, double hp100s with an aluminum backplate and drysuit w/ thick undergarments leaves me heavy by about 6lbs at the end of the dive. When I jump in the water (fresh water) without any gear on except my drysuit, fins, mask, it takes about 12lbs of lead to sink me with my thickest undergarments. My rig mentioned previously is 17lbs negative with 500psi in the doubles (measured this by suspending the rig in the water with a luggage scale). Ended up needing 4lbs of weight on the crotch strap in al80s to be correctly weighted when I tried them, so the estimate of being 10lbs lighter was pretty close. I'm diving in low 50s water so my "thick" undergarments may not be as thick as some other people. I do wish I could wear just a tshirt though