Whats with ankle weights?

[fnfalman]

Buy a Rolex Deep Sea and wear it on your wrist to counteract the ankle weights.

 

[Web Monkey]

A heavy snorkel will balance out the ankle weights.

And all this time, I thought you needed neck weights to balance the ankle weights. I never knew you could even get heavier snorkels!

Terry

 

[elan]

A certain local dive shop seems to sell ankle weights to every new drysuit diver that comes through their door. We see them at the local dive sites and as soon as they gear up I know where they shop just by the uniform.
I get that they need to sell poodle jackets and split fins to pay the bills but c'mon does every diver really need to use ankle weights?
I followed a couple of those roto-tillers out at the dive site this weekend and was shocked by the effect these guys had on the vis.
Do us all a favor and lose the ankle weights, a quick look behind you should tell you if you need them or not.

Look, here lead weights cost $4/lb plain and $5/lb plastic coated. and $34 per 3.5lb ankle weights which is approx $9/lb

 

[TSandM]

I don't know whether it's unfamiliarity with the suits or an actual weight and balance thing, but the shop Peter teaches for puts their students in steel 72s for OW dives, with dry suits. The students all have light fins, and despite the amount of weight they use in their integrated weight pockets, they all seem to end up head down and feet up. I think it's partly posture (looking down) and partly bubble mismanagement, but we end up putting ankle weights on some of them, and they get much more stable. They still bicycle kick and mess up the silt, though . . . sigh.

The sequence I seem to see is ankle weights to gaiters to Jet fins

 

[elan]

At the beginning of my diving I was using ankle weights. Then once we were playing with the weights in the water on the shore of Ontario. We put the weights on the float so we can easily access and change them. The float had a lead weight on a rope which was laying in between the stones on the bottom. It happened that I have guest my weight right from the first attempt and happy we went for a dive. When we were back the float including the ankle weight had gone. That was a sign that I do not need ankle weights I was reluctant to spend another 40 bucks on tehm and had to learn how to dive without them

 

[wedivebc]

Do you notice any correlation between the use of ankle weights and people who use their drysuit exclusively for buoyancy control?

Seems to me that the latter would make the former seem more desireable ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Sorry Bob once those guy pass through I can't see much of anything.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Sorry Bob once those guy pass through I can't see much of anything.

I know what you mean ... we have one local instructor who teaches his students to plan to come back to shore using a different route than they went out ... so they can see where they're going ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[StreetDoctor]

I know what you mean ... we have one local instructor who teaches his students to plan to come back to shore using a different route than they went out ... so they can see where they're going ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

almost cost me a monitor!

 

[Nemrod]

I thought it was in proportion to the size of the caboose.

N

 

[Sas]

I use ankle weights with my drysuit and I don't care what any of you think

Basically I have tried a lot of things to reduce my need to wear ankle weights but it is the only way I can achieve good trim (and I do have good trim with them). I have my tanks low as possible (but still so I can reach valve), tail weight, gaiters, jet fins, my weighting is correct, etc etc. I am both foot light as well as head heavy in twins (100cf, with other twins such as 85cf and ~70cf it is much worse). In single tank, I can dive without them but it is infinitely more comfortable with ankle weights as my trim suffers and my air consumption is higher. Whether or not I use my drysuit for buoyancy doesn't seem to matter. Gaiters reduce the amount of weight I wear on my ankles though.

I have also had three instructors (two of them are technical instructors too) tell me 'ha! I can help you get rid of your ankle weights, no worries' and each one has failed. The conclusion was that I could probably get rid of them if I switch from a neoprene drysuit to a membrane one, but yea I don't really feel like buying a completely new drysuit, just to get rid of ankle weights.

Everyone made fun of me on my cavern course including a lot of cave divers who were staying at the same place but I don't care as I have good trim!

Some people need them, but not as many as currently wear them.