#2242
MDW - 10/30/2017 6:19 PM
That 22lb may very well be part of the problem, rather than the solution. If you are overweighted, and with 22 lb you probably are, you have to put more air into the suit and/or wing than you should have to if properly weighted. Therefore, when you go up or down just a few feet, there is a larger than necessary mass of air changing volume that needs to be constantly adjusted.

Next time you are at Dutch, try this. Put on your BP/wing, Drysuit, etc. with FULL tanks and NO lead weights. Grab some loose weights and carry them down to the dock with you. EMPTY your wing, and burp out as much air as you can from your drysuit. This will get you as negative as humanly possible without weights. Now just lay down on the dock platform (that’s right, in 4 to 5 feet of water). Exhale completely (with regulator in your mouth, of course) and see if you sink to the deck (believe it or not, you might). If not, add weight just 2 lb at a time until you can sink. Once you are able to sink those first 3 or 4 feet naturally, you have a baseline. Now, calculate how much to add for when your tanks near empty at the end of a dive. For double 80s, that’s about 6 or 8 lb depending on how low you define as "empty" for your tanks. (If you were able to sink with no weight, it may even be less). Now, if your drysuit is a little too tight with all the air let out, add another 2 lb (MAX) to allow for leaving a little squirt of air in it.

Using this methodology, many people I know, including those with a 2 figure dive log count such as yours have ended up at about 6 to 10 lb in double 80s with a steel plate (10 - 14 with aluminum plate). I find that I need only a 6lb V weight, even with my very floaty 7mm uncompressed neoprene drysuit. I have found that I need about the same in a borrowed shell suit with the requisite thicker underwear. This is in contrast to needing no weight in a 5mm wetsuit with the same tanks and plate/wing.

Give it a try. There are only 2 weeks left in the season at Dutch, but if you happen to be coming out there, I’d be happy to meet you there and walk you through this right-sizing exercise for your weighting.