How much weigh

Question
I am purchasing SCUBA equipment and it has been a while since I have gone diving.  Also, all of my dives were done, high altitude, fresh water, in 5mm wetsuits.  I have moved back to Florida and will start diving in the Keys of Florida probably wearing a 1.5 jacket to no more than 3/2 full suit for the winter.  I am about 185 lb, 5'7", muscular build.  I am trying to figure out how much weight to buy and the dive shop locally told me that all I would need is about 16 lb.  This really doesn't sound right.  In the past, I used anywhere from 20 lb to 22 lb.  Can you help me?  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Richard

There are a lot of "formulas" for determining how much weight you'll need but none of them are very accurate.  There are a number of factors to consider like, height, weight, body fat content, wetsuit buoyancy, salinity of the water, type of tank being worn, etc.  My advice is to just "ballpark" an estimate and then go from there.

Your local diveshop estimate sounds about right to me.  Since most of your diving has been in the 5mm wetsuit, the estimate of 20-22 pounds is about right.  Now that you're back in Florida and using a lighter weight wetsuit, the amount of weight you need will be considerably less.

Based on your description of 5'7", 185 pounds with a muscular build, you'll need about 6-8 pounds for the 1.5 mm  jacket.  With the 3/2 full suit, you'll need about 12-14 pounds.  If you're wearing a hood, you'll need to add a couple of pounds for that.  Weight estimating is not an exact science.  I'd start with the amounts I've suggested and then add a little more if you need it.  If your body fat content is higher than you've indicated, you'll need to add a few more pounds.  Your local diveshop can help you by letting you borrow some of their rental weights to experiment.  

Since you've been diving for a while, you know that when you first get in the water, there's a lot of air trapped in the wetsuit.  Your buoyancy will decrease as you let the trapped air escape.  Adjust your weight requirement after this air has been eliminated from your wetsuit.

Don't let yourself get over weighted.  You should have enough weight so that you are neutrally buoyant at 15 feet with about 900 psi in your tank and your BC empty of air.  If you're over weighted, you'll have to keep extra air in your BC and it will mess up your ability to maintain good body position in the water.

Richard, do a little experimenting and I think you'll handle your weighting problem without any difficulty.

I hope you enjoy diving the Keys...that's where I learned to dive back in the 1950's!!

Sincerely,

Mike Giles
Mike's Dive Center
mikescuba.com