weight belts and beginers

[DiveDeep3r99]

hi, im soon to be going to the florida keys for some spearfishing and free diving in 30 ft maxinum water, will i be ok to use a weightbelt to get to the bottom and swim up without a rope or anything?

also, ive been on a 2 week break from any exercises whatsoever, is this is going to kill my times or should i be back to my PB soon?

thanks
-mike

[svetliy]

Mike. Weight belt is used to compensate for the suite buoyancy, not as a weight to take you to the bottom.Besides, weight belt is not the unit of measure, it all depends on how much weight you actually put on your weight, which in turn depends on your suite thickness and some other factors. I assume you dive without a suite, so no need for weight belt. Especially at 30 ft.
Also, I strongly recommend you to get hold of some good reading. PADI Open Water Manual, Manual of Freediving etc. will do the job and will answer a lot of your question and give rise to new ones as well.

[azapa]

i need lead to dive full lung in the ocean no-suit, some people don't. It depends on your size, weight, muscle density, lung volume and style. Poor style = need more weight to break surface. (like I said, I need weight....) try and hook up with divefit or PFI if you live in FL and do a course.

Otherwise, experiment weighting with good buddy helping.

[Spaniard]

You definitely need a weight belt with quick-release buckle. The amount of weight varies as Azapa has pointed out. Use search function to read previous threads relating to this. Good luck.

[cdavis]

For spearfishing in the Keys,30 ft, probably hogfish, you need to drift down on the fish without moving after your surface dive and a kick or two. You will need to be at neutral buoyancy at about 15-20 ft. That will usually take about 3-4 lbs of lead, maybe a bit more. You will need to experiment. If you are wearing a suit, figure out how much lead it takes to sink the suit in fresh water. Add 1/2 that much to your belt and try it. I used to wear six lbs, no suit, doing what you plan.

Swimming up with longfins from that depth is a snap, no matter how much weight (within reason) is on your belt.

Two weeks won't hurt your times. You will find that dive times will go up fast after a couple of days to acclimate.

Have a great time. What part of the Keys are you headed for?

Connor

[DiveDeep3r99]

hey connor thanks for the info, were heading to marathon, we do more lobstering than spearfishing but i plan to do alot this time.