Weight for 3 mil suit??

[Erik]

Anything for a fellow 'Erik' lol.

[Spaniard]

For shallow water spearing a harness is great as it distributes weight evenly and along with ankle weights will keep you in a perfect 'Agachon' position. Working out weight for deeper dives involves taking into account a few factors; thickness of wetsuit, weight of diver, target depth. In a video I watched recently, the rule of thumb for neutral bouyancy at 10M, any wetsuit, any bodyweight, was to tread water and stay still; if the surface of water was between top lip and bottom of mask you were weighted just fine. Not tried it myself but this advice came from Amengual, a long standing international spearfishing champion.

[hyeparis]

I use about four-five kilos of weight when spearfishing in salt waters in my 3 mm suit and I weigh 80 kilos myself. It is best to have a clip-on one or two-kilo weigh that you can detach quickly from belt and fix on your buoy and vice versa depending on conditions. If the water holds you when you hold your breath, but you start going down when you exhale - then you have neutral buoyancy. If waters are shallow - then you would want negative buoyancy and you add a weight so you can descend without making extra movements and remain on bottom, but if you aim to dive deep than you should have a positive buoyancy at the surface so you will not struggle when ascending from great depths. Another merit of a clip-on weight for me is that I get tired after about three-four hours of continuous spearfishing and I inhale less air because of that so my buoyancy changes becoming negative - and I can adjust that by taking off that detachable weight and putting it on the buoy

[EricO]

I'm going to be in the shallows so I'm looking for the simplest set up that will work. So, I'm thinking a weight belt and ankle weights? Maybe a total of eight pounds? Or just four 2lb weights on a belt like Erik said.

Looks like I'm just going to have to play with it.

Thanks everyone.

[spaghetti]

Originally Posted by EricO

I'm going to be in the shallows so I'm looking for the simplest set up that will work. So, I'm thinking a weight belt and ankle weights? Maybe a total of eight pounds? Or just four 2lb weights on a belt like Erik said.

Looks like I'm just going to have to play with it.

Thanks everyone.

Ankle weights are not just...weights. they also help your finstroke to be more, how can I say, composed, and most of all they are a useful tactic support for spearfishing.
They help prevent your fins to wave like flags while you're hidden on the bottom stalking fish: fins waving are an alarm signal for fish, while ankle weights help to keep your fins down to ground. Half kilo per foot is good.
Moreover, as Spaniard said, harness is indeed a very good piece of kit when hunting in very shallow water.

[EricO]

I've looked at harnesses and they seem to be a bit pricey. Anyone know where to find a less expensive one that will do the job. I really appreciate all of the help. This is great.

[EricO]

Would I need a sub weight or sub-light weight?

Omer Sub Weight Harness from LeisurePro.com

Omer Sub Light Weight Harness from LeisurePro.com

[Erik]

OMER has a couple of options, this being a small one that will hold enough weight for you, plus the weights sit over the in-water centre of buoyancy. I have one and like it.
Spearfishing and Freediving Equipment - Weight Belts - Light Weight Harness - Technosport Inc.

EDIT: Ok I see you found them. This one works fine.

[spaghetti]

Originally Posted by Erik

OMER has a couple of options, this being a small one that will hold enough weight for you, plus the weights sit over the in-water centre of buoyancy. I have one and like it.
Spearfishing and Freediving Equipment - Weight Belts - Light Weight Harness - Technosport Inc.

EDIT: Ok I see you found them. This one works fine.

Agreed: I have one of the same type (Seatec 3 kilograms) and it works great. Very comfortable fit on my upper back and gives me a perfect balance, also giving relief to my lower back. Here it is:

[Panthalassia]

Originally Posted by EricO

I was wondering if I needed any kind of weight for my 3mil suit. I have yet to use it and was just wondering if it was necessary.

Thank you!

Eric

Eric,
As mentioned you will have to fine tune the weights yourself, but here are a couple things that might help:

1) The deeper you go, the more you wet suit will compress and the more your buoyancy will change. Different wet suits react differently to changing hydrostatic pressure. "Open cell" spearo/apnea wetsuits are warmer and more flexible, but are affected more by pressure than the tough, stiff scuba wetsuits.

2) Use some smaller weight increments initially (i.e. 2lb weights) so that you can remove/add as necessary, without huge changes in boyancy (important for fine tuning). Also, if you get too hot and remove the wetsuit top but leave the farmer john's on, smaller weight increments will be more adjustable. Once you figure out your weights, you can switch to fewer, larger weights if you so please.

3)I BELIEVE the "standard" generic rule of thumb for weights is to be neutrally buoyant at about half the predicted/expected depth. So if you're planning on diving to 30m (~90ft), you should be neutrally buoyant at about 10-15m, and so on. Many people like to over-weigh themselves so they sink a little earlier in the dive. I think the most important thing may be to be positively buoyant at the first 5-6 meters of depth (where shallow water blackout usually occurs). This way you will float to the surface if you pass out on the way up...a danger you will hopefully not expose yourself to. Perhaps someone else can add some insight into this.

4) For shallower diving I enjoy using angle weights, as they help stabilize me while stalking fish at the bottom, and also as previously mentioned help with fining (I'm skinny and have wimpy ankles/legs, so the added weight makes for more stable fining). That said, if you'll be fining long distances on the surface, the ankle weights can contribute to leg fatigue.

Having said all that, you've gotten some great advice from very experienced people on this forum. I don't think anyone has steered you wrong. Enjoy your diving (damn I'm jealous!!). Post some pictures if you get any.

A

[EricO]

I realize this is an old thread, but I just wanted to thank everyone for the responses. I haven't been here in a while and I've purchased everything for my trip. I'll have plenty of pictures when I get back. Thanks again!