Can't sink??!!!

[Qatar_hunter]

Well guys I would like to know how much weight you put when you wear 5 mm wet suit.

The reason I am asking that the other day I was having problem to go underwater.:head

I weight 70kg and wearing 5mm effesub wet suit and I was putting almost 8 kg in my weight built and still I can’t sink.:head

I was kicking with my long fins to dive to 5 meter and if I stop kicking I will be floating to the surface like an air bag.

I don’t want to add my weight because I am already losing a lot of energy with 8 kg.:ko

Any suggestion?

 

[deep thinker]

I weigh about 100kg and with a 5mm suit and with about 10 or 12 kg on my weight belt Im neutral between 6 to 10m... Hope this helps

 

[naiad]

Buoyancy varies a lot between people. I weigh about 57kg and with a 5mm suit I need 8kg of weight! With a neutral buoyancy suit and no weight I have trouble getting off the surface.

The good news is, although I'm not a very good swimmer I won't sink!

Lucia

 

[trux]

Well, couple of solutions come on mind. Firstly I wonder why you use a 5mm wetsuit. In the warm waters of Qatar, even in winter, many of us would dive without any wetsuit at all, or with just a 1-2mm suit with short sleeves. I dive in a 3mm suit even in the cold gulf of Lyon of the Mediterranean sea (its coldest spot) since early spring to late autumn. I guess even if you are really very cold-sensitive, a good custom-made open-cell 2mm wetsuit would be warm enough. And probably warmer than your stock-size 5mm suit, but definitely much more comfortable and giving you more freedom.

Personally, I'd probably go with just a short-sleeve wetsuit, unless the water temperature drops under 20°C, what I doubt it is the case in your location. If you are easily getting cold, maybe working on your cold resistance would be worth of trying.

The other thing to consider is diving with empty lungs (E-dives). This method is promoted especially by Sébastien Murat (see www.sub7seas.com for some info, or many threads on this topic here on DB), but used by many other advanced freedivers too (and by seals ). Besides reducing the need for weight, it has many other advantages.

 

[Waterysmile]

As deep thinker says, I have read that you should float to the surface from 5 metres and should aim to sink from around 10 metres, although I was happy when I began to sink from around 7 as it meant I didn't need to use energy to descend!

 

[island_sands]

ha! and you think he is bad... it's 24deg C in the water on the east coast and i dive wearing a 7mm... when you live over here you acclimatise. its 28deg right now and i need a sweatshirt...


cheers
Sara Cullingford

 

[Waterysmile]

Just adding that it is an important safety issue to be buoyant from several metres down; if you have blacked out, or are rescuing someone, that positive buoyancy brings you to the surface where that lovely oxygen is.

Andrew Sands

 

[Erik]

I have freedived the Arabian Gulf: the water is very saline and very buoyant. You will need substantially more weight than in most parts of the world.
If you're freediving to 5 metres for neutral, you'll probably need 10 kilos.
be careful if you get out to a deeper spot- pulling that weight up from 10 metres+ could be difficult work.

 

[octopus]

I am 69kg, without much fat.
When in my 5mm Cressi, I use 6kg - I try to be neutrally buoyant at about 5m. This seems to be working in Meds and Irish Sea.
I usually add neckweight 1.5kg when in Red Sea to achieve the same buoyancy as in Meds.

 

[Qatar_hunter]

Thx guys for our feedback...

Trux i am a super cold-sensitive and cant really handel cold water even it if it not really cold...

so i guess i will try two things either adding two more kg (10kg) -but iam sure that i will lose alot of energy- and see what will happen .....or just get 3 mm suit and try to live with it..


any worm 3mm suit you guys recommand??

 

[Erik]

Ellios makes a stunning 3mm custom suit. Get a custom- don't waste your time with stock suits.
Wear what is necessary to be comfortable- if you're cold, the diving will suck. Then weight appropriately and dive within the limitations of your gear and your psychological comfort zone.
Stay warm!
Erik