Weight sizes and placement on belt?

[Dane_the_Meng]

Hello. I did some testing today finally with my new 5mm open cell suit (first open cell I've owned, new to freediving) and I found I needed 22 lbs to be neutrally buoyant at around 20 feet. I'm trying to figure out how to space the weights out and what sizes to get to optimize my versatility.

I'm guessing my constant amount of weight for this wetsuit will be somewhere around 19lbs (?) for deeper dives. Leaving room to add a few extra pounds as necessary up to 22 lbs if I'm doing shallow dives. Which will change of course as the wetsuit ages. So I was thinking it would be nice to have some of those quick add weights a few companies make on either end of my belt

Some considerations I'm making:
-I want coated weights if possible, I like the sea pearls, I checked them out in person and like them.
-I'm trying to pick some sizes that will be versatile for diving in warmer water with a 3mm (12-15lbs?) or really warm with no suit at all. I used 7.5 lbs in tropical waterds with just trunks and a rashguard.
-My waist line is about 33" I think, which should give enough room for these combinations
-I do like having the weight pretty evenly distributed but a little heavier in the back.
-The quick add weights only seem to come in 1.5lbs so that's why they're on each combation

Here are some of the combinations I thought up:

[1.5] [2] [5] [5] [5] [2] [1.5]
[1.5] [4] [5] [1] [5] [4] [1.5]
[1.5] [3] [5] [3] [5] [3] [1.5]

The 3 5 3 5 3 one seems the most versatile as it gives me a lot of options for weight distribution but also for running combinations of less weights in warmer waters.

What do y'all think? Any tips or things that I haven't thought of? Maybe a better orientation of weights or? I might buy an extra 2lb just to have around.

Thanks!

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

That sounds like a lot of lead, but proper weighting varies with different body types. You will benefit from being able to fine tune your weighting down to 1 lb increments. If you select some 2 and 3 lb weights, you can add and subtract one lb of lead by replacing a 2-lb weight with a 3 lb weight (or vice versa). Including some quick weights will also allow you to make fast changes - as you described.

 

[Dane_the_Meng]

Yeah everyone has been making fun of me for being so buoyant I’m 6’ 180lbs with a brand new 5mm open cell, salt water shallows. I couldn’t believe how buoyant I was when I started out with 10lbs this morning. Like I was wearing a life jacket. I was like a cork. I would dip to duck dive and my fins would just stick out of the water. My legs were so buoyant that my fins couldn’t push well because they kept sticking up in the air haha.

Maybe the 3 5 3 5 3 with a spare 2lb and 1lb for swap outs. And a 1.5 on each end of the belt

 

[Dane_the_Meng]

I didn’t like the way the 5s felt, all that weight in one spot, so I traded for 2 more 2lb and 2 more 3lb. So now it goes
1.5 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 1.5 feels much more balanced and comfortable.

 

[Nathan Vinski]

In the name of safety, being neutral at 20' (6m) is way too shallow. Your minimum neutral on a full lung dive should be 10m (33 feet).

An even more important thing (safety related) is that after a full exhale ( as much as you possibly can) you would still float on the surface.

I could be wrong, but I would expect 22 lbs to be too much. That's the same weight as a standard 'training' bottom-weight (10kg).

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Being neutral at 20 feet may or may not be too shallow, depending on what he is doing. If he plans to dive to 100 feet then it is in fact too shallow. But what if the water is 30 feet deep?

I weight myself neutral at 20 feet because that's the best depth to hunt white sea bass where I dive. Many of my friends are neutral at 15 feet.

He hasn't said what his goal is, but maybe its not line diving.

FWIW, I need 18 pounds with my 5 mm suit to be neutral at 20 feet, but there can be huge variations between individuals. For instance, when I was in my early 20s I was very muscular, and wearing trunks and no wet suit I would sink in salt water with a deep breath. At 80 I've replaced much of that muscle with fat and I float like a cork in salt water, even at approximately the same body weight.

In any event, the best way to find the weight you need for the depth you want is to simply try it. What others wear may not be appropriate for you.

 

[Dane_the_Meng]

It was 10-15 feet to the bottom. I swam out a bit farther to get neutral buoyancy at 20 then came back. If I swam to the bottom and laid on the ocean floor I would slowly start to rise. I figured that’s the most weight I would ever need so that’s why I got that many weights and quick attach weights on either end for easy removal on deeper dives.

 

[Dane_the_Meng]

Sorry I never specified, kelp diving in shallows, photography and just general exploring.