• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Weighting for shallow water foraging

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Dan.G

Member
Aug 11, 2018
5
3
18
53
Just started out with spearfishing but limiting myself to shallow coastal waters on east coast of Scotland no deeper than 5m for this season so I can forage for shellfish, lobster etc and maybe get a flatfish or two in sheltered bays (gun comes next year after I've done some courses).
I've tested weights as per the formulas online and 8kg got me to my eyeline when exhaled on the surface, so neutral at 8m (?). I'm 74kg with a 7mm new suit.
I understand I'll need more weight to get neutral at 3-5m, so I'm not fighting to stay down foraging. Can this be done or am I gonna get so heavy it could be dangerous? I guess I should just add 1kg at a time until I get it right? Or is it getting dangerous been neutral at say 3m?
Also, just got some new long fins, noticed they weigh twice as much as old ones. Will I have to factor this in or are they classed as buoyant?
A little confused but lovin' it.
 
Dan, it is probably most efficient learning to dive with less than full lungs, or relaxed exhale, when you are in shallow waters. This way you are still properly weighted for resting on surface and for deeper dives. The other way to do that is by anchoring yourself to something on the bottom, like rock or larger stone, or even stems of kelp. I do it both ways. But I don't recommend putting more weights, more than you need for resting on surface.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr. X
Dont be negative on the surface, to fine tune your weighting how about distribution, ankle weights etc. Stay safe and stay buoyant;)
 
Cheers guys
Starting to get used to it now. Got a vest and ankle weights so got better balanace. Haven't found my neutral depth yet as haven't dived anywhere deeper than 5m so far, but guess I'm not far off with 9kg. Also happy at surface with this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinniped72
I like weight vests - they make it easier to tweak weight, redistribute it and camo yourself. But they are not essential.

It is worth fine tuning your weights if you plan to drive a lot under similar conditions. It can really reduce effort and thereby improve down times and smoothness of movement.


Sent from my S99 using Tapatalk
 
I use a Mares. I like its simplicity & camo. I expect others are fine, such as the Omer gillet or the traditional French back-weight (Beuchat?).

Sent from my S99 using Tapatalk
 
Although I use a weight vest and have done for many years, I do find they have one big disadvantage for what I call ‘shallowing water hunting’.
A typical dive for me involves a mixture of surface hunting the weed beds for bass, golden grey mullet and bream but also repetative dives down to 8-9 metres looking for flatfish or hanging upside down looking for lobster in the reef.
The vest is great for actual diving but completely wrong for surface fishing as i really want my lower body and fins under water and my head at surface level.
This means I need to make a decision before I get in the water as to how I will set up my weight distribution.
On that basis I don’t often use a vest but use a heavier belt and ankle weights, I only use a vest if I know I won’t be surface hunting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr. X
I recommend a weight west as well, combined with a belt. For example 8 kg on the belt and 3-4 kg on the vest (thats for me, maybe too heavy for someone lighter and with a thinner wetsuit). 12 kg is good for me surface hunting and the vest keeps the top of my body deeper, so its easier to see fish on the surface. Like garfish or needlefish. Also staying still in 2 m depth is not a problem and getting up is just a slight push on the bottom by hand. I start to sink if I exhale a lot, but I use it sometimes to dive without any movement and not scare the fish or animal when filming. When fishing deeper than 5 m, I just leave the vest off, or place it on the buoy or boat. I used two weight belts before I had the vest.

The equipment weights as well, so I don't use the vest at night because the lamp has a big weight impact. Different fins, speargun, pole spear, lamp and even thickness of gloves and socks have a big impact on weight. At night I also feel more comfortable being a little buoyant. You can always hold on to something on the bottom or not have completely full lungs. For travel, weights are an issue, so I use less air in the lungs...

I know, I use too much weight for freediving and advicing reduced lung volume for a beginner is risky. I'm just saying that you need to be aware what you're doing, and study the physics/physiology and then try carefully what suits you. Most beginners I've met were uncomfortable even with too light weights in the first few sessions, but kept adding weight with experience. Then at some point you need to tell them to stop adding when they become too comfortable being overweight... enter the gas volume and archimedes laws.
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT