Wet Suit Drag

[blueface]

I seem to be fighting too much buoyancy or drag when I'm going down. My wet suit is a 2 pc. 3m and it is pretty buoyant and it holds a water in it. ( I'm neutral at 30 ft.) It might be because its old but I have to kick 15 hard to medium kicks just to get to 70 ft. The sink phase is slow. The ascent is not really a problem

With NO wet suit and NO weight it is much easier to get down.

Would a smooth wet suit make a big difference?

 

[Mr. X]

3mm? Sounds like you might need to carry more lead on your belt.

 

[sgnips]

the quantity of lead you are carrying might not be an actual issue, as you can be effective even with no lead as a 3mm suit is not that buoyant

i mean: maybe your duck dive sucks, or your finning
i have seen a lot of newbies (not saying you're a newbye here...) making huge effort to get 5-6m deep striking hard and fast with their fins while i just need a nice duck dive and only 2 strokes

also, we noticed that spearos often lack in many finning technique aspects, first being knee bending
all of those defects often due to self-teaching

this might also explain your slow sink phase: being slow before it, you just keep your low speed

let us know

 

[azapa]

to answer another of your questions:

A slick suit slips better through the water indeed, noticeably so. You will need less kicks and less lead. BUT they wreck pretty quick. Unless you have lots of money to spend or only go blue water hunting, i would stick with a lined outer and improve weighting and style to compensate.

 

[blueface]

Thanks for the response guys. I really think sgnips hit it. I need to learn how to fin more effectively but right now I don't have the option of taking a course. I practice with a line and video tape my finning. I try to watch the pros using bi-fins and try to fin the same way.

Any advice would be useful.

Thanks!

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