Wet suite an buoyancy with top part only.

[ryan65]

Hi
I have recently bought a 5mm 2 piece suite. Since the water is not that cold yet, I only use the top part with 10 pounds of weight.
I find it very hard to rest between dives , since I cannot keep my body floating horizontally without a little help with my legs. without any effort my body tends to float upright which is much less convenient for resting.
Is there any way to use the top part only , with weights and yet managing to get proper rest between dives .
Thanks.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I've never used a neck weight but maybe that would help.

 

[ryan65]

Hi Bill.
Thanks for the reply, I was thinking something like that but I think , it would be pretty uncomfortable after some time.
I am wondering how others cope with this situation (if at all) . maybe one should learn to relax while being vertical . not sure.
BTW today I tried with a 3mm top and less weight and found the same problem.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I think it's relatively common for Freedivers to use neck weights. My impression is that they are rubber or cloth tubes filled with lead shot. That can't be two uncomfortable. I just wish some of them would chime in. Two or three pounds on the neck out of your total of ten pounds should do a lot toward moving you center of gravity forward.

 

[ryan65]

Hi Bill
in that case i will try and find out more about it. i thought that neck weights.were only used in apnea diving contests in the pool.
Thanks for the tip.

 

[adrian.u]

Maybe noodles? -one or two under the feet should keep your legs afloat (if it's not so choppy your feet escape), and you can tie some rope to one end, and clip it to a buoy (or your buddy!) to ensure it doesn't float away...

As for the neck weights, I don't really have much experience myself, but here are two observations anyway...

On the negative side, a competitive freediver I talked to earlier this year mentioned that it can feel uncomfortable after a while when it's resting on the chin when diving down the line, and he was wondering about alternative designs. (So, yes, they are used on the line, not just for pool apnea.)
On the plus side, I did borrow one when freediving for a few hours one day over this summer, and TBH I totally forgot I was wearing it after a couple of dives. -However, that was a fun dive, not on a line, so I was only diving down <10m or so (meaning I wasn't in the head-down position for long enough to know what that would be like).

In conclusion, then, how well a neck-weight works for you may depend whether you normally spend more time vertically on the line, or if you're diving more for fun without a line hence not vertical for so long.
Either way, it's probably worth trying to borrow one, or head into a shop where you can put one on (and hang head-down off a chair, or something, to find how it feels having it rest on the chin!)

Hope that helps!

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I just did a search for neck weights and got a lot of hits. Here's one for starters.

https://www.deeperblue.com/neck-weights-for-freediving/

 

[ryan65]

thanks alot Adrian, it sure has given me something to work on.