How to Choose the Right Weight for Your Scuba Belt

Being properly weighted while scuba diving not only increases your safety and diving ease, but also increases your dive time; the less you struggle with maintaining buoyancy, the less air you'll consume.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Buoyancy Compensators
• Dive Weight Belts
• Scuba Gear
• Scuba Regulators

1. Assemble your weight belt. See "How to Use a Weight Belt in Scuba Diving."

2. Don the belt and the rest of your scuba equipment.

3. Inflate your buoyancy compensator.

4. Enter water at a depth too deep to stand.

5. Place the regulator in your mouth and make sure the tank valve is open.

6. Breathe in and hold a normal breath.

7. Deflate the buoyancy compensator.

8. Notice if you float at eye level with the water. If you sink, take away weight. If you float too high, add weight.

Tips & Warnings

• When you test your weight, be sure to have on all the gear you would use in a normal dive. This includes the proper exposure suit.
• Note that salt water is more buoyant. You will need slightly less weight in fresh water.
• Being improperly weighted can result in erratic buoyancy and spoil your dive.
• Scuba diving is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

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[blacktipmx]

on 5/10/2009 The comments on the weigh belt issue seen to be taken from the diving manual and not from practical diving. First thing is the required weight is 6 to 8% your own weight depending on your fitness: too thin 6% too fat 8%. The mith of the eye level is clear if you think that a standard 72 cubic feet tank looses up to two pounds wne close to empty. This make yor safety stop very difficult if following the eye rule. Think about it.!!

on 1/18/2006 It is very important to use proper technique when weighting to achieve peak buoyancy. You must be very still after taking a comfortable, full inhalation and make absolutely sure you have evacuated all air from your BC. It is recommended that you hold your power inflater over your head when deflating, as soon as you begin to descend, begin a slow full inhalation then hold. Slowly lower your arms to your sides, and remain perfectly still until you stop bobbing, look straight ahead 90 degrees from your body when determining the water line.

on 11/22/2005 When setting your weight, it is better to have only the air in your cylinder that you would expect to have at the end of a dive; a full cylinder is heavier than an empty one.