Wear only the weight you need. You hear this consistently from experienced dive professionals. Why?
It makes buoyancy control easier
If you wear more weight than you actually need, you will be adding air to your BC to not only compensate for exposure suit compression, but also for the air bubble that is in your BC solely to offset the unnecessary weight. This will require more frequent BC adjustments. Properly weighted divers make only minor BC adjustments throughout the dive.
Better trim
Divers who wear unnecessary weight tend to swim in a head-up/feet-down position. They often kick fragile corals or stir up sand or sediment thus affecting visibility for everyone.
Safety
Diving accident victims are usually grossly overweighted. Most actually make it to the surface but…overweighted, panicky divers lack the presence of mind to inflate the BC or drop weights. These folks continue to struggle until exhausted and eventually sink, never to surface again.
Make it a habit
Make it a habit of ending every dive with a buoyancy check. If properly weighted, you should be able to hover at safety stop depth, with 500ish PSI in your tank and no air in your BC. If you can’t do this, you need to add or remove weight before your next dive.
Do this and you’ll discover that diving can be easier, safer and a whole lot more fun. — ©2020, Sinulogic LLC
