Weighting Guide

Last week we looked at how to choose a wetsuit. Today we’ll cover guidelines for choosing weights. These numbers aren’t set in stone, but should act as a general guide to start your proper buoyancy check. This is the first step towards perfect buoyancy control.

Naturally, if you are leaner or, um, less leaner you should adjust accordingly.

Women should add 4-5 lbs (about 2 kg) if diving in salt water, or subtract 4-5 lbs (about 2 kg) if diving in fresh water. Men should add 6-7 lbs (about 3 kg) if diving in salt water, or subtract 6-7 lbs (about 3 kg) if diving in fresh water.

Exposure suit Weight
Skin 1-4 lbs / .5-2 kg
3mm 5% of your body weight
5mm 10% of your body weight
7mm 10% of your body weight plus 3-5 lbs / 1.5-3 kg
Dry suit 10% of your body weight plus 5-10 lbs / 3-5 kg

I’ve also heard an additional 5 lbs / 2 kg recommended if diving with an aluminum cylinder, due to how buoyant they become when near empty.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 4:00 am and is filed under Buoyancy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Weighting Guide”

  1. The Diving Blog» Blog Archive » 5 Month Anniversary Says:
    June 1st, 2010 at 6:01 am

    [...] of Sound Underwater Weighting Guide What Diving Equipment Should I [...]

  2. What Makes Something Sink or Float? Says:
    June 10th, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    [...] offset this positive buoyancy and make you slightly negatively buoyant, in order to sink to depth. Choosing weights may feel largely like guesswork, but there are physical principle at work as you dial in to your [...]

  3. ilias Says:
    November 13th, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    This table about suit and percentages are very very correct.. follow them.

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