Posted by Ken Kurtis on September 11, 2000 at 20:49:21:
A bit further down on this board we got into the subject of proper weighting and how to determine what's right. I gave the "formula" that I use (and I freely admit that I believe in being slightly under-weighted at the surface since wetsuit compression will take care of that after you submerge a few feet). I also suggested that 10% of body weight (this is assuming a 6-7mm suit) plus a couple of pounds is a good place to start, and that anything over 15% is probably too much.
Since I had ten new students out this weekend, I figured I'd use them as guinea pigs to see if what I'm preaching actually translated directly in the Real World. Here are the results (all wore a 2-piece farmer john/jacket w/a steel 72 - tank is barely positive when empty - unless otherwise indicated):
Matt - 5'7"/250, aluminum 80, 34 lbs (10% plus 7 lbs - 14% of body weight), 22 lbs FJ only (9%)
David - 6'0"/195, aluminum 80, 29 lbs (10% + 10 lbs - 15% body wt)
Rich - 5'11"/165, 1-piece suit, 14 lbs (8% body wt)
Kate - 5'2"/118, aluminum 63, 1-piece suit, 13 lbs (10% + 1 lb - 11% body wt)
Dan - 6'0"/185, 1-piece suit w/hooded vest, 18 lbs (10% body wt)
Jeremy - 6'0"/185, 25 lbs (10% + 6 lbs - 14% body wt)
Chris - 5'11"/157, 20 lbs (10% + 4 lbs - 13% body wt)
James - 5'10"/152, 19 lbs (10% + 4 lbs - 12% body wt)
Will - 4'9"/80 (he's 12 y.o. - formula doesn't always work on someone this small), aluminum 63, 12 lbs (10% + 4 lbs - 15% body wt)
Ray - 5'10"/170, 24 lbs (10% + 7 lbs - 14% body wt)
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, Ca.