Posted by Chris on March 17, 2004 at 18:31:45:
In Reply to: Weight change required when moving to a lighter wetsuit posted by John on March 17, 2004 at 18:05:17:
It depends on the buoyancy of the material (which can very quite a bit) and the number of dive on the wetsuit (since they loose buoyancy with time).
I have a very thick wetsuit (with special low buoyancy material) that I use less weight with than a thinner standard suit.
Typically when I head off for a warm water dive trip one of the first things I like to do is a easy short dive to adjust my weights. There is also quite a bit of buoyancy difference between steel and Al tanks. Al tanks are typically about +5 lbs. buoyant, my HP120s are neutral. Thus the best thing to do is try.
For my 3mm suit I use about 16 lbs with an Al tank, for my 1.5mm suit use about 12 lbs. with an Al. tank. My girlfriend typically uses 2 pounds more than me.
I hope my thoroughly confusing you has helped!