A survey: In the Winter, do you wear an extra layer of clothes under your undergarment? A heavy hood? If so, what do you wear and how much lead (if any) do you add?
Details: Yesterday, we had to end a beautiful Edmonds dive early because we were too buoyant. We think we needed more lead to compensate for the extra layers of clothes we wore. I had on an extra pair of tights, an extra short-sleeve running shirt, and an extra pair of running socks. Also, we switched from a 4/7mm hoods to 7/10mm ones.
> do you wear an extra layer of clothes under your undergarment? A heavy hood? If so, what do you wear and how much lead (if any) do you add
Yes. Always a dry hood. Maybe 2-4 extra pounds.
Extra undergarments trap air and will make you more buoyant. Adding more air to the suit will also keep you warmer, up to a limit. Either way, you're going to need more lead.
Last edited by 60south on Sun Jan 15, 2017 10:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Extra layers add more buoyancy than you think due to additional trapped air. In the summer I wear a base layer and 4th element undergarment in the winter I add one pair of socks a vest and switch to a weezle extreme and a thicker hood. The result is 8-10 pounds. So I go from 20 to 30 pounds. It can be a bigger swing than you think. My suggestion is to overweight a little bit and then remove 1-2 pounds each dive until you have it dialed. I know you can also do a weight check, but I am never patient enough to do them
There is a general anathema about being over weighted but I happily 'suffer' and extra couple pounds so I'm not seriously shrink wrapped during safety stop when I'm already cold.
For a given single tank or twinset, my weight varies by abut 5 lbs between my summer and winter undies. I wear the same underarmor base layer, hood and socks year round, and enjoy feeling a bit warmer with the summer water temps. My summer undergarments are the 4th Element Ozone jacket and trousers with a Xerotherm layer underneath. In the winter, I switch to a Waterproof 3D mesh vest underneath a one piece Arctic. The 3D mesh vest requires an extra 3 lbs on its own. I also add a pair of 1 lb ankle weights in the winter to adjust my trim.
A survey: In the Winter, do you wear an extra layer of clothes under your undergarment? A heavy hood? If so, what do you wear and how much lead (if any) do you add?
Details: Yesterday, we had to end a beautiful Edmonds dive early because we were too buoyant. We think we needed more lead to compensate for the extra layers of clothes we wore. I had on an extra pair of tights, an extra short-sleeve running shirt, and an extra pair of running socks. Also, we switched from a 4/7mm hoods to 7/10mm ones.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Carl
If the only thing that you add was an extra base layer, a pair of socks and a thicker hood the difference would be negligible - maybe 2 pounds.
My undergarments dont change at all from summer to winter, cuz down deep-deep its still cold.
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- I got a good squirt in my mouth
- I would imagine that there would be a large amount of involuntary gagging
- I don't know about you but I'm not into swallowing it
