by
John
Meyer,
PADI
Course
Director
Scubaventures Personalized Scuba Training
The
tires
on
our
cars
are
one
of
the
single
most
important
pieces
of
automotive
equipment.
Without
tires,
even
if
the
engine
is
running
and
the
transmission
is
in
gear,
the
car
wouldn't
be
very
effective
at
getting
us
from
place
to
place.
The
lowly
(and
oft
times
despised)
weight
belt
serves
a
similar
purpose
for
divers.
It
is
a
necessary
piece
of
equipment
that
makes
it
possible
for
us
to
explore
the
underwater
world
by
offsetting
positive
buoyancy,
allowing
us
to
sink
below
the
surface
rather
than
waste
energy
flopping
around
on
the
surface.
It
allows
us
to
effectively
descend
beneath
the
surface,
to
get
close
to
the
reefs
and
to
the
fish
and
to
become
an
interloper
in
the
daily
lives
of
creatures
in
a
vast
underwater
world.
Just
as
the
tires
on
a
car
should
be
inspected
on
a
regular
basis
for
proper
inflation
and
for
excessive
wear,
our
diving
weight
system
should
be
evaluated
on
a
regular
basis
to
be
sure
we
are
wearing
just
the
right
amount
of
weight:
not
too
much,
not
too
little.
Your
overall
diving
safety
and
comfort
relies
on
it!
Back
in
your
open
water
class
you
may
have
worn
so
much
weight
that
you
sank
immediately
to
the
bottom
of
the
pool
as
you
let
air
out
of
your
BCD.
Some
instructors
want
to
get
everyone
to
the
bottom
and
keep
them
there.
Unfortunately,
that
practice
may
have
followed
you
to
the
open
water
and
many
people
ended
up
wearing
more
weight
than
they
needed
to
dive
properly.
If
everyone
was
overweighted
then
they
would
sink
and
there
wouldn't
be
any
problems
getting
the
class
down
to
the
bottom
quickly.
The
instructors
who
did
this
(hopefully,
it
is
a
procedure
that
has
been
left
in
the
past)
did
it
as
a
convenience
for
themselves.
As
a
result,
people
were
uncomfortable
because
they
were
wearing
more
weight
than
they
needed
and
they
never
learned
proper
weighting
and
descent
techniques.
The
excess
weight
they
wore
also
increased
the
risk
of
problems
at
or
near
the
surface.
Wearing
more
weight
than
you
need
to
is
uncomfortable.
You
feel
this
as
discomfort
on
your
hips
and
your
back.
Add
to
this
having
to
walk
from
the
car
to
the
entry
point
and
back
and
that
pounding
can
really
make
diving
seem
more
like
work
than
fun.
By
wearing
only
the
amount
of
weight
that
is
necessary,
we
can
minimize
this
discomfort.
In
just
a
few
minutes
we'll
talk
about
weighting
options
that
can
help
minimize
this
discomfort!
When
a
person
is
properly
weighted,
descents
can
be
made
simply
and
slowly,
allowing
the
diver
to
move
toward
the
bottom
in
a
controlled,
comfortable
fashion,
equalizing
easily
as
they
descend.
When
overweighted,
the
diver
tends
to
"plummet"
toward
the
bottom,
generally
in
an
uncontrolled
descent.
Equalization
becomes
difficult
because
the
water
pressure
on
the
ears
increases
so
quickly
that
the
diver
cannot
equalize
quickly
enough.
The
body
reacts
by
constricting
the
Eustachian
tubes
making
it
even
harder
to
equalize.
Excess
weight
can
also
cause
problems
at
or
near
the
surface.
Since
your
BCD
is
designed
to
provide
a
certain
amount
of
"lift"
(the
amount
of
positive
buoyancy
it
can
provide,
measured
in
"pounds
of
lift";
the
amount
of
weight
it
can
support
when
fully
inflated).
Every
pound
of
weight
you
wear
over
the
proper
amount
you
really
need
offsets
the
amount
of
positive
buoyancy
that
the
BCD
will
be
able
to
provide
you
at
the
surface.
This
will
cause
you
to
float
lower
in
the
water.
In
the
event
that
you
are
diving
in
rough
water
or
if
you
are
having
a
problem
on
the
surface,
this
could
cause
you
to
be
less
than
comfortable
in
the
situation.
If
you
had
a
problem
with
your
low
pressure
inflator
and
had
to
orally
inflate
your
BCD
at
the
surface,
excess
weight
would
require
more
effort
to
keep
your
head
above
the
surface
while
achieving
positive
buoyancy.
So
how
do
I
know
if
I'm
wearing
the
right
amount?
There
is
a
simple
technique
that
can
be
used
to
determine
if
you
are
wearing
the
right
amount
of
weight.
With
all
of
your
scuba
equipment
in
place,
swim
out
to
water
too
deep
to
stand
up
in,
put
your
regulator
in
your
mouth
(in
case
you
are
overweighted)
and
let
all
of
the
air
out
of
your
BCD.
Take
a
normal
breath
(not
a
really
deep
one)
and
let
yourself
float
motionless.
You
should
float
at
eye-level
if
you
are
weighted
properly;
if
you
exhale,
you
should
sink
slowly.
If
you
float
lower
than
eye-level,
you
should
take
weight
off.
If
you
float
above
eye-level,
you
should
add
a
couple
of
pounds.
Adjust
your
weight,
if
necessary,
and
check
again.
This
technique
gets
you
into
the
ballpark
and
allows
you
to
make
a
nice,
slow
comfortable
descent.
In
order
to
make
a
descent
when
properly
weighted,
you
will
need
to
exhale
completely
and
then
take
shallow
breaths
until
your
exposure
protection
starts
to
compress
and
your
overall
weighting
becomes
more
negative
(remember:
if
you
inhale
completely,
before
your
exposure
protection
starts
to
compress,
you'll
pop
back
up
eye-level
at
the
surface!).
Once
you
feel
yourself
start
to
sink
more
quickly,
start
taking
normal
breaths.
Also,
maintain
neutral
buoyancy
during
the
descent
by
adding
small
amounts
of
air
to
your
BCD.
This
technique
may
take
some
practice
(especially
if
you've
been
overweighted
in
the
past),
but
improves
overall
diving
comfort
since
it
allows
you
plenty
of
time
to
equalize
properly
as
you
slowly
descend
because
you'll
be
neutral:
able
to
stop
you
descent
at
any
time
with
no
effort.
You'll
also
find
that
diving
will
be
more
enjoyable
because
you
will
be
able
to
control
your
buoyancy
more
easily
since
you
don't
have
to
compensate
for
that
excess
weight.
At
the
end
of
your
dive
(approximately
500
to
700
psi
in
your
tank),
make
one
more
weighting
check:
swim
into
15
feet
of
water
and
see
if
you
can
maintain
neutral
or
slightly
negative
buoyancy
at
a
safety
stop
with
no
air
in
your
BCD.
Remember
that
the
air
in
your
tank
weighs
between
5
and
6
lb.
(for
a
standard
80
cubic
foot
aluminum
tank).
As
you
breathe
and
exhale
the
air,
your
tank
becomes
more
positively
buoyant.
If
you
find
yourself
having
to
fight
to
stay
down
at
this
safety
stop,
add
a
couple
more
pounds
to
your
weight
system
until
you
can
stay
at
15
feet
comfortably
with
no
air
in
your
BCD
and
with
a
tank
containing
500
psi.
This
is
the
total
amount
of
weight
that
you
want
to
wear
on
each
dive
while
using
this
set
of
equipment!
You're
there!!!
Now
that
we
have
the
right
amount
of
weight
figured
out,
the
next
thing
to
do
is
to
put
it
in
the
right
place.
What???
Why
not
just
on
the
belt??
As
a
matter
of
fact,
where
you
put
weight
on
your
body
has
at
least
as
much
to
do
with
your
comfort
as
how
much
you
wear!
Weight
belts
have
served
diving
well
in
the
past,
but
times
have
changed.
We
now
have
alternatives
to
the
old
belt
that
make
diving
more
comfortable
for
everyone.
Sure
the
weight
belt
is
OK
for
many
people,
but
there
are
others
who
have
to
wear
more
weight
than
others
or
who
have
bodies
that
have
all
the
"padding"
in
the
wrong
places
and
who
find
that
weight
belts
are
extremely
uncomfortable.
The
new
generation
of
integrated
weight
systems
and
weight
harnesses
were
designed
with
these
people
in
mind.
Integrated
weight
BCDs
allow
the
diver
to
put
much
of
the
weight
they
require
directly
into
special
pouches
in
the
BCD.
This
reduces
the
amount
of
weight
that
the
diver
has
to
carry
on
the
belt.
The
BCD
also
has
some
sort
of
"quick
release"
that
allows
the
diver
to
discard
the
weights
in
the
event
of
a
problem.
This
may
be
special
large
handles
on
the
pouches
or
a
handle
that
pulls
a
special
cable
out
of
the
BCD
causing
the
bottom
of
the
pouches
to
open
up
and
allow
the
weights
to
drop
out.
When
wearing
a
weight
integrated
BCD,
be
wary
of
claims
that
you
can
completely
eliminate
your
weight
belt
by
putting
all
of
your
weight
in
the
BCD.
In
many
cases,
where
the
pouches
sit
toward
the
front
of
the
BCD,
putting
all
of
your
weight
in
these
locations
could
cause
you
to
tend
to
float
face-down
in
the
water.
I
recently
had
a
student
who
bought
a
new
BCD.
The
salesperson
sold
him
on
diving
with
no
weight
belt,
putting
most
of
the
weight
into
the
BCD
with
a
small
weight
on
the
tank
and
some
ankle
weights.
In
open
water,
on
the
surface,
the
large
amount
of
front-mounted
weight
in
the
BCD
pulled
him
face-down
in
the
water,
causing
his
fins
to
float
on
the
surface.
He
was
uncomfortable
because
he
could
not
float
upright
in
the
water
to
talk
and
he
could
not
get
any
propulsion
out
of
his
fins.
Underwater,
he
was
in
much
the
same
situation
and
was
not
comfortable
at
all.
The
solution
was
to
remove
weight
from
the
BCD
pouches
and
put
it
on
a
weight
belt
with
the
weight
around
behind
him
(to
counterbalance
the
weight
in
the
front
of
the
BCD).
The
weight
belt
now
contains
a
modest
amount
of
weight
and
the
proper
distribution
allows
the
diver
to
be
more
comfortable
in
the
water.
When
selecting
a
weight
system,
make
sure
that
you
check
how
you
float
in
the
water
and
adjust
your
weighting
so
that
you
can
remain
either
horizontal
or
vertical
in
the
water,
at
will,
without
fighting.
This
may
mean
that
you
have
to
move
weight
around
from
head
to
ankles,
front
to
back,
or
left
to
right
to
trim
yourself.
Ideally,
you
should
have
the
same
amount
of
weight
in
the
same
position
on
the
left
and
right
sides
of
your
body.
Your
weight
from
head
to
ankles
should
be
distributed
so
that
you
float
horizontally
in
the
water
(your
feet
don't
drag
down
and
don't
float
up,
either).
A
rather
creative
friend
of
mine
needed
some
light
ankle
weights
trim
her
position
and
got
some
homemade
ones
from
bicycle
innertubes,
tire
balancing
weights,
a
couple
of
small
plastic
clips
like
the
ones
on
BCD
chest
straps
and
a
couple
of
cable
tie
wraps.
Worked
beautifully
for
allowing
you
to
use
whatever
weight
you
need
instead
of
being
stuck
with
the
relatively
large
ankle
weights
that
are
available
commercially.
Weights
that
strap
onto
your
tank
can
also
help
trim
your
position.
as
long
as
they
are
designed
to
stay
in
one
position
and
not
slide
around
the
tank
from
side
to
side.
There
are
also
new
weight
harness
systems
available.
These
harnesses
look
like
weight
pouches
on
a
pair
of
suspenders.
You
put
the
system
on
before
you
put
on
your
BCD.
The
pouches
sit
on
your
hips,
beneath
the
BCD
and
have
a
quick
release
handle
that
allow
you
to
easily
discard
your
weights,
should
you
find
yourself
in
a
situation
requiring
that
you
dump
them.
The
weight
is
supported
by
your
shoulders
and
not
your
hips.
Again,
just
like
the
other
systems
discussed,
balancing
the
weights
on
your
body
is
important
for
overall
diving
comfort.
Checking
tire
wear
and
inflation
on
our
cars
means
trouble-free,
comfortable
and
efficient
transportation.
Checking
our
weighting,
as
divers,
means
that
we
will
dive
with
the
least
amount
of
weight
and
position
it
for
comfortable,
efficient,
streamlined
diving.
Divers
should
check
their
weighting
in
the
manner
described
earlier
whenever
there
is
a
change
in
the
equipment
that
they
are
diving.
If
you
move
from
a
wetsuit
to
a
drysuit,
change
from
aluminum
80
cubic
foot
cylinders
to
the
new
generation
of
steel
cylinders,
change
BCDs,
or
change
fins
(some
fins
are
positively
buoyant,
others
are
negatively
buoyant)
you
should
check
your
weighting
and
weight
distribution.
When
everything
is
weighted
properly
we
are
able
to
float
effortlessly
in
the
water
and
able
to
blend
in
with
the
underwater
life.
This
will
give
us
the
opportunity
to
see
it
close-up
without
scaring
it
away
because
we
are
swinging
our
arms
to
control
our
position
underwater.
Take
a
few
minutes
on
your
next
dive
to
check
your
weighting
and
weight
positions.
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