Why You Need Diving Weights

Diving weights are used to ensure that a diver has zero buoyancy. This is a critical aspect of diving, because if a diver does not have a zero, or neutral buoyancy, they will need to expend effort just to remain in place. This will cause a diver to tire more quickly and need to leave the water sooner than would otherwise be necessary.

Contrary to the perfectly normal fear of drowning, a human being does not sink in water. We are naturally lighter than water, and as long as we don’t fill our lungs with it, we will float in the water. Loading ourselves up with gear might seem to counteract that and cause us to sink, until you stop to remember than we have a tank full of air strapped to our backs. This causes us to be buoyant, which is where diving weights come in. Buoyancy is calculated by the weight versus the amount of water displaced. If you weigh less than the water you would move out of the way, you float. If you weigh less, you sink.

The diving weights are usually small lead weights that can be placed within a diving belt to add a little more weight to a diver. This is usually done little by little, until neutral buoyancy is achieved. Until that happens, a diver must constantly be swimming down in order to avoid floating back to the surface. Thankfully it doesn’t take a deep immersion to figure out whether or not a diver is at a neutral buoyancy, if they can sit a few feet below the surface without moving, and not rise or sink, then they are good to go.

On the other hand, sometimes divers go overboard on their dive weights and overweight themselves. This is incredibly risky because it will make surfacing difficult and can lead to overexertion. Most modern dive weight belts have a quick-release switch so that divers can unload all of their lead weights in an emergency. Alternatively, you can just learn how to properly weight yourself in the first place.

Being overweighted can also cause you to descend too quickly, which has many issues of its own. For starters, you may find yourself struggling to equalize. If you’re still descending uncontrollably, this can easily lead to a ruptured eardrum or painful mask squeeze. You also don’t want to dive so fast that you leave your dive buddy behind. Dive weights are a necessity for diving, but in the wrong hands, they can actually be a double-edged sword.

Be very careful when weighting yourself for scuba diving. If you have new gear or are diving in a new body of water with different salt content, then you should redo your dive weights. Make sure you do not add so much dive weights that your BCD’s capacity is insufficient in keeping you positively buoyant.

If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot ascend due to your dive weights, do not hesitate to release them. You can always buy new ones, but you cannot buy back another life.

Freestyle Men’s FS81324 Hammerhead XL Stainless Steel Watch Review

Having a water-proof watch with you while scuba diving is a convenient way to keep track of your time underwater, and more importantly, helps you manage your air supply in a more efficient manner.

The Freestyle Men’s FS81324 “Hammerhead XL” Stainless Steel Watch is a great dive watch with an easily readable display, and extra large buttons which are easy to operate even with dive gloves on.

The watch band is very comfortable and slightly oversized to accommodate the extra width that dive gloves add to your wrist. Being water-resistant to 200m is about 4 times as much as you would need on a regular scuba dive since at diving at depths below 40m requires special equipment and training.

A lot of the customer reviews of this product say the same thing; namely that the watch looks even better in person than it does in the advertiser’s image. Many people report liking the style so much that they simply wear this watch all the time, not only while diving.

This watch also features a tide table dial which is a cool addition not only for divers, but surfers as well! The old school analog display is a nice departure from the standard digital display you’ll find on most dive watches today, and the whole color scheme of the watch just “works” in both a functional and aesthetically pleasing way.

So if you’re looking for an attractive way to keep track of your time under the water, or simply want a good water-proof watch for a day of body boarding at the beach, the Freestyle Men’s FS81324 “Hammerhead XL” Stainless Steel Watch is an attractive analog take on the modern dive watch. The perfect accessory for your dive gear or snorkel set.

OTS Guardian Full Face Mask Review

The OTS Guardian Full Face Mask is a remarkable piece of diving equipment, known for its good performance in cold water diving situations (including ice diving). This mask rarely fogs and will almost never freeze. It comes standard with an ambient breathing valve to help you preserve your tank while above the surface, and also features a double seal to accommodate various face sizes and shapes.

The OTS Guardian Full Face Mask has a wide viewport which offers outstanding visibility. The mask comes with its own special storage bag which is ventilated to make sure it gets as dry as possible between uses. It’s been reported that the mask seals best for bare skin, but can work properly with thin latex hoods as well (although it may become harder to clear your ears when using a hood).

The only downsides to the OTS Guardian Full Face Mask are the standard downsides that come with using any full face mask, namely the special drills and procedures you must be familiar with in the event you have an equipment failure or OOA incident. Because of this it’s recommended that you always bring a regular mask as a back up in case you have to hook up to either your own, or your buddies’ backup octopus.

Of course the OTS Guardian Full Face Mask also has all the perks that a full face mask offers; allowing nasal breathing which helps prevent dry throat, the ability to talk, and more importantly – added safety in situations where the diver loses consciousness (divers in full face masks are much more likely to stay connected to their air supply than a those with standard regulator).

The mask also comes with a set of nose blocks which should fit almost anyone.

The OTS Guardian Full Face Mask comes in 7 different color combinations:

Blue / Black (Area inside the faceplate is blue)
Black / Blue (Area inside the faceplate is black)
Black / Pink
Black / Green
Black / Red
Yellow / Black
Solid Black

The OTS Guardian Full Face Mask is a great pick for any dive, but has gotten its best reviews from people who enjoy the thrill and the chill that comes with diving at very low temperatures.

Check out this review of the best full face snorkel masks for a bigger selection of masks to choose from.

ScubaPro Jet Sport Fins Review

The “ScubaPro Jet Sport Fins, Scuba Pro Diving Fin” is a longer version of the traditional Jet Fin. “Jet Fins” are a child of the old-school 1960’s style of innovation; the kind that eventually took us to the moon and back. The idea behind them is not too hard to wrap your head around.

The fins have 3 channels that run along the underside of the fin (the part which would touch the ground if you were standing on land), and a group of vent holes below (and connected to) the channels.

What this does is allow water to flow through the fin as you go through your stroke. It minimizes the drag during your upstroke, and maximizes your propulsive force during the downstroke; a truly ingenious way of streamlining the way we use our feet to propel ourselves through the water.

“Jet Fin” is actually a very accurate description of the concept, because it truly does utilize the same principle as a jet engine; which is to reduce the resistance to flow on intake, and maximize fluid flow as the fluid leaves the system.

Hopefully, I didn’t lose half of the audience with that history/physics lesson. Let’s move on to what makes these fins better than most other Jet Fins on the market.

Firstly; the increased length of the fins makes a noticeable difference. In an ideal world, longer fins are always better (when it comes to propulsion, not ease of use). These Jet Fins split the middle between long (non-jet) dive fins and your traditional 14” Jet Fin model.

And the result is just that: A middle of the road fin that offers satisfactory speed, but isn’t as heavy as a full 24-28” dive fin. If you’re looking for a great addition to your current repertoire of dive gear , the “ScubaPro Jet Sport Fins, Scuba Pro Diving Fin” is hard to beat.