This TRICK Fixes Your Buoyancy Problems

Trim Weights and Pockets 👉

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If you struggle with your buoyancy as a diver, it may not just be proper weighting. The real secret and trick involves trim position, and how to be in proper trim once you have your weight placed properly. This video goes over tips to improve your buoyancy and shares guidance I've learned that's helped me improve as a scuba diver.

This video is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, which means if you buy something, we'll receive a small commission.

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#scubadiving #circlehscuba #thomashughes

At CircleHScuba, we share education and experiences you'll love to plan your next adventure. As a PADI Professional Scuba Instructor, I want to make you a better-informed scuba diver!

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*Disclaimer:* Circle H Scuba and Thomas Hughes believe you can not teach someone how to dive, nor certify them for diving, through the internet. Ensure you seek proper training through an instructor who is active and certified through a recognized agency, and always dive within the limits of your certification.

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In accordance with COPPA laws, please note that content on the channel CircleHScuba is not specifically made for, or targeted at, children.

[SummersideDiver]

Awesome video, thank you. Another possible suggestion for people who struggle with buoyancy and trim is checking out other BCDs. My first BCD was jacket styled (55lbs lift), and came recommended by the LDS. When I swapped to my new backplate and wing (30lbs lift, stainless with 6lbs plate), I noticed an immediate improvement in buoyancy and trim. And the difference was huge!! Even fully deflated the jacket is very buoyant and required extra weight, which created a need to constantly add air; which only exasperated my buoyancy issues.
Proper sized and fitting gear is hugely important for proper trim.

For reference, on land the jacket and wing nearly weigh the same with a travel scale. But the buoyancy difference in water is hugely different.

[jojodiver]

Cool! I took my OW dive in Lake Travis in 1974, I was an Army brat living at Ft Hood. Our instructors were Army divers. This was before the use of BCD's became the norm, so they had us swimming hundreds of underwater laps in an Olympic pool (no tank) and treading water with our weight belts on and no fins for what seemed like hours. Then finally the big dive in Lake Travis. I remember the water being very cold and we didn't have wetsuits. I don't remember if I had to use any extra weight for the dive. I only remember using weights in the pool for treading. AH, the good old days. At 65 now, I'd die if I had to go through that again.

[NITROX-]

This channel is deserving of thousands of subscribers.
Greetings from NC

[jeannettemurray]

I am so grateful to you for all your videos! You are an excellent teacher who explains things clearly and in sufficient detail with reasons why we divers do the things we do. I continue to struggle with buoyancy and have had dive instructors tell me it's all in the weighting. I've been overweighted, underweighted, and told me I wasn't emptying my BCD of air and using my dump valves prior to my safety stops. (I have no problem at depth with trim or buoyancy, only near the surface.) I finally asked an instructor to watch as I approached the safety stop level, dumped every molecule of air, let out all my air from my lungs and still ascended to the surface like a balloon. Mooring/anchor lines help, for sure, and I'm not giving up but this video has explained so much more that anyone ever told me about buoyancy. Thank you!

[SnackPack]

I was/am a relatively new diver and mostly only done training dives here in the Midwest. Super cold water, my first cert after open water was dry suit training lol, and those thick wetsuits caused my buoyancy to be all messed up. But I recently did some tropical dives and I couldn’t believe how much easier it was!! I was using my breath to find tune my buoyancy like a pro, everything I have been seeing in these BC videos finally made sense. So don’t think it is just you that sucks at BC when really you are trying to learn on hard mode 😅 also being able to see more than 10-15 ft made diving seem so simple and much more enjoyable. Felt like a walk in the park compared to what I was used to

[bethanytaylor]

I had a bad dive in La Jolla a couple of weeks ago, but I'm going to Nassau in two weeks, and I'm so nervous! Your videosnare helping me so much!!

[souswes]

Lake Travis! They could use a good 30 feet of water. The stairs are getting harder to muster😂. Getting a buddy to film, being conscious of it, and just diving will improve anyone’s buoyancy. Great vid!
Let me know when you wanna come to soflo for some beach diving. The springs and caverns near orlando are a really fun time too! ❤

[davedonati]

Hi Thomas, great tips!
I’ve read the best practice is to not use more than 1/3 of the total weight you dive with placed your trim pockets.

[BrentBaker-qw]

Great video!! Shoutout from another Lake Travis diver. I did my Junior OW through PDIC in 2002 at Mansfield Dam Park. I didn't use a wetsuit for those dives (summertime ATX heat), but I remember FREEZING when we hit the thermocline. Also loved swimming around the sunken plane! Comeback diver doing PADI OW so that I can do AOW and EA. Cheers!

[macmccollum]

Lake Travis! I've got some great memories from Travis. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Southwest Council of Skin Diving Clubs used to sponsor monthly spearfishing contests at 5 lakes, Lake Travis was one of them. Visibility was typically 15 to 20'. There were so many great places there to anchor and find great structure for carp. Are you from Texas? We need to get together next time you're here.

[tomtom]

I can relate to a lot of this *except*!! for me... Wetsuit and hood = warm water, cold water =Drysuit and undersuit plus thermal underwear big boots thick hood, thick gloves. All that extra clothing/trapped air makes buoyancy even more frustrating to master. Great to hear from an instructor who admits to having found things difficult sometimes when they were a novice! I have very sinky legs, but when I lift heels towards bum, all the air moves to the legs and the suit wants to flip me upside down 😡

[jadoncochrane]

I just got back from St. Lucia! Did my 4 referral dives there. Did Keyhole Pinnacles, Supermans Flight, Fairyland, and another I can't remember the name of. Also did a night dive. Where did you dive there?

[LisaM-KTXFoodie]

This video was quite helpful. I am heading to Turneffe Flats in 2 weeks for 3 tanks a day x 5 days. Bouyancy has always been a struggle (still a sorta baby diver with 22 logged), this makes so much better sense. I just figured out last trip I don't think I have been weighted enough and weight distribution was def off.

[PamelaLoveland]

This is such a great idea! My lower body is always sagging down.

[Phil-wuqj]

New subscriber and new diver. Can you please do a video on diving and flying. We’re planning an international trip to include diving and flying. We want to be safe. Thanks!

[brotherbax]

Thanks for this video. I’m still in my open water class and in the two pool sessions we’ve had so far, I feel like I can’t keep oriented properly without a lot of kicking or pulling. After watching this, I believe I’m quite leg heavy. In the next class during the free time, I’ll try keeping still to see if that’s the case and make some adjustments. Thanks again! Subscribe clicked 😉

[derekless]

Best instructor on YouTube . Thank you brother

[lemisi]

Newby aow here, with just under 20 dives so far, 2 different oceans. Buoyancy is def. a thing. I absolutely feel comfortable in the water, I naturally breathe in slowly and out even slower. But as a perfectionist I wanna keep up with the more experienced divers within the group/tour. Don't wanna be a burden, right? And because I tend to be so hard on myself, other people treat me that way too ; ) LOL. @Thomas: your personal struggles certainly give me hope though, so thanks for that!👍

[ScubaDoobieDoo]

Great video, thanks :)
What you said last is a bit over simplified IMHO, you do not always need more ditchable weight than you have in trim pockets. In fact, depending on the used gear, it's possible tgat you do not need ditchable weight at all.
Key word, balanced rig. Might be a more advanced topic, but is good to know I think.
Cheers

[travisgrob]

Your videos are awesome. Hopefully I will be able to master my trim soon! I'm leg heavy. I have the correct buoyancy, but having trouble with trim. I have 2 trim pockets on my cylinder, but the instructor recommends that I do not add anymore weight as it would be disproportionate for a weight drop. They moved my cylinder up, helped, but not there yet. They recommend an ankle weight on my regulator, 1 or 2 lbs. Thoughts?