How Much Weight for Spearfishing Do You Need? [Check the Answer]

To be successful and safe while spearfishing, you need adequate equipment, including the weights that will help you to stay below the surface.

Choosing the right amount of weight depends on a lot of factors, including your weight and fat content, depth you are diving to, salinity of water, and wetsuit you are wearing.

So, how much weight for spearfishing exactly do you need? There are different calculations, and preferences among people, but some starting point would be either using one kilogram per one millimeter of your suit plus two, or 5% of your body weight for thinner suits. I will explain these calculations a bit later.

Of course, if you plan to dive extremely deep, what I would never recommend for a beginner, you will have to adjust the weight and use less.

It also depends on gear you are using, and if diving / fishing with scuba gear, you will not use the same calculation as if free diving.

Here I will tell you more about weight amount and how to decide what is the perfect number.

What Type of Weight Should You Use When Spearfishing?

Before you even start calculating and planning, check is spearfishing legal in your area. This is especially important if spearfishing with scuba gear.

There are different types of weight, and these weights are compatible with different belt types. Due to the best belt type for spearfishing, which I will mention in the next chapter, you will need classic lead blocks that are “threaded” onto the belt.

Other types shouldn’t be used, as they are not an optimal solution for spearfishing. I would also advise you to get coated lead weights because lead is not healthy for the environment. Coated ones are protected from the outside and even if you lose them in the water, they will not have negative impact on the most vulnerable sea creatures.

In addition to that, coated belts will protect your boat from damage caused by rough handling of those weights.

Do You Need a Weight Belt for Spearfishing? [Is this the Best Weight?]

Spearfishing weight belt is a thing to consider a lot more, and you will see what I talked abut in the previous chapter.

Among the best tips for spearfishing when it comes to belt is to get one that has quick release button! That is a safety feature and don’t save money on it.

Some belts are nylon belts, some have pockets for weights, and some are rubber. The latter one is the one to choose if spearfishing without scuba gear.

When you have scuba gear, you can use nylon belts because scuba gear on your back will keep them low on your waist and they wont “dance” up and down.

However, without scuba gear, you need a belt that stays in place. Rubber belt is “sticky” and creates a lot of friction between your suit and belt. That means that it will not move up and down, from your hips to your waist, or even to your armpits. This is extremely important because while spearfishing, you will move a lot and end up in various positions under water. Belt has to stay firmly in place.

Nylon belts may rotate, and the buckle may end up on your back. This is a safety hazard in case that you need to release it quickly. Pocket belts have the same problem, and they are large and bulky.

How Much Weight Do You Need for Spearfishing?

Choosing how much weight for spearfishing you need affects both your fishing success and your safety. I will give you some calculations later, but please try it out before going on serious dives. Test your buoyancy.

Remove lead if you are sinking fast. As a beginner, it is better to have to little than too large weight on you. Dive to a depth of around 5 to 7 meters with various weights. When you have neutral buoyancy at that depth, you are good to go.

On the surface, you must be buoyant. If you have so much weight that you are sinking on the surface, that is dangerous.

As you go deeper, you need to use less weight. With depth your buoyancy will become lower and lower and with too much weight and not enough strength, you could face difficulties while trying to swim to the surface.

Being positively buoyant in depths from 0 to 7 meters can save your life in case of shallow water blackout.

How much weight belt for spearfishing you will use depends on many factors as I already mentioned. See the calculations in the following chapter.

How Much Weight Do I Need for a 3mm, 5mm or 7mm Wetsuit?

I assume that you know what is spearfishing and what are the different types of spearfishing. In shallow water you need more weights than in blue water spearfishing in great depths.

Thicker suits cause more buoyancy and require more weight.

Here are two different calculations based on an average bult person that weights around 80 to 85 kilograms. Keep in mind that body composition plays a role here, not just the weight.

Millimetres plus two:

Your suit thickness in mm plus two kilograms is a good starting point. So, if you are using a 5mm suit, you should use 5+2. This means 7 kilograms of weight.

If you are using thinner suit, let’s say 3 mm, you need 5 kg of weight. If your body weight is lower, add 1.5 instead of two. If you are noticeably heavier, add 2.5. These are rough guidelines; you have to test your buoyancy.

Body weight percentage:

Another way of calculating is using percentage of your body weight in accordance with suit thickness. This is also valid for an average body composition and average weight person.

With 3 mm suit use 5% of your body weight. So, if you weight about 85 kilograms, that would be around 4.25 kilograms of lead.

For 5 mm suit, use 7%. It would be around 6 kilograms. As you can see, percentage technique gives a bit lower number, so as a beginner, you can go with those calculations first.

This is for freediving, when it comes to percentage. For scuba, bit different calculations apply, and percentage take into consideration is a little bit higher. To scuba dive, you need a license, so I assume that you know the calculations already.

Together with proper weights, you should invest in good fins, dependable gun, diving knife and a high-quality mask for spearfishing.

Conclusion

How much weight for spearfishing you will use depends on your skill level, suit you are wearing, equipment used, water salinity, and your body weight and composition.

If you are wondering is spearfishing dangerous, I have to warn you that it can be, especially if you are using too much weight while diving very deep. If you are a beginner, use less weight and test your buoyancy.

Invest in a good and dependable gear, and I wish you many successful dives!