After almost 2 years of literally zero DNF I changed my neckweight, and switched from the 2.5kg Lobster base to the lighter one (the website says 1.5 but it’s less). It took me almost half hour to figure out my buoyancy and my feet were everywhere because I’m so used to have fins on and use them for balance and stability, but as soon as I got it right, on my very first lap I could already skip a full leg kick movement despite being as rusty as an ancient nail! I was so excited about it that at the end of my training I added a set of 10 x 50 DNF with 30″ recovery and I really enjoyed it. I wonder if with a bit more practice I can skip an extra kick (or keep the kick and get more speed).
Why such a difference? Women have naturally more floaty legs and butts, and we usually need to compensate by wearing a weightbelt, however that does affect streamlining, and I could always feel a huge drag especially at every wall push. Having a lighter neckweight base means I needed to add a lot more weight on the tail, so the tail is significantly longer, thus adding more negative buoyancy towards my hips, where I need it most, so that my legs can stay in line with my body and not float up during the glide, which is something you see very often on DNF videos (and not only on women). Watch 10 minutes of any Pool World Championship on youtube and you will know exactly what i mean.
The only downside is that you just need to be careful with the turns and make sure the tail doesnt slide sideways.
So my overall weight didnt change, but now i have a much longer tail. This is my new set up ( full inhale + 7 packs – i cannot pack more because i dont have any exra weights to add!!!). It looks uncomfortably long but in reality it works well. It doesnt slide sideways during turns, but i added a small bungee elastic around my chest to keep in in place, just in case. (If you fix your weight around your body and you are competing, check the rules as it may not be allowed in competition!)
new-neckweight-set-up
If you want to swap too, keep in mind that the small size is a tiny bit shorter. It is hardly noticeable when you look at it, but I heard a few people complaining that it feels too short and that it “wants to slide backwards and off your shoulders”. You see from the photo, the difference looks infinitesimal, but it’s enough to notice it when you are wearing it.
Different length of Small and Medium size
I was thinking about changing for a while, but never really wanted to buy another Lobster, because first they aint cheap and second, I didnt want to go through the massive headache again: 2 months delay, then stuck in custom, then the extra 100 euro between shipping and customs… so no thanks.
But then a local online store was having big discounts and I couldnt resist. I even bought the Squid neckweight (the one for open water) because I was always attracted to the ability to add and remove weights instead of having multiple neckweights.
Now for the bad: as long as i want to applaud the practicality and the design of both neckweights, I find it REALLY annoying that they never, EVER! get the weight right.
The removable inserts of the squids are supposed to be 50 grams IN ACTUAL NEGATIVE BUOYANCY, and yes, they are more or less 50 grams, but its almost all rubber, which means that theres maybe 30 grams or less of actual negative buoyancy. So an advertised 1.3 kg neckweight is in fact hardly 1 kilo, because the 300 grams (rough estimation) or rubber do no contribute to your buoyancy change.
(If anyone struggles to understand this, just because an object weights lets say 5kg, it doesnt mean it will give you 5kg of negatve buoyancy. If I jump in the pool with a 60 kg freediver piggybagged on my back, that’s not gonna make me sink but rather the opposite).
Same thing goes for the Lobtster, firstly the 1.5 kg base is just 1.4 kg including the rubber, which shouldnt even be counted in the weight advertised (so in my estimation the 1.5 kg base is more like a 1kg lead neckweight). All the extra pieces are all different weights: I have several “500” grams which in reality are between 440 and 550 grams (yes i weighted and marked them all one day when I got annoyed), and the same goes for the smaller pieces: the weight is all random (and does not account for the rubber coating).
The weight is not as advertised
Is this supposed to be 400 or 500grams??
In reality this is only part of the problem, in fact Lobster weights are made of a metal alloy (a mix of metals) and not of pure lead. This is relevant because lead is a much denser metal than most, around 40% denser than steel: this affects greatly its negative buoyancy. But lead is also very soft and making a Lobster our of just lead will make it fall apart in no time. I dont know if Lobster is using any lead in their alloy, and if yes in what percentage, I havent been able to find this information, but it would be interesting to know so if anyone knows the answer please share!
End of rant!!
