[Jen S]

Hi,

It seems your not far off with the 8kg. You said you got down OK when not using the 200g undersuit, so it must be this that is making the difference. It shouldn't be making that much of a difference, so I'd just try another kilo for now. If you go to Capernwray, I'm sure they'd let you borrow some weights for the day, so you can try out what works best, then buy lead when you've found out what works.
As the others have said, you will need to do you weight check when your cylinders are at around 50bar, to make sure you have enough lead to stay down at the end of the dive.
Different suits will "trap" air within them in different ways too. It could be that there is more air "trapped" in the Britannic than there was in the Vortex, making you that bit more buoyant. Before getting in, try pulling your neck seal away from your neck slightly, then squatting down on your knees. This will squeeze out a lot of the air from the suit. Once you've got off the surface you can then start adding the air to reduce the squeeze.

With regard to the sea, most people add about 1-2kgs. Again, you'll have to try it out to see what works best.

Don't worry about this, as everyone has trouble getting their weight right when starting or getting new kit. Most people I know (including myself) did tend to start out overweighted, without realising, as this is just what they thought they needed. Over time, you may find you can reduce the amount of lead you need.

Jen