Do you carry basic safety equipment on dives? If not, why?

[Jax]

Signal Mirror, ~$12 Innovative Scuba 10 Mile Signal Mirror @ Divers-Supply.com

7' XS Scuba SMB, ~$70, Lift Bags/Marker Bags - Marker Bags - XS Scuba 7' Surface Marker Bag - Orange - Northeast Scuba Supply

Air Horn, ~$75 Amazon.com: Dive Alert Plus BCD Surface Signalling Device Air 2 +: Sports & Outdoors

Intova Ultra Nova, ~$70 Intova Ultra Nova [ultranova] - $69.95 : Cave Adventurers!, We will NOT be undersold!!!

For what its worth . . .

 

[Insta-Gator]

Signal Mirror, ~$12 Innovative Scuba 10 Mile Signal Mirror @ Divers-Supply.com

7' XS Scuba SMB, ~$70, Lift Bags/Marker Bags - Marker Bags - XS Scuba 7' Surface Marker Bag - Orange - Northeast Scuba Supply

Air Horn, ~$75 Amazon.com: Dive Alert Plus BCD Surface Signalling Device Air 2 +: Sports & Outdoors

Intova Ultra Nova, ~$70 Intova Ultra Nova [ultranova] - $69.95 : Cave Adventurers!, We will NOT be undersold!!!

For what its worth . . .

Thanks Jax. And for cheapskates like myself, there are less expensive items available if you shop around. I think I paid less than $30 for my SMB at ScubaToys.com, $50 for a UK SL3 light, and about $5.00 for a mirror from REI. The whistle came with the SMB, what a deal.

The bottom line for new or ill-equipped divers, you don't have to spend a fortune in order to save your life.

 

[TMHeimer]

Yeah, your link in post #1 is bad.


"When the diver was found the next day, he remarked that he shouted at boats passing in the night and one even shined lights his way but apparently did not notice him." :laughing:

Not sure exactly what you're saying. Besides, where I dive up here I think I've seen possibly 2 boats way in the distance in like 150 shore dives. I would not dive solo at night anywhere.

 

[melanie.]

I always carry a light and a SMB. It was only recently that I became very faithful about bringing a light. We were on the boat and had 2 divers that did not come up where expected. Even with 20 sets of eyes on the boat during the day we could not see their SMB sticking 6 feet into the air.. We did however see them once they started flashing a light towards us.

Personally noice making device is useless.. can't hear it unless you are close enough to be seen, and at that point I can yell. Mirror.. well that is why we carry a light and a backup

 

[Jax]

Yeah, your link in post #1 is bad.

"When the diver was found the next day, he remarked that he shouted at boats passing in the night and one even shined lights his way but apparently did not notice him." :laughing:

Not sure exactly what you're saying. Besides, where I dive up here I think I've seen possibly 2 boats way in the distance in like 150 shore dives. I would not dive solo at night anywhere.

He was talking about the pilot who landed his plane into a Great Lake, and tread water for 17 hours. Basically, the pilot shouted, and had a light pass over him, but to no avail.

 

[Rythmmaker]

I always carry a large SMB, a pair of sea snips, and have my DAN tag is attached to my BC (it has a mirror on the back for emergency signalling. I also have a Dive Alert 2 for both underwater audible signalling as well as doubling as an air horn on the surface - 100 times louder than a storm whistle. I almost always have a light in a BC pocket, but sometimes will skip it if I am diving shallow and the boat is moored. On a drift dive, I will try to always have a light, just in case.

In Roatan recently, we were doing a drift dive and a group of 5 of us got separated from the rest. When we surfaced, we were about 200 yards from the dive boat, and while we could see them very clearly, it took quite a while before we were spotted, even as we continued to drift away in the current. I was the only one in the group with a large SMB - and that was what got us noticed eventually - by different boat that then contacted "our" original boat.

I always make sure I tell the people topside what safety equipment I have on me before I dive - if a search-and-rescue team has only limited resources available, they are more likely to look dilligently for you knowing you have signalling equipment and can assist them in locating you. Imagine that they have another emergency and don't expect to be able to see you at night anyway - if they have to make a judgment call between helping me, or responding to some other distress call, I want them to know I have gear that makes it much more likely that if they get in the right vicinity, there's a good chance that they will be able to spot me.

 

[djtimmy77]

1. SMB (Surface Market Buoy) - Carter 6' SMB + reel
2. Working Light with fresh batteries - Yes
3. Reflective Signaling Device (mirror) -No
4. Noise Signaling Device -Storm Whistle

5. Strobe attached to BCD strap at shoulder
6. Garden Shears and Trilobite cutting devices
7. Dye Pack

 

[-hh]

Let's see...

SMB ... sometimes; it depends upon where I'm diving. Basically, if its a benign dive in an area with no currents, I'll leave it behind, whereas if it is a drift dive from a chase boat, I'll clip it on. See 'pockets' comment below.

Mirror ... not anymore. The camera strobes does have an "SOS" flashing mode which is probably somewhat useful, but again, see 'pockets' comment below.

Light ... two camera strobes during daytime dives, plus another light clipped-on at night.

Noisemaker ... two: a whistle, plus a Dive Alert on the LP hose. Mostly because they're innoculously small and have a good home on the BC inflator hose.

Pockets ... is the basic reason why not all of this stuff doesn't get carried all the time. It used to fit nicely in the side pockets of my old Jacket Style BCD, but my rig tdoay has utterly horrible pockets that are basically useless. It would seem that the philosphy of this rig is that whatever you need to carry would get clipped off to a D-ring. And while I surely could just clip off even more stuff, the problem is that each additional item that is "dangling" on me due to this approach represents another increase to bad things like entanglement hazard risk.


-hh

 

[Insta-Gator]

-hh, I understand. I dive a BP/W. Clipper pockets are on waist belt for use with weights or they are removed. All the items I've listed are securely attached to my kit in such a way they do not "dangle" and get in the way. IMO, pockets, or the lack there of, is not an excuse.

 

[Splitlip]

Every Dive:
Large Halcyon DAM (DSMB)
At least one Oxycheq Raider light.
Dive Alert (but not on my BC LP)
No mirror. I have a light and I can put my mask on my forehead. (seriously, I fished out a pair of divers while trolling when I saw the sun reflecting off their masks) Last week, I was temporarily blinded by the reflection coming off a buddy's mask. I was on the boat and he had just surfaced. It was an "HD color correction mask".

I depend on the large DSMB most dives. Have not needed the other devices yet, but I can certainly see where a light could come in handy on an afternoon dive in the winter.