Opinions Re: Aqualung SOS Sausage?

[Diverblam]

Hello... I'm having a difficult time finding reviews on this... does anyone have one? Thoughts? Comments? Do you recommend it as opposed to a normal one that I would have to hold in my hand?

I'm curious as to the ease of using it and also the way it attaches to the BC... should I have a shop attach it? I don't want to void the warranty on my BC and I'm worried about attaching it wrongly.

Thank you!
B.

 

[gcbryan]

I wouldn't get one. I've seen someone with one. It "activates" by pulling a string and I've seen it pulled by mistake just by getting caught up in something. You then have to take your BC off to get the sausage back in it's container. It's a poor solution to a problem that doesn't exist in my opinion.

 

[Diverblam]

Thank you Gcbryan. =)

Now... I have a normal sausage that I blow up manually... does it really stand tall out of the water? I still haven't had a chance to test it... but I can see it falling over or wonder if it is really reasonable to hold a sausage up when you're in distress or something... ?

 

[dherbman]

Thank you Gcbryan. =)

Now... I have a normal sausage that I blow up manually... does it really stand tall out of the water? I still haven't had a chance to test it... but I can see it falling over or wonder if it is really reasonable to hold a sausage up when you're in distress or something... ?

I agree with Gcbryan.

Adding another task when you are already stressed is not ideal, but I think it's the best option available when considering a SMB. The type you are asking about is very limited in it's functionality and it creates more issues than it solves.

 

[SNaslund]

I've got one of these and it works pretty well. You do have to fully inflate your BCD to get it fully inflated. After that, it has a one way valve that keeps it full. I have not had to use it much but I like having it there.

To assemble it you have to unscrew the cap off of one of your BCDs dump valve and then use the SOS to replace the valve. It is not hard to do and the worst that will happen is that the dump valve leaks which is fairly obvious. One way I check for this is to assemble your scuba unit, fully inflate the BCD and deploy the SOS, then I let everything sit for awhile. If the BCD and SOS remain firm after a couple of hours, you should be good to go. I also check the pressure gauge to make sure none of the regs or hoses have slow leaks.

If you don't feel good about this, a shop should be able to install one of these in about 15 minutes or less.

 

[Diverblam]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! =)