How do you mark your gear for identification purposes?

[jiveturkey]

How do you mark your equipment? I've never left my gear in a dive shop before but I guess it's pretty common to do so. My gear isn't marked. If another diver has the same piece of equipment as me it could be a problem figuring out who owns what. Disputes could arise. How do you guys mark your gear so you can identify it as yours?

:confused:

[Mo2vation]

Every dive store has them. My wife and I have a lot of identical gear - her stuff is just smaller. We have one in yellow and one in blue. After my first 3-day trip in September I ran out and got one. Diving on a trip from my LSD - we all had the same gear! Same fins, same masks, same bags, same booties, etc.

We mark the gear with the paint markers (on the inside...so it doesn't rub off, its tougher to remove and easy for us to find).

They write on neoprene, rubber, plastic, fabric, metal. They totally rule.

Ken

[Dee]

First, I never leave my gear with any operator. I just don't feel anyone will watch it/care for it as well as I do!

My black Bio-fins have my initials on them with a paint pen. I've also spray painted the bottoms with silver paint, making them easier to identify me by in the water among all those other black split fins! :rolleyes:

I use a slap strap on my mask and it's seldom anyone has the same one although Beast and I occasionally get our masks switched...which is interesting when I have an Rx mask and he doesn't!

Not many other divers on a trip have a bp/wings but I do have my name ingraved on my BP just for grins.

I have the serial numbers for my computer and regs recorded in my logbook for several reasons, theft is just one of them.

My camera never leaves my sight nor does it spend any time thrashing around in a rinse bucket with other cameras.

Everything else has my initials on it somewhere.

[Rick Murchison]

Depends on the piece of equipment.
First of all, I make sure I have the serial numbers of everything that has them recorded in my logbook.
Marking varies according to the piece of gear. If it is a unique rig not subject to getting mixed up with anyone elses (my homemade canister light, for example) then marking isn't necessary. Tanks have my unique identifier stamped into the metal above the tank s/n. Fins have my identifier painted on the bottom near the foot pocket. Cameras have an ID tag attached with a zip-tie. Backup lights have embossing tape...
Rick

[FLL Diver]

I've found a "Sharpie" brand indelible marker works well on some equipment - fins, inside wetsuit, camera case bottom.

[reefraff]

Paint pens work well. Buy them at Office Depot instead of the LDS and save several dollars.

I put my name or initials on most everything to avoid...confusion. I also paint my name on the bottoms of my fins so that the guy behind me knows who just kicked him in the head.;)

Steven

[jiveturkey]

reefraff once bubbled...
I also paint my name on the bottoms of my fins so that the guy behind me knows who just kicked him in the head.;)


LOL :D

[O-ring]

I use a sharpie for stuff that isn't black (which isn't much) and white out for the black stuff.

[the sharkman]

but now I use one of those paint pens (I bought one from leisure pro, to see what it was). I like the paint pen, it works perfectly. A sharpie works nice as well, and is cheaper.

sharkman
:guitar:

[Dee]

Go to an office supply or even Wal-Mart. Thay're half the price for the exact same thing!

[Big-t-2538]

with the cheeze whiz...you could always buy a dremel and carefully engrave the back of things, tanks, etc. Guaranteed not to fade...but not full-proof...or do i mean idiot-proof!!

[AquaTec]

when they first invented pink dive gear I did a test at a dive shop.

we bought pink lights, and fins
and we bought blue of the same.

One year later we had all the pink stuff and none of the blue stuff

Pink is the anti theft device for scuba gear

[DameDykker]

I went on a trip where 80% had almost identical dive bags so I put bright green pieces of tread on all the zippers. Later I also found two key rings with bright green flippers on and put on each on the main zipper handles. Now I can spot my bag with a quich glance.

[jiveturkey]

What the heck is a paint pen? How do you say that in korean? lol

[Atticus]

Uh.. You're joking about using a dremel tool on a dive tank, right? That could get downright scary... :bonk:

I use a paint pen on most stuff, but I can't seem to get it to last on my biofins for more than a week of diving or so. Any suggestions for a more lasting solution? Or have I just been using cheap paint pens?

Cheers,
Atticus

[reefraff]

Dremel away. Keep the markings to the top of the tank above the side walls, near where you see all those stampings in the neck. Just don't dig too deep of a hole and STAY AWAY FROM THE SIDEWALLS. Of course, I'd still suggest a paint pen, instead.

As far as the paint coming off of your biofins in such a short time, you might want to try liquid latex. It's available at Home Depot and similar places and is used to recoat tool handles. Tough, thick, lots of pretty colors.

Welcome to the board.

Steven

[FLL Diver]

AquaTec once bubbled...
Pink is the anti theft device for scuba gear

Some may laugh, but there is a LDS here called Scuba Network that only rents out pink tanks. They say since they been doing it thefts and loss are almost non existant now. :)

Marc :jester:

[Atticus]

Sounds like a great system! (pink equipment).

Reelraf - thanks for the suggestion and the welcome.

--Atticus

[Cherry]

Hmmm you might have something with the pink thing I wonder if I should paint all our fruit bins pink growers "lose" a ton of em every year :)

[chris_b]

Mo2vation once bubbled...
...Diving on a trip from my LSD - we all had the same gear! Same fins, same masks, same bags, same booties, etc.

They weren't all the same gear, it was just part of the acid trip! J/K :D

[augk]

;) Thanks for all the great info I didn't even have to ask the question.

[ChrisA]

How do you mark your equipment? I've never left my gear in a dive shop before but I guess it's pretty common to do so. My gear isn't marked. If another diver has the same piece of equipment as me it could be a problem figuring out who owns what. Disputes could arise. How do you guys mark your gear so you can identify it as yours?

:confused:

Ever seen how rock climbers ID thier equipment? They must have 100 times as much stuff as divers. And worse. they have this custom where they pool thier gear and then take out from the pool what is needed for a climb. Then at the end of the day they sort it all out. WHat they do is use colored tape. Everyone picks a color code that they think is not used by others. So I'd put green and blue tape on all my stuff and some other guy has black/red. Two colors is needed to make a unique code. (except this one guy who used just black electrical tape "because it's so stupid no one else would do it." and he was right.)

So I put green tape on everything. It's just vinyl electrical tape but it sticks to anything and is not harmed by saltwater. You can wrap it around your fin straps, snorkel and even the handle of a dive bag.
I put it over a hose protector on my reg and around the tank boots on my tants. Everything has a 3/4 inch creen stripe on it and I can ID it from 20 feet away. I went in topick up my reg in the shop and was able to point to mine which has 15 feet away

[RIDIVER501]

Shapies, paint pens and in some cases distinctive stickers.

[O2BBubbleFree]

Sounds like a great system! (pink equipment).
--Atticus

I have a pink dive knife. When I first started buying gear I found the knife in a pawn shop. It had the blade I wanted (blunt with a line cutter NOT by the hand guard), and was definetly high-vis.

You have to be secure in your machismo to dive with a pink knife.

[CUunderH2O]

I used a black china marker (grease pencil) to put my initials on my yellow fins. Hasn't faded at all and stands out well.

[spectrum]

I was thiinking of using our telephone number with area code. That way if something gets away from us we may get a call from the finder and retrive the item for the cost of a nominal reward. Meanwhile it had a unique identifier. Spouses stuff is different enough at least in size to make ID easy.

Is there some fatal flaw in the phone number idea? We already have a listed number.

Pete

[Trisha]

Yep, there is a problem in going on vacation and having your home telephone number or home address on gear, luggage, etc.
It tell thieves where you are not!
And, yes, there are criss-cross directories and Internet white pages which might help find your now-empty residence.
I'd put my business number and address on those things, instead.

As for marking items, I use Sharpies, white paint pens (they dry up fast, so mark a lot of things at one time), and fabric paint. Don't forget the tags on soft weights, boots, hats, and gloves; your integrated weight pockets; mesh boat bags, regulator bags, and other carrying cases. The white paint eventually wears off, but by that time I have other gear that needs identification.

[sauga]

Well now, back in my Army days...okay, no war stories. Anyway, we marked our gear (which ALL looked alike) with our initials and last four digits or our social security number, i.e. ABC1234. In places that don't use SSN's, you could always use birth year or something. The odds of running into someone with the same set are pretty slim.

[spectrum]

Yep, there is a problem in going on vacation and having your home telephone number or home address on gear, luggage, etc.
It tell thieves where you are not!
And, yes, there are criss-cross directories and Internet white pages which might help find your now-empty residence.
I'd put my business number and address on those things, instead.


Good point, I know how easy that can be back tracked. The buisness number idea sounds like the ticket. Accesible, Unique and Safe.

Thanks,
Pete

[Titan8883]

Sharpie makes a new metallic silver marker that works great on almost anything. I bought a 4-pack at office max and Im still on my first one.