What do you carry in your BCD pockets?

I recently was discussing BCD pocket size with someone just for fun. I said; "WOW that thing has huge pockets!" They then told me that they used theirs to carry a spare mask.

I carry a slate, and a Safety Tube. That is it... Then I thought, hey what should I be carrying in those pockets? And how should I carry it? Should everything be on a lanyard, my slate is.... Do I need a reel for my safety tube? The whole exercise got me to thinking. What should I carry in my BCD pockets?

My log tells me that MY average depth is 75 feet or so.

What do you folks carry, where on you bcd, and why?

Thanks,
Guy

I can usually find in my pockets (dry suit in my case):

• shears
• safety mirror
• safety whistle
• SMB
• spool
• wet notes
• spare double ender
• mesh bag (to pick up trash at the bottom)
• energy gel (in case I'm stuck waiting for the boat and need sugar)

Other stuff which visited my pockets:

• snorkel (I very rarely carry one those days)
• magnifying glass (on tropical reefs)

Backup lights are a good candidate as well, but I wear mines on the harness.

In N people respond to this you will get N+1 answers. If you average them out you might find something that works for you.

My diving is open-water diving, down to 140 feet and usually in cold water with variable visibility.

My gear:
1. Safety tube with a line. I feel that the rescue sausage by itself is only half of a solution. I use a 100 foot finger spool (I should really get a 200 foot spool if I dive below 100 feet) if the dive does not require me to tow a surface marker buoy (SMB), and a reel if the dive does require me to tow an SMB. There is a tech diving video out there (Dimension X or something like that---just look below this post, someone will provide the correct reference within seconds) that shows you how to deploy an SMB at depth - check it out;
2. A spare mask (reason: if the mask strap were to snap it would be tough to keep your eyes open in cold salt water, tough to monitor an ascent or really do anything without a mask);
3. A slate (in addition to the one on my arm);
4. At least one small flashlight if diving during the day. If diving at night, usually two flashlights and a Glo-tube;
5. I have a whistle attached near my BC oral inflation valve;
6. I have a knife fixed to the power inflation hose for my BC. If I am diving in an area where entanglement is a significant danger, I take two knives;
7. I have a signaling mirror attached to my rescue sausage; and
8. A small camera.

What if anything is tethered?

What is a "double ender"?

Guy

Wow!!! Maybe I am way under prepared but I have a whistle and a small knife attached to my bc and that is it. Nothing in my pockets, unless I pick up some litter while on the dive.

I carry a signal mirror and a pocket snorkel in my pockets. I do have a whistle, small flashlight and a safety sausage but they are attached to D-rings on a lanyard, (retrator for the flashlight). forgot to add a Knife that is attached to the outside of the pocket. If I take my camera I use a lanyard on my wrist or clip it to a D-ring during decent and ascent or if I am not using it. My primary flashlight for night dives is on a lanyard on my wrist. My pockets are not that large but I could put more in there if I wanted. I also have a flashing light clipped to a wiretie that is on my primary for night diving.

aikiguy:

What if anything is tethered?

Guy

Click to expand...

I "clip off" (tether) my camera when it is not strapped to my wrist (example: when I am ascending at the end of a dive).

When night diving, my primary light is in hand. My backup light(s) are all clipped off so that I can reach them and turn then on immediately, without fumbling through pockets.

When towing an SMB I have been known to at times clip it to my BC, but I am pretty sure that doing this is a bad idea for many, many reasons.

skipjen:

Wow!!! Maybe I am way under prepared but I have a whistle and a small knife attached to my bc and that is it. Nothing in my pockets, unless I pick up some litter while on the dive.

Click to expand...

I carry more gear than you do, and you have more logged dives than I do. I believe that this is in keeping with the principle that new divers look like Christmas trees.

aikiguy:

What is a "double ender"?

Click to expand...

It's a clip with a clip at both ends instead of just one end. That way you can clip it to something and then clip it to something else, like one of your D-rings.

http://www.scuba.com/shop/display.asp_id_131408

Folding stainless steel fisherman's knife.