Safety Equipment - Not really covered in OW course

I just got certified and already have trips planned for the Caribbean, Florida, and Thailand. I noticed that a lot of people here dive equipped with lots of different safety gear. A lot of this is unfamiliar to me as it wasn't really covered in OW course. How necessary is all this stuff if I'm diving with a guide (e.g., lights, whistle, float, sausage, flag, dye, knife, etc.)??? Is the larger stuff (i.e. float) provided by the boats and guide?

Also, is this something covered in advanced OW classes or something you just need to figure out on your own (e.g, using a reel with an SMB)? I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. I don't plan on doing anything crazy and want to be conservative, but I know for sure that the island I'm heading to next week is going to be rainy with t-storms.

0garibaldi0:

I just got certified and already have trips planned for the Caribbean, Florida, and Thailand. I noticed that a lot of people here dive equipped with lots of different safety gear. A lot of this is unfamiliar to me as it wasn't really covered in OW course. How necessary is all this stuff if I'm diving with a guide (e.g., lights, whistle, float, sausage, flag, dye, knife, etc.)???

Click to expand...

It depends on your personal risk assessment of the dive conducted and how strongly you feel about mitigating any risks you identify.

Diving with a guide should make no difference on that personal decision. Your safety is your responsibility.

Personal safety isn't something a wise person would abdicate to a stranger.

Reel: A guideline if lost and a method to deploy a DSMB (sausage).

DSMB: A visual signalling device at the surface if separated from the boat. A warning to boat traffic you are ascending. A method of assisting the boat to track you if you are drifting during ascent/safety stop.

Knife: A solution to entanglement risks.

Whistle: A long distance audible signalling device if stranded/swept away from the boat/shore.

Light: Primary underwater/surface signalling device at night or in bad visibility (on the dive).

0garibaldi0:

Is the larger stuff (i.e. float) provided by the boats and guide?

Click to expand...

Rarely.

0garibaldi0:

Also, is this something covered in advanced OW classes or something you just need to figure out on your own (e.g, using a reel with an SMB)?

Click to expand...

Not usually - but you can be pro-active in defining what you want to achieve from any scuba course.

I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't refuse to cover these things, if the student requested it.

You can learn the basics by yourself.. you just need the opportunity to practice in safe conditions. It's best to find an experienced diver as a mentor, if you can. Otherwise, you can self-teach - just take it slowly.

Youtube has many skill demonstration videos. There's also many threads here on SB that describe/debate techniques.

0garibaldi0:

I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. I don't plan on doing anything crazy and want to be conservative, but I know for sure that the island I'm heading to next week is going to be rainy with t-storms.

Click to expand...

Don't over-think it. Stress is never a good thing when diving. These really are contingency measures... for risks that are very rare.

Address and mititgate these risks where you can... but recognise that stress can lead to panic...and that is the most dangerous risk that any scuba diver faces.

The main reason for the knife is to cut entangling line or net that you or your buddy is caught in. Most divers seem to acquire a cutting tool at some point.

Dive lights are just plain useful. Besides big ones for night diving, small ones are great for looking in crevices underwater for critters. Also useful for signaling on the surface in an emergency.

Divers may be required to show a flag on the surface, depending on the jurisdiction. Recommended in locations you know have a lot of surface traffic. Inner tube floats are generally used by professionals who need a place to keep gear.

A DSMB is used on the surface to make it easier for the boat to spot you. Deployed at depth, it can, depending on context, tell the boat that you are coming up, where you are coming up, that the current on a drift dive has switched, that you are off the fixed up line and surfacing in a current, etc. Some dive boats require SMBs for some dives with known strong currents. This is probably up there as the most common equipment along with knives.

Strobes, whistle/other noisemaker, dye, and mirrors would be useful if things have gone totally off the rails and you are floating in the open ocean and are concerned that nobody knows where you are. Dye, for example, is useful only if you're trying to get the attention of a rescue aircraft searching for a missing diver.

I should point out that rescue personnel change their search pattern if they know their target has signaling devices. For example, a strobe light apparently lights up the sea if you're wearing night vision goggles in a Coast Guard helicopter, which allows them to use a much wider search pattern to cover more area than if they think the diver has no means of signaling. I know of at least one diver who laminates a small card listing his emergency equipment that he lends to the captain of every boat he gets on.

Things to get:
I would always recommend diving with some sort of cutting tool. That can be a pair of shears which may be less of an issue when traveling that a knife. A DSMB is a really good idea if you are diving in current, which is a given when doing drift dives, and not a bad idea at other times.

Things to skip:
DAN did a study of various safety devices and was not supportive of whistles because they are often not heard. That said they include a whistle and signaling mirror in their surface signal kit. It is a rarity indeed that a float and flag is used on any dive that I have been on. The exception is dive flags attached to the boat, which of course you do not have to provide. There are localities that require by ordinance floats and flags. These ordinances are typically written by non-divers who are uninformed about how dives are actually conducted.

Things that your might want
I’d be on the fence about a spool for recreational dives. You could hypothetically deploy a SMB from a safety stop while drifting. That would be an advantage but seems somewhat unlikely. But then if you plan to dive in areas with current you might want a spool. Lights are great on their own, but would have limited use for signaling during the day in tropical locations which seem to be where you want to go.

Hi 0garibaldi0 I'm a lil bit further along than you with my diving so I'm still seeing with newbee eyes so to speak..
1) torch -Pretty well bought that straight away. I use a 6 inch long 1 inch round LED torch which is in my bc all the time Wouldn't dive without it. Not just for safety -its great for looking in crevases and under rocks to see stuff you would miss otherwise.
2) Knife -I wouldn't dive without one Have never dived without one.The risk of entanglement is always there.
3) SMB-For ages I just had the emergencytype that rolls up really small in your BC pocket. I've never used it but ya know on a boat dive its pretty cheap insurance.

I just look at each dive and ask myself, "What could go wrong here?" And then I think about what I need to cope with those problems. That means that I never do any boat dive without an SMB and spool, in case I need to let the boat know where I am (blown off in current, for example). It means I never do any dive, anywhere, without wetnotes (you might use a slate) so that, if there is an issue that needs to be communicated that isn't feasible for hand signals, you have a way to deal with it. (Such things as, "The current is coming up, and the person on the boat can't drive it," which is one of the messages in my wetnotes.) If you use a prescription mask, you might want a spare, because if you lose YOUR mask, using one from your buddy may not do the trick. If you are doing a wreck dive in low viz, you might want a spool or reel, in case the shot line isn't precisely on the wreck.

Think about the "what-ifs" and plan for them; that will tell you what emergency equipment you need. Anything you take in the water with you, you should be able to use. And you should never base your own safety on the need to remain with the dive guide.

A good jon line if you ever do any decompression stops on offshore dives. Especially in waters that are known for heavy currents. Mine's a Dive Rite.

All good advice from experts. On boat dives in particular, or where strong currents could occur, I always take the Dive Alert, as the whistle probably won't be heard (as pointed out). I take everything I think I could need, and not stuff that I know I won't need. There are a lot of things that are not covered in OW class (besides those relating to safety items). Just not enough time, I guess.

This is an awesome board and I appreciate everyone's response - it looks like most of y'all are saying yes (ha ha), I should have all this stuff (except the float). This is where I go crazy, cuz I see tons of different safety equipment on online scuba shops and read the posts, thinking I need to have everything. It's funny because I asked 2 different people in the scuba section at 2 different Sport Chalets the same question and both said I didn't need any safety equipment except maybe the whistle.

I took a longish OW course - 3 classes, 3 pool sessions, 2 OW dives - but yeah, there wasn't time for them to cover safety equipment, let alone how to use the dive computers we were using on our dives. I can't imagine how this course could be compacted into 1 class and 1 pool session.

So, it looks like I'll be making another trip to the LDS before I fly out. Since it's going to be rainy, I think the flashlight is a good idea. During my OW dives, I did see people getting stuck in kelp, so I don't know why I didn't already go out and buy a knife. But I can see how a knife could be really crucial. A whistle might be useful to get your buddy's attention, maybe? If not the boat, and it's cheap, so I might as well get that. And the dye, and maybe a sausage without the spool, for now.

re: Jon Line. For now, I ain't gonna do any deep dives and avoid swift currents if I can help it! I'm just a baby. I still have problems equalizing the first 10 ft. But now I'm thinking of scenarios where I might need it. Except I wouldn't know how to use it.
TSandM, I do wear a prescription mask, and it never occurred to me that I should have a spare. Wow. But I would certainly be blind if I lost it and had to make do with a regular one.

TMHeimer, I looked up DiveAlert and noticed there seems to be different "sizes" and since I'll be renting my BCD, I shouldn't get that yet, right?

What didn't occur to me before I started the PADI course was that diving is a really expensive hobby. Is there such thing as a poor diver? Including the course and the gear I have so far, I think I've spent around $900 in the last month. Well, this should motivate me to go out there and dive more!

Safety sausage, knife (or shears), and light are mandatory in my opinion.

Of the three I mentioned I practically use the safety sausage on every boat dive just to mark my position for pick up if I did not come up an anchor line and of course to mark my position to other boat traffic (provided they are looking where they are going).

Additionally I will shoot the sausage at 6M when doing my safety stop having informed the boat captain beforehand so that he can come closer to me in that period to save time picking me up.