Dog Tags and/or other dive IDs

This came up in another thread and it was suggested it would make a good thread of it's own.

What kind of "get it wet" diving IDs etc do you take on dive trips?

What I have is a set of dogtags I had made a few years ago.

I just did a quick google search on "custom dog tags" and got a whole bunch of hits so they should be prety trivial to find places to order them if you want some. The going rates seem to vary from 5 to 10 dolars or therabout.

The first few sites I found only seem to sell fancy laser engraved tags. I got mine a while ago and they are the old fashioned, plain metal tags with the letters punched into them. I have no idea where I ordered them from.

I wear them on the "ball chain" they came with and I got the rubber "silencers" put on them. I put them on before I put on either my wetsuit or drysuit and they have never gotten in the way or bothered me.

Basicaly, mine have the following stuff:

TAG1:
----------
Last
First Middle
SSN########
O+ No Alergies
Sister NAME
(###) ###-####

TAG2:
----------
DAN hotline no
(919) 684-8111
DAN insur no
#########

There's something else on tag2 but I can't remember what it was. I know I used all 6 lines of text on both tags though.

My dive gear is down at a friends house so I can't look a the tags right now to find out what I put no them for sure.

That's about it for now.

i have dog tags afixed to most of my m ajor pieces of gear. Has name and address on it. Worse case....if i bite the big one...there is enuf id on the gear to figure out its me in it. other than that... i am hoping the id tag will prompt the person that "accidentally" picked it up by "mistake" to mail it back to me.

Hey I was just talking to my dive buddy about this. I will do the google search. My idea is to use the dog tags for my tank, bcd, and gear bag like RICHinNC posted. But the idea to put the medical info on and wear it is a great idea.

As everyone is a member of DAN (right?), their tags serve not only to identify you, but give emergency info as well.

MD

if you lose the tag someone has a key element for identity theft.

totally agree about not including SS# - thats just asking for trouble...

I have the plastic DAN tags but I like the idea of dog tags better - they are on YOU not your equipment - in case *god forbid* something happens and you become separated from your BC...

I have the DAN tag, and I like wearing it in plain sight on my BC. From their site:

www.diversalertnetwork.org

"Clipped to your BCD, the DAN Tag informs emergency personnel that you are a DAN Member. It will also let them know who they need to call and what to look for in an emergency, while providing information to help treat most symptoms on the spot from the information provided.

"The DAN Tag is made of translucent, high-impact quality aircraft acrylic that is negatively buoyant and water-resistant at any depth. Its multipurpose design also allows it to be used for other applications such as ID tags, key chains and more. In fact, everyone in your family should have their own DAN Tag.

"Over 60,000 DAN Tags Now Diving Worldwide!

"Manufactured by Palancar Industries, DAN Tags are available in seven colors: aqua teal, amber, lime green, hot pink, light grey, electric blue, and DAN the Safety Man (DSM) blue. "

Tags inlcude DAN membership number, (skip the SS#), date of ibrth, full name and address, phone number, blood type, allergies, physicians name and number, emergency contact phone and other information, health insurance information. All this could be handy info for EMS to have in case of a dive accident.

There is a problem with the color selections on the site. They have Teal and Green confused. I called them, and they went "wow, we'll get on that."

I'm thinking about getting a Dog Tag to wear, too. Might be a good idea in a non-diving accident, mugging, whatever?

don

Yah, identity theft is an issue but...

I pondered the SSN# on the tag and then included it anyway because the first questions at a hospital are:

name
SSN#
insurance info
emergency contacts

The blood type and alergy line could potentialy speed up any treatment required as well.

I figure I'm no more likely to lose the dogtags around my neck than I am to lose my wallet so I decided to put it on.

I remembered what the last 2 lines of my 2nd dogtag are as well...

My primary insurance carriers name and my ID number with them.

There is also a company called Road ID (www.roadid.com) that I learned about through running. Their tags are rustproof and you can order on a velcro wristband, ankleband, chain, or loop to hook onto any gear. Don't have mine yet, but it is another option.

And from that Google search found this site that gives two custom dog tags and chains for only $5 postage paid:

www.customdogtags.com

And the DAN tags are only $10. I really think that both are a good idea...

don