Emergency/survival dive kit

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Through a number of incidents, namely the lost group of 7 divers in Indonesia of which 5 survived, I started thinking of what would I want with me had I been in that group. Now I like to be streamlined as much as possible, but I think I came up with a fairly good solution for me. I found a pouch that can strap to my leg. In it, I have the following emergency / survival kit:

Nautilus Lifeline radio
Mirror
SMB
whistle (I have a diver alert, but what would I use if I my tank is empty?)
spare flashlight

Now this is fairly out of the way, and I don't think I'll notice having it on my leg when I'm normally diving, so I'm thinking (hoping?) I'm not a "must have everything with me" diver caricature.

Is there anything anyone thinks I'm missing?

What's in your kit if you were to be in this situation?

 

[WeldonDowd]

Nautilus Lifeline, mirror, and a whistle. Anything else you want or need is probably already on you, SMB, light and spare, knife and spare, compass, inflatable raft and outboard....

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Ah yes, the raft. That reminded me of this: SAFETY EQUIPMENTHalcyon Diver's Raft - Divernet. Not sure how helpful that would be in reality though, other than being more viewable from the air (if someone isn't on it). There are also the dyes (which I would hope would be biodegradable and non-toxic).

I'd put my SMB in there to be out of the way. I prefer to have things that I will use handy or use multiple times (say a Trilobite).

Now about the outboard engine.....

 

[WeldonDowd]

I like the Trilobite too. But be careful not to cut the fuel line going to the Evinrude!

 

[Rich Keller]

You could add a dye marker, pin flairs, smoke canister and combo flash light/strobe light. Also consider using a weight belt instead of integrated weights so if you are left behind you can attach a reel to the belt, then drop the belt so it will anchor you in the first place someone will come back to when they are looking for you. All searches start at the place where you were originally lost and then expand out from there, so you are better off being in the first place they will look. If there is something on the bottom that you can safely go back down to and attach the reel it would be better then using the belt.

 

[Splitlip]

Hat.
Amazon.com: FCS Wet Bucket Surf Hat - Gun Metal - M: Clothing
This one rolls up like a pair of socks. Fits in any bc pocket.
Even if you're only out there for an hour or two, makes a world of difference.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Rich, thanks for your input. About the weight belt. My integrated waits can be removed and attached to something. Would you agree that would be a good substitution? I'd be hesitant to risk drifting from my SMB.

I think I'd like to steer this in the direction of how people would rank various types of items in terms of effectiveness for being lost at sea for more than a day. The reason being, is that I can only fit so much stuff.

I'll take a first stab. Items with * are things I have. If there is an item that would be more effective than any items on the list, then I could add or swap out.

Being seen:
1. SMB *
2. mirror *
3. flashlight (my Sola 1200S has the SOS mode) *
4. dye
5. smoke

Being heard:
1. whistle *
2. dive alert * (dive alerts are louder, but whistles are small and easy to pack/attach to a pack)

Miscellaneous:
1. Nautilus Lifeline *
2. small raft

---------- Post added March 19th, 2014 at 05:03 PM ----------

Hat.
Amazon.com: FCS Wet Bucket Surf Hat - Gun Metal - M: Clothing
This one rolls up like a pair of socks. Fits in any bc pocket.
Even if you're only out there for an hour or two, makes a world of difference.

A really good idea for the tropics.

 

[knotical]

The experts would agree with your focus on signaling equipment. As someone who experienced a 4-hour fishing excursion that lasted 24 hours, I suggest you might want to also consider creature comfort. Don’t know what you can do about getting/staying warm, but after a few hours you might be very grateful for potable water. Perhaps a standard half-liter water bottle?

 

[Mike]

Is there anything anyone thinks I'm missing?What's in your kit if you were to be in this situation?

The major component you're missing compared to me is a PLB in a dive canister. I put very little confidence in a Nautilus Lifeline in a lost at sea scenario that relies on line of site VHF. I'd spend the $300 on a PLB and a canister and know you're going to be located by satellite.In my opinion the mirror and light are excellent life saving/signaling equipment, cheap, small and simple to have on every dive.

 

[Rich Keller]

Rich, thanks for your input. About the weight belt. My integrated waits can be removed and attached to something. Would you agree that would be a good substitution? I'd be hesitant to risk drifting from my SMB.

I would still suggest a belt as there is nothing to assemble just tie the reel off and drop it and I would expect the belt would be better at getting hung up on something on the bottom rather then soft weights individually tied to the line.

Also look at small self contained flares like these. Orion Skyblazer II Aerial Signal Kit - Overton's

If you want to carry water with you I would use a soft bottle that could be zipped inside your wetsuit. Platypus SoftBottle