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Don't know about this one you've shown, but if it won't stay inflated or is hard to inflate, like the first one I had, then it isn't worth 9 cents...
I guess I think of this a sort of a last ditch tool to save my &*tt and so didn't mind spending the $80 or so that my 6 foot long Carter cost, that and it's a 35# bag for shooting a line if necessary.
Aloha Dr. Steve,
DeepTechScuba's posting may sound a bit on the strong side but it is not. I couldn't agree with him more. I personally think a safety sausage is one of, if not, the most important piece of safety equipment. I never dive without one for the very reasons DTS explained in his post. The one you are considering will not last over time as the seams split. Can you imagine taking it out of your BCD only to have it split apart when you inflated it? Buy a good one, your life depends on it. I also have a small signal mirror in a neoprene pouch. The mirror is red on one side. Carrying a glow stick when on dive trips is also a good idea in the event you got carried off in a current and they didn't find you before daylight ended.
The world's most wonderful safety gear isn't worth anything if it's too bulky and you leave it behind.
The advantage of the "orange garbage bag" safety signal tubes is that they are tiny and lightweight for how big they are when inflated. A disadvantage is that they are easy to unwittingly puncture or rip. Another disadvantage is that if you don't know how to pull the open end underwater to compress the air a bit and make it rigid, they can seem difficult to use. The first problem I solved by enclosing one of the trident 6" x 8-1/2' tubes in a bicycle innertube for protection and it lives in the bottom of my bc pocket permanently. The second problem is easily solved by just practicing different inflation methods a couple times.
On some, but not all dives, I will take either a 44" or 6' sausage that is bulkier, but more easily inflated. Even when I take the higher performance sausages, I just leave the orange garbage back in my BC pocket.
Both types are useful. The worst possible signal sausage is "none".
DrSteve, i actually got one of these for free. i do carry it on dives as a back-up to my other sausage. it is basically a red plastic bag. i don't notice any seams so i am not concerned about seams splitting. however, it clearly is not as sturdy as a typical sausage. it could easily be punctured. after you inflate it (with your reg or orally) you have to twist the bottom to keep the air in. as i said, i only use it as a backup with another sausage. however, it has 2 strong points worth mentioning:
1. it takes up no room whatsoever.
2. the thing is HUGE. i have been drifting in waves where a 5-6ft sausage would have been hard to spot. this baby dwarves them. that's the reason why i like to carry it.
Currently in the Pacific Northwest, a few hours east of Seattle.
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FWIW...
I agree with DTS and Gilligan.
If you ever truly need a 'safety sausage' or surface marker bouy, its entirely likely that
1. You will need it suddenly; and
2. You will need it badly.
Consider also that not all emergencies occur under ideal circumstances. You might have high winds and surface chop of 6'-8' swells. You might have mist or rain or surface haze or light fog. You might be hanging on like hell to something in your other hand - like your buddy. You might not have time to twist something like a large garbage bag shut and then hold it shut in strong current while you try to keep it inflated. Its conceivable, rather, that you might need it to keep you and your buddy on the surface. You might have a wicked leg cramp. The list goes on.
If you are going to carry a piece of emergency gear at all, consider how much your life is worth. Then spend accordingly.
Well said, painted a great picture of what it could devolve into, and rapidly at that. I agree 100% with "consider how much your life is worth. Then spend accordingly."
as mentioned by everyone- get the best you can afford- but isn't that the way with everything in Scuba?
I have one of these red plastic tubes- as docmartin says, it is a long plastic bag- but very sturdy. The major bonus- as mention is the size- it is thick around and 10 ft long, it also has the bonus of being small when rolled up, so it can sit in your pocket without being a pain.
I tried it out and it was easy to inflate-if you hold it 6inches under the surface, you don't need to roll up the end-admittedly in high seas this would be different. I have sewm a piece of webbing across the bottom of mine and hang cord attatched to amke it easier to hold. I had someone on shore check to see if I was visible from a distance- aparently almost too visible.
by all means get the most expensive-but faced with my choice of either this one which may not last as long- or none as I couldn't afford it- I know which I would choose.
Doc Intrepid once bubbled... If you are going to carry a piece of emergency gear at all, consider how much your life is worth. Then spend accordingly.
Space, weight, drag, are clutter are among the costs associated with poor (or merely inappropriate) gear choices.
Another sausage related tradeoff where more than just cost is involved is what type of reel you carry. For dives in Cozumel where the primary purpose of the signal sausage is to avoid getting run over, my "reel" is simply 25' of 2mm cord wrapped around the sausage itself with a boltsnap for a weight. I have a perfectly good reel, but choose not to have the weight, clutter, and drag of a reel for those dives.
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