Most of the items mentioned are very small and can be put on most pockets. If not get a web belt pocket also. The only thing that is tough to store is the smb. It aint going in no pocket. a 6 ft 6" smb can be pretty big rolled up so you will have to make a compromise on the size inflated and the size rolled up. and dont forget the reel with say 50 ft of line on it. you mentioned earlier that you did not get the shooting a bouy thing. Many hang on the bouy line for thier stops. Sooner or later you will be shooting a bouy. i like the ones that can both fill on the lp hose and/or with the second stage from the bottom of the bouy. make sure it has an opv on it.
Safety sausages and other essential safety gear
- Thread starter MeraSonnet
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
koozemani
Contributor
My wife and I each carry
dsmb and reel
whistle
dive alert
mirror
Cutting tool x2
lights x2, 3 on a night dive (one of which is an emergency strobe)
Plb. Xmas present she got me, now she needs one
dye, her only
All of which will fit in a pocket or pouch or is clipped off on a d-ring(light, dsmb, and nautilus lifeline). We carry all of these on every dive.
dsmb and reel
whistle
dive alert
mirror
Cutting tool x2
lights x2, 3 on a night dive (one of which is an emergency strobe)
Plb. Xmas present she got me, now she needs one
dye, her only
All of which will fit in a pocket or pouch or is clipped off on a d-ring(light, dsmb, and nautilus lifeline). We carry all of these on every dive.
Mike
Contributor
And most importantly in a true night time emergency you can signal with it S-O-S, to planes, helicopters, boats, people on shore... adrift at night in a hypothermia situation with a coast guard helicopter searching for you in the dark a light is going to get you rescued a lot quicker if not actually being the only reason at all you're rescued.
Good lists, and I like Mike's from Colorado the best. Short and to the point. The comment that you should learn and practice the use of each item is important, especially deploying a surface marker from depth. We have added this as an item in the AOW classes at my dive center. ( at least those I am a part of )
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
OP
MeraSonnet
Registered
My intention is to collect the kind of essentials as listed here from a local dive shop here in Atlanta, and practice them in the pool at the shop... then on a shallow shore dive off the hotel in Bonaire. I am also diving from time to time with my certified teenager. So the final list and the practicing will be multiplied by two, each of us with our own kit. And with us both practicing using them together and "as if we were solo from being separated from a group". We can play out a lot of scenarios in our den together, and in shallow practice dives. From what I have read, a lot of emergencies actually start out as unexpected and unpleasant events, that move unnecesarily to emergency through panicking and not having a game plan or essential equipment. Risk mitigation. I will check into an AOW class where the Instructor covers such safety skills as discussed here. In the end, I love diving so much, and so does my teen... this practice will enhance the experience.
koozemani
Contributor
I good read on the subject is Diver Down by Ange. I goes through several incidents and explains how a series of events cascade into an emergency and what steps/equipment would have prevented the incident at an early stage. My wife refers to most of my books as "another dive book where somebody dies", but we both burned through it and came away better divers because of it.
the best part was, that after reading it, my wife demanded that I buy more dive gear. I was never more in love.
OP
MeraSonnet
Registered
LOL! Very good!! I love it.
dbulmer
Contributor
To the OP,
The most valuable piece of kit which should be considered very carefully is a second brain in the form of a reliable buddy. If the buddy is not going to be reliable you should dump him/her
Part of the buddy equation includes your ability to perform as a decent buddy. This means practicing some of the skills you learned in class and communicating with your buddy in and outside of the water. With a new buddy be very clear on what you both plan to do in the water in the event of separation, and agree to stay in close proximity. I would suggest you and your buddy each monitor each other's gas supply during the dive - it takes seconds and makes sure there are no nasty surprises.
This will make the dives easier for you and help you to relax provided you and your buddy agree to help each other out. This can sometimes be difficult to achieve in practice which is why you have to be upfront and clear about what you both expect of each other.
I could drone on and on about buddy stuff but my point is that choice of buddy is an important safety factor - you don't want to be over reliant but having someone who shares your expectations can make diving a lot easier.
The most valuable piece of kit which should be considered very carefully is a second brain in the form of a reliable buddy. If the buddy is not going to be reliable you should dump him/her
Part of the buddy equation includes your ability to perform as a decent buddy. This means practicing some of the skills you learned in class and communicating with your buddy in and outside of the water. With a new buddy be very clear on what you both plan to do in the water in the event of separation, and agree to stay in close proximity. I would suggest you and your buddy each monitor each other's gas supply during the dive - it takes seconds and makes sure there are no nasty surprises.
This will make the dives easier for you and help you to relax provided you and your buddy agree to help each other out. This can sometimes be difficult to achieve in practice which is why you have to be upfront and clear about what you both expect of each other.
I could drone on and on about buddy stuff but my point is that choice of buddy is an important safety factor - you don't want to be over reliant but having someone who shares your expectations can make diving a lot easier.
fnfalman
Contributor
DAN has an excellent SMB that has a little pouch containing a light stick, a whistle and a mirror. It's also fat and long for better detection too. I think it even has radar reflecting strips sewn on it.
My only advise is to gear yourself to your dive. Don't take everything with you on every dive.
I only carry SMB and reel if I were to do dives that truly exposes me to getting swept away by the current such as blue water dives at oil rigs or drift diving. Or diving in a lake/river that is heavily trafficked by boats - though most boaters have no understanding of the dive flag or SMB.
My only advise is to gear yourself to your dive. Don't take everything with you on every dive.
I only carry SMB and reel if I were to do dives that truly exposes me to getting swept away by the current such as blue water dives at oil rigs or drift diving. Or diving in a lake/river that is heavily trafficked by boats - though most boaters have no understanding of the dive flag or SMB.
Similar threads
