Slim DSMB or Wide DSMB

[Domovoi]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the responses. It gives me a bit to think about. I'll be primarily diving calmer waters in SD so the slim would probably be the go to. The charters I'd be diving with have plenty of tech divers so there will always be several DSMBs around. I may just go with what divezonescuba said and get one of each (eventually, I still want an AL40). I'll probably end up going slim, AL40, big. The shop will be happy

 

[Blackcrusader]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the responses. It gives me a bit to think about. I'll be primarily diving calmer waters in SD so the slim would probably be the go to. The charters I'd be diving with have plenty of tech divers so there will always be several DSMBs around. I may just go with what divezonescuba said and get one of each (eventually, I still want an AL40). I'll probably end up going slim, AL40, big. The shop will be happy

I use the wide one. It's come in handy as a lift bag when doing clean up dives. I also find that as it is wider I can have a marking on it so that the boat captains or other staff can easily recognize it's mine when several dive boats are in the same area.

 

[happy-diver]

4 ft, sealed, inflate with one breath, easy to store and handle
How many of you have been lost at sea or ever plan to to be
and you can hold it up, and wave it, or conduct an orchestra

So go try inventing something for stuff that actually happens

I got silted out in a wreck today, now that actually happened

 

[kelemvor]

How many of you have been lost at sea or ever plan to to be

I have. The boat came back pretty quick, but it was deeply unsettling when my boat fired up the engine and left (on a night dive). There's a gopro video of the incident somewhere on SB along with my incident report if memory serves.

 

[tursiops]

4 ft, sealed, inflate with one breath, easy to store and handle
How many of you have been lost at sea or ever plan to to be
and you can hold it up, and wave it, or conduct an orchestra

View attachment 587301

So go try inventing something for stuff that actually happens

I got silted out in a wreck today, now that actually happened

Apparently you haven't needed a larger one. Yet.

 

[happy-diver]

Yes having deployed more dsmbs than many, a dive count will ever have
and even used a Diverite blob for a number of years in substantial swells

The secret be don't dive with imbeciles and befriend the crew just in case

 

[divezonescuba]

During my trimix instructor course, we were lost at sea in the Atlantic. The guy who volunteered to shoot the surface marker only had a lift bag. He deployed it immediately after leaving the wreck. Apparently, this was not sufficient for the boat to see and it could not locate us after our deco stops. We were eventually saved by my signal mirror which I directed towards the closest vessel, a fishing boat, a mile away.

My original tec instructor trainer always carried two dsmbs, a lift bag, and three spools/reels on any tec dive. I initially thought that was overboard. Now, I always take at least two dsmbs, two spools, and a reel. I don’t always carry a lift bag.

There is a coast guard video of a group of divers who were rescued in the Atlantic after their boat lost them. They had different sized buoys and you could tell the difference.

 

[rongoodman]

I also find that as it is wider I can have a marking on it so that the boat captains or other staff can easily recognize it's mine when several dive boats are in the same area.

These fit nicely on the skinny Halcyon 6' SMB: SOLAS DSMB Stickers : DiveSigns.com: Reflective hard wearing vinyl stickers for all your diving needs..., Be Seen When It Counts

(FWIW, I have them on a couple of SMBs and a lift bag and just used the adhesive on the back of the label, although the web site also provides instructions for beefing up the installation with AquaSeal or similar.)

 

[meesier42]

I read a review that was done a few years ago (I think it was in Alert Diver, but not sure anymore) that said width was more important than length. At the end their favorite (most visible) was a 6 ft x 6 inch, I think the largest they tested. They also said that the 4 inch ones were very hard to find beyond 1/4 mile. Height made a difference when waves were in play or searching from shore (even small waves affect sight line).

 

[kelemvor]

I read a review that was done a few years ago (I think it was in Alert Diver, but not sure anymore) that said width was more important than length. At the end their favorite (most visible) was a 6 ft x 6 inch, I think the largest they tested. They also said that the 4 inch ones were very hard to find beyond 1/4 mile. Height made a difference when waves were in play or searching from shore (even small waves affect sight line).

Which Delayed Surface Marker Buoy should I choose?