What is too much safety !!!

[DaleC]

You can really read your time, depth and hold stops with no mask ?!

Nope, I've tried but I can't. I do however, do shallow dives studying flora and fauna (like my last lake dive 52 minutes at 14 feet). On those occasions I find I can forgo the 3 minute 15 foot SS and ascend directly. As for the other dives that require reading guages etc... you are right. I would either want a buddy I could trust or a b/u mask (or both).

 

[tahoe_diver78]

That noob is the kind of person who would go hiking out in the wilderness and wonder why he can't get a cell signal when a grizzy is charging him down. It all comes down to self rescue. I have been out with other divers who like to "keep it simple" but lack the neccesary skills and equipment to get themself out of a predicament or help anyone else for that matter. Granted, there comes a point where there is too much gear, but that is up to the individual and their anticipated needs. We wouldn't need tech gear for a 20ft lake.
If being overprepared were a crime, then who would need an instructor? We would just go and figure it out underwater not understanding why I feel the urge to drink seawater at 150ft.

 

[Katamuki]

I disagree about the shaker, I use one on every dive it seems to get someones attention. I guide off a boat for the most part with the occassional shore and night thrown in about 50-65 dives a month and am constantly using it to get people together.

In addition to what others have listed I also carry a lift bag and reel along with SMBs and spools. The lift bag is for my camera rig if things go wrong and I can send it up for the boat to pick up. I also use the lift bag with the reel to shoot a depth line during blue water drifts on occasion. Many people find it difficult to keep a constant depth when there are no visual cues and it helps to hang the reel body at whatever depth I want and then when ascending to use it to control the ascent rate and times. It is very difficult at times to dive with tourists who have varied experience levels (most of which lie about it or at least bend the truth). On more than one time I have also handed the reel off to someone who has sketchy skills as an aid and this does wonders to calm people down. If you havent done wide open blue water drifts with big critters thrown in then its hard to understand how wierded out people can get.

Cutters, Storm whistles etc are the standard as well. The only other thing I bring along on these dives is a DM assistant who acts like a sheep dog half the time.

 

[FredGarvin]

Another thought...

Most extra scuba gear, particularly safety gear, is attached to B.C. webbing especially if diving a back inflate or wing. The gear tends to dangle, flop around and is easily noticed. If your extra gear were hidden in either a jacket B.C. or an add-on pocket to a back inflate then less jerks would see the gear to make a comment. Honestly, who cares what you bring underwater? What difference does it make to them? As long as it is not overtly dangerous to either you, your buddy or other divers then what's the big deal? As I have said before, only divers feel compelled to comment on other's personal choices in dive gear. Have you ever seen a skier stop mid-mountain to cajole another skier - a total stranger I might add - about their choice in boots, skis or clothing?

I once had a diver - or shall I say "putz" in the language of the elders - ask why I was carrying a leg mounted small knife on a tropical dive. He asked if I were intending to fight off sharks. I said "Yes, you are absolutely right! And I use it to gut annoying divers who ask me stupid questions too!".

Garv

 

[orange_diver]

is this too much?

 

[DaleC]

Too much is never enough.

Have you been assimulated into the Borg collective?

 

[tahoe_diver78]

Resistance is futile, Locutus.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

 

[shoredivr]

Maxbottomtime, what's the origin of that photo? I see it a lot but don't know where to find it, or the story behind it.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

http://www.penetrators.nl/extra/WHAT IS A STROKE - by George Irvine.doc