An SMB that's not expensive?

[DukeAMO]

My local dive shops has a couple of inflatable signalling devices, but even the less expensive one is like $70 (the other is closer to $90). Why on earth are they so expensive, and is there a cheaper and still good option for boat diving?

I'm thinking maybe we could pick something up used, or buy it for less when we get to Cozumel?

Is a safety sausage enough, assuming we're diving with a divemaster?

 

[Drx6x]

edit not asking for a safty susage:blush:

edit 2: well since everyone here giving you them any way here's what I put originally

This is the one I,m looking to get http://www.diverightinscuba.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2914{4}162 $39.99

 

[fjpatrum]

I bought a 2 meter full-featured (duck bill flip, oral/auto inflator valve and dump valve) Zeagle "Deluxe" one for I think $39, possibly $49. I did buy it online, but the ones in my local shops all cost more and didn't have the duck bill or dump valves. I did buy the reel and snap bolt in my LDS though. That was another $20 for a 100' finger spool with bolt.

EDIT: I can't seem to find the "Deluxe" without the reel and carry bag, though, so it may not be easy to find one at that price point any more. I bought mine about a year ago and I didn't have to get the "package".

2nd EDIT: Here's a link, though I've never used this vendor before...
http://www.pricefalls.com/products/Zeagle-Signal-Tubes/id/36760368

 

[Jim Lapenta]

You should never rely on the Divemaster or their gear for safety. Rely on your own. I sell a 4.5 and 6 ft sausage that can be launched from depth. I have one of the 4.5 's in now for $43.00. Can be inflated orally, with the lp inflator hose, or from the bottom with the octo or exhaled breath. It also has an OPV valve and a small weight sewn in to help it stay upright.

I like a sausage/smb that I can shoot from depth with a spool or small reel. Reason for this is that an SMB is more than something to tell the boat (s) where you are. Used with a reel or spool it also provides, as I teach in my AOW class, a visual and tactile reference for safety or deco stops. There is no need to surface prematurely from a stop using one. You tie a knot in the line at 15 feet or so. Make sure it's fully inflated, and complete your stops knowing that the boat already knows where you are. Whether they care or not is another matter but you have done your part.

A sausage may not always have an OPV (over pressure valve) and shooting it from depth could result in it rupturing if shot from enough depth. I have shot bags from 80 feet just for practice and believe me a little air down there is a lot up top. And you have to ask yourself, is it worth $40-$90 to not be left out in the middle of the ocean because you got separated from the DM and no one can see your head that is up maybe 18" in the 2-3 ft seas? Can happen. My DAN sausage was 45 when I got it 5 years ago. Thought that was alot. Until I was in the water in 4-6 ft seas and knew that if I had to use it it was there. Along with the $70 dive alert I carry on every ocean dive. Cheap at twice the price and I ain't rich by any means.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Lapenta is right again- have your own signally device. Even if you don't get the reel right away, get a sausage you can clip on your bcd, and at least it is there for surface signaling. If you launch it on a reel from depth to tell the boat where you are, be sure that is a prearranged signal so the boat knows that the signal is "I'm here and I am in the process of surfacing." It's nice to do that is you are diving from a boat that is not moored, or if you have drift or are lost and don't know where the boat is. Minimally, get a sausage to clip to your vest, and a whistle. Not too expensive, and not a lot of clutter to be clipped to you while diving. Add as you are able.
DivemasterDennis

 

[DukeAMO]

Sounds like they do always cost a gadzillion dollars, but maybe I can find a used one. We're going to a divers' swap meet this weekend.

 

[Wookie]

The SMB is a safety device that allows the boat driver to find you in rough seas, or into the sun, or even on calm days when you aren't where he expects you to be (or he isn't where you expect him to be). It is not an optional piece of equipment, especially for drift diving in Coz, it is mandatory, just as important as your dive computer. Knowledge in it's proper use is also mandatory.

Why do you want to buy some old faded SMB with a hole in it? Isn't seeing your kids again worth it? You're complaining about 90 bucks when you just laid down a grand or more for a weeks diving in Coz? Is there something wrong with the way I'm thinking? This isn't a cheap sport. Go buy the bag and get some training in how to use it before your trip.

 

[RIteen]

Newbie question here, while the post is active (save me from making one with this later!): What is the difference between one of these and one of those buoys? Does one of these replace the other, or is one for shore whereas the other is for ocean?

I do second the above point however that $90 isn't all that much in comparison to a funeral, or even getting an hand sewn back on, due to being run over by the screw of the inferenced boat.

 

[MarineResearch]

A safety sausage and finger spool is cheap insurance. It beats getting hit by a boat or lost at sea. I also carry a signal mirror, strobe and some sort of noise maker. The signal mirror has my personal information on the back side in case someone finds my carcass floating around somewhere. All can be had for a lot less than a gadzillion dollars.

Added: I see good quality safety sausages and SMBs all over the internet for a lot less than $90. Google is your friend (and your local dive shop's worst enemy).

 

[Wookie]

Newbie question here, while the post is active (save me from making one with this later!): What is the difference between one of these and one of those buoys? Does one of these replace the other, or is one for shore whereas the other is for ocean?

I do second the above point however that $90 isn't all that much in comparison to a funeral, or even getting an hand sewn back on, due to being run over by the screw of the inferenced boat.

The buoy is dragged in places like Florida where a surface marker is required by law for the entire dive. An SMB is an inflatable marker that is sent up to mark the position of the diver for the boat driver so he knows where the diver is, and so he can warn off other boats that a diver is preparing to surface. It is often deployed from safety stop depth. For divers doing a drifting decompression stop/rocedure, it is deployed at the first deco stop/gas switch or if current is high, deployed from the bottom as soon as divers leave the dive site.