derwoodwithasherwood
Contributor
After reading so much about the value of an SMB here I decided to add one to my kit. I bought the only one at the LDS. Yellow with "Diver Below" in bold red print, 5', made by Trident of the same vinyl stuff used for kid's swim toys I think. It has a small weight to supposedly keep it upright on the surface and the bottom is supposed to fold over and secure with rubber domes to keep it inflated while allowing excess air out on the way up. On the principle of "practice makes perfect" I decided to try it out yesterday.
What an excercise in frustration that turned out to be. 5 mil neoprene gloves were not designed to separate two pieces of wet vinyl. I read here about using the BC exhaust for the initial fill and figured that was a good cheat but the "funnel" on the bottom of this SMB is pretty short and small in diameter. A full press of the button just resulted in air bubbles burbling all around and escaping to the surface. A partial press of the button resulted in air leaking out around the button shaft and escaping to the surface. After several cycles of letting the air out of the BC and then adding air to recover my bouyancy I finally had just enough air in this thing so it floated upright and I decided to switch to the octo. That's when I looked up and saw this 3 lb bass sitting there a couple of feet away, staring at me, as if to say "What the sam heck are you up to now, buddy?"
Octo mouthpiece wouldn't fit. Tried holding it beneath and j-u-s-t teasing the purge button to release some air. Air just filled the "funnel" without going in the bag, with the excess spilling over to the surface. I had to poke the air in with a finger. I finally got enough air in that I could no longer keep myself from rising and I let it go, fumbling around for the inflator when I discovered a big breath just wasn't going to cut it this time.
By now I swear that damn bass was laughing at me. No doubt I was a great source of amusement in an otherwise dreary day -- bobbing up and down trying (and failing miserably) to maintain a hover. He swam over to the line just above me and examined it, shaking his head in disbelief. Either that or he was shaking his head in disgust at the silt I'd managed to stir up in my efforts. Dropping my head in shame I began my ascent, reeling in the line as I went. He followed, mocking me all the way up with his unblinking stare.
I surfaced, expecting to see this proud yellow tube sticking straight up announcing my impending arrival to the world. Instead I discovered this half-limp plastic tube folded over and laying on the water. What a disappointment after all that effort. And in front of an audience at that.
Obviously this thing is going to require a bit more practice...
What an excercise in frustration that turned out to be. 5 mil neoprene gloves were not designed to separate two pieces of wet vinyl. I read here about using the BC exhaust for the initial fill and figured that was a good cheat but the "funnel" on the bottom of this SMB is pretty short and small in diameter. A full press of the button just resulted in air bubbles burbling all around and escaping to the surface. A partial press of the button resulted in air leaking out around the button shaft and escaping to the surface. After several cycles of letting the air out of the BC and then adding air to recover my bouyancy I finally had just enough air in this thing so it floated upright and I decided to switch to the octo. That's when I looked up and saw this 3 lb bass sitting there a couple of feet away, staring at me, as if to say "What the sam heck are you up to now, buddy?"
Octo mouthpiece wouldn't fit. Tried holding it beneath and j-u-s-t teasing the purge button to release some air. Air just filled the "funnel" without going in the bag, with the excess spilling over to the surface. I had to poke the air in with a finger. I finally got enough air in that I could no longer keep myself from rising and I let it go, fumbling around for the inflator when I discovered a big breath just wasn't going to cut it this time.
By now I swear that damn bass was laughing at me. No doubt I was a great source of amusement in an otherwise dreary day -- bobbing up and down trying (and failing miserably) to maintain a hover. He swam over to the line just above me and examined it, shaking his head in disbelief. Either that or he was shaking his head in disgust at the silt I'd managed to stir up in my efforts. Dropping my head in shame I began my ascent, reeling in the line as I went. He followed, mocking me all the way up with his unblinking stare.
I surfaced, expecting to see this proud yellow tube sticking straight up announcing my impending arrival to the world. Instead I discovered this half-limp plastic tube folded over and laying on the water. What a disappointment after all that effort. And in front of an audience at that.
Obviously this thing is going to require a bit more practice...
I agree with soggy - get a decent one, I've seen the trident and borrowed a Halcyon - they make a really nice dsmb. I use a smb from 
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