New Diver Advice- How much gear to dive with? Too-much / Too-little?

[UnderWaterFlyerGuy]

I'm a new diver that will be doing spearfishing in a month or so.

I'm doing research on gear, and how much to go into the water with:
Besides basic scuba: mask, wetsuit, BC-tank, dive computer, speargun, stringer, gloves etc...

This is some of the spearfishing gear I'm thinking of going into the water with, boat dive 80-100 ft:
Safety-sausage (yellow/orange)
debating to use reel and string on safety sausage, to raise at 20ft safety stop.

stiletto dive knife- strapped inside calf
second dive knife- in BC pocket
Signal Mirror- in BC pocket
Storm whistle- in BC pocket
EMT scissors- in BC pocket

Loose stuff: (too much?)
flashlight- on retractable tether
underwater writing pad- on retractable tether
green laser pointer- on retractable tether

I've thought this to be good stuff, but how much is too much / too little?

 

[DevonDiver]

Safety-sausage (yellow/orange)
debating to use reel and string on safety sausage, to raise at 20ft safety stop.

A good option. A small (1m/3.3ft) DSMB is a useful addition. If diving in choppy waters, or if being swept away from boat/shore is a real danger, then a larger DSMB may be necessary.

It pays to have the option to deploy it early (from safety stop or before), as you can drift a long way on ascent. For this, a 30-40m finger reel is sufficient and economical.

stiletto dive knife- strapped inside calf

Pointless, unless you really just want to live out a James Bond fantasy. A knife on your calf is difficult to access by either hand, and a long way from immediate arms reach.

Not sure why you'd want a stiletto either?!

second dive knife- in BC pocket

Inside the BC pocket is not really a quick/convenient deployment either. Again, not convenient to access with either hand. You can get options that affix to the outside of the BCD, onto a waist strap or even onto the LPI hose.

Criteria for your primary emergency knife could be:

1) Located in the centreline of the torse, for easy access with either hand.
2) Small size and always sharp (titanium is a good option for this).
3) Secure sheath, that will not accidentally lose your knife (many of the plastic quick-release sheaths are far from secure enough).

Signal Mirror- in BC pocket

Yep, this is fine.

Storm whistle- in BC pocket

Consider affixing it to the LPI hose, or onto a d-ring at your shoulder. If you ever need it, the whistle will be urgently needed and you are quite likely to be exhausted and/or in trouble at the surface. Having to dig it out of your pocket in those circumstances is hardly ideal.

EMT scissors- in BC pocket

Yep, these can be stored away. Depending on your model of BCD, the pocket storage can still be far from convenient access. Also question whether you could swiftly access the scissors with either hand.

flashlight- on retractable tether

Retractable tethers add a lot of 'mess' to your configuration. Why not just use a simple bolt-clip. It's either secured, or in your hand. Don't drop it. Simple.

underwater writing pad- on retractable tether

Again, why the retractable tether? Put it in your pocket. Get it out when you need it. Simple.

If a slate won't fit in your BCD pocket, then consider the design of slate that you want. I use a multi-page, flip-chart style slate which is only 3" by 4". I also use wetnotes. Both are far more useful and convenient that a giant tablet of floating plastic...

green laser pointer- on retractable tether

So many tethers! Like a christmas tree covered in silly string!

Put it onto a small bolt-snap and clip it away in a pocket. A well designed BCD should have internal D-rings in the pocket. A good tip is to tie a circle of bungee cord to that d-ring. All your items have bolt clips and are attached to the bungee cord. When you need an item, pull out the cord, select what you want, then return the rest to the pocket. Nothing lost, no scrabbling in a pocket to locate items by feel alone...

how much is too much / too little?

Novice divers can have a tendancy to wish to transfer the contents of their local dive shop onto their BCD, often by way of riddiculous elastic and spring contraptions.

What does any responsible diver need?

A DSMB and reel
A torch
A cutting device.

Some divers may opt for redundancy of those items, but that is only necessary if there is a particularly high risk.

i.e....

Divers in overhead environments need redundant light sources. Night divers don't.
Divers in kelp forests and wrecks need redundant cutting devices. General open water divers don't.
Divers in high current, choppy conditions, or remote locations need extra size and/or redundant DSMBs. Other divers don't.

Tips:

Conduct a common-sense risk assessment to determine what you need. Differentiate your needs from your wants.

Get what you need and dive. See if you need more. Only then, get more.

Stow all your emergency gear bearing in mind that you would be needing it in an emergency. Test your stowage to ensure that you can access it with either hand, under the worst conditions, quickly and without confusion.

Bear in mind that too much clutter can be just as detrimental to an emergency situations as too little equipment. With regards to emergency preparation; adhere to the motto K.I.S.S.

Put some thought into your kit configuration as a total functional system.

Avoid, at all costs, turning yourself into a floating christmas tree. At the very least, you will get laughed at.

 

[UnderWaterFlyerGuy]

Thanks for the info DevonDiver!
I appreciate the time and effort!

I'm studying the info now.
I appreciate the ability to learn from your experiance rather that by doing it the hard way.

Knife: I love the James Bond comment. Someone mentined that a calf was a good spot, but now that you mention it, I'll be looking at the other options.
Primary on BCD front straps, and backup on hose...
Stiletto- I'll be spearfishing, and I understand that I'll need the sharp point to do what is called "dispatching".

Scissors: I read that they are gaining popularity, I found a decent pair for cheap.. I'm not sure if they are worth bringing into the water.

Whistle: great comment! Thanks. I've done the exhausted thing before...

Tethers: good point, what I thought was a neat idea, was turning into a tangled mess...
I just had a horrible flashback to a scene in an Inspector gadget cartoon...!
Cool: I like the D-ring Bungee> snap ring > pocket idea.
I just got a few double-ended brass and carabiner snap clips.

BC's: I'm kinda stuck with rental Jacket style BC's for now because my scuba budget is kinda thin right now. I'm trying to put something together that might work with the different rentals I might get stuck with. Although I am finding bits of information on how to get an economical / decent backplate system...

Yep: I was on the way to fulfilling your prophecy: "Novice divers can have a tendancy to wish to transfer the contents of their local dive shop onto their BCD, often by way of riddiculous elastic and spring contraptions... and getting laghed at"

That's why I posted this. Trying to be thoughtful.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Some great input there from DevonDiver, but may I add one more comment?

As a new diver, before you jump right into spearfishing, why not take a little time to work on being a really good diver as far as skills, buoyancy, and comfort are concerned? Everything after that will be so much better and more fun. And the reef and everything else underwater will be appreciative of your skills too!

And finally, regarding the "dispatching", aim better!

 

[Broct]

Some great input there from DevonDiver, but may I add one more comment?

As a new diver, before you jump right into spearfishing, why not take a little time to work on being a really good diver as far as skills, buoyancy, and comfort are concerned? Everything after that will be so much better and more fun. And the reef and everything else underwater will be appreciative of your skills too!

And finally, regarding the "dispatching", aim better!

Good advise on the Buoyancy skills, but you might want to slowly introduce those items into your dives. It wasn't clear if you were adding all the items at once or not. Lastly the bolt-snaps are really easy to secure your gear.

Good luck

 

[UnderWaterFlyerGuy]

Thanks for the great advice and info guys.

I responded and edited a few times to DevonDiver while you guys added info.

Great help, Thanks.

I like the idea of learning from my mistakes on this forum, rather than on a boat, or under the water. :shocked2:

 

[MuddyRubberDuck]

Spearfishing is what I spend most of my time doing. 

My knife is a stilleto type attached to bc around the left weight pocket. 

I do use a retractor for my light. I know the DIR guys hate them but the fact is, I have left a few on the bottom while I was pulling grouper from underneath ledges. 

The safety sausage is a great idea. I use a mono line with quick release on my speargun so I tend to just un-clip it from the shaft and float mine in my shooting line. I find it easier than dealing with spools and reels. 

The whistle should be attached to your LPI like devondiver said. When Spearfishing, you tend to travel a distance so the whistle is good to get the boats attention. 

The mirror, sheers, slate and what not. Take it if you want. For me, it's not very useful. 
1. My mask has mirrored lenses so don't need the mirror. 
2 my knife does all the cutting I need
3. I can't think of a situation where I wanted to pull out a slate and tell someone to shoot my fish. And if they do get in the way, the middle finger is a sufficient form of communication. Lol 
As for the laser. See number 3 about pointing out your fish. They will have plenty of time to see them on your stringer. 

If I am spearing in west palm, I like to take a couple lift bags. The bull sharks they grow down there aren't the most polite species on the planet. 

Ps. Sorry for any spelling or grammar. Darn iPhones.