Safety sausages and other essential safety gear

[Edward3c]

I use a regular snorkel attached to my mask. When I started diving the two things you never went in the water without were a snorkel and a knife. Both are easy to carry and too useful to leave behind.

Dido. The snorkel has never got in my way. On the surface if I want (not need) it its there ready to use.

 

[Shark Diver Girl 1]

Safety sausage is a must, and a whistle doesn't hurt to try to get attention of a boat looking in the wrong direction.
One thing I also learned was to carry an old CD or DVD to reflect the light during the day. This can help reflect the sun and pinpoint your position. Flashlights are good for night, but since most of our dives are during the day, a CD is a great tool and fits in most BC pockets or can attach in safe place.

 

[nimoh]

I use a regular snorkel attached to my mask. When I started diving the two things you never went in the water without were a snorkel and a knife. Both are easy to carry and too useful to leave behind.

I don't think I would consider a snorkel a safety device, although I agree it can be useful for such things as a surface swim over kelp where you need to swim face down to avoid getting your valves tangled.

 

[RSBERG]

These are all good things but in my opinion a light is great when twilight or night diving in place of the mirror and a reel for a newer diver may not be a wise decision but a SMB is always a great peace of safety gear to always bring a cutting gear I think until they are comfortable should be a pair of scissors or a line cutter until they get more seasoned

 

[wetfox]

You got good advice from the earlier folks. Just a thought of my own to add. Unless you get training on deploying a lift bag (or similar SMB), I definitely recommend using a simple safety sausage. Get a highly visible color (neon orange or yellow). Try for one at least six feet high. This gives you visibility at the surface and avoids the expense and sometimes problems with reels. A small mirror is useful for signaling, but practice using it on land. A whistle is fine, but for drift diving, you might want something more substantial, like an air horn that can be attached to your low pressure inflator hose--though if you go to blow one of these, keep your head underwater to protect your ears from the very loud sound.

 

[TMHeimer]

I don't think I would consider a snorkel a safety device, although I agree it can be useful for such things as a surface swim over kelp where you need to swim face down to avoid getting your valves tangled.

I'm trying to get a foldable snorkel. Snorkel: 85% convenience (in choppy seas/big waves), 15% safety. How about that?

 

[ronscuba]

I was thinking if I ever were out drifting away in the sea, I definitely want my snorkel and also a hat. Not too hard to carry those 2 items in addition to the usual stuff everyone else is mentioning.

 

[Bentley Hamm]

I have thought about the whistle, and I am not sold on it being all that useful. I mean, if a boat is close enough to hear the whistle, wouldn't they be close enough to see the smb, or mirror?

Does anyone have a particular scenario where it would be crucial to carry a whistle. Obviously, it is not a big device, and can fit in a pocket out of the way quite easily, but I prefer to carry only equipment I need (or might need).

How is this for a whistle/dive alert siren scenario must...

You descend and have a wonderful dive, nice wreck, lots of critters, easy, no issues... perfect safety stop...nice casual ascent to an absolutely perfect fog bank! You can't see 5 feet!...yes it has happened to me! Trust me, you REALLY want one then.

Open water essentials:
*SMB 4-4.5' is sufficient. Spool/Reel with 50' of line. The skill to deploy, even at depth. 6' SMB is unnecessary, unless your in really big seas - this isn't usually OW, it's tech, at that point handling the big one isn't an issue
*noise maker; whistle, dive alert, siren, etc.
*mirror
*cutting device (multiple is better) I bring 1 knife, 1 trilobite
*at least one light, with fresh batteries! (I always have 2)
*redundant gas supply (reliable buddy or stage bottle, double tanks...not a spare air!)
*somebody that is aware of your plan to notify emergency response personnel if you are overdue


Non essentials, but I bring if I have pockets/space
*back up mask
*cutting shears
*wet notes, contains tables to back up computer(I always have a wrist slate)
*back up spool with 150' line

 

[Agility]

DAN has an excellent SMB that has a little pouch containing a light stick, a whistle and a mirror. It's also fat and long for better detection too. I think it even has radar reflecting strips sewn on it.

Yes the DAN SMB is radar reflecting, which is why I got it after using a cheap plastic SMB for a while before.
It is rather awkward to stow away in a pocket as it does not roll up as small as my old one, but it can be inflated orally, with a LP-hose or with an octopus. I store it attached to a 20m spool with 15m of caveline on it. I find it much easier to send it up from 10m than from 5m and if it does not fully inflate on its way up, I can still add air when I arrive at the surface.

 

[Rich Keller]

I'm trying to get a foldable snorkel. Snorkel: 85% convenience (in choppy seas/big waves), 15% safety. How about that?

Try staying afloat for a long period of time without a working BCD and a torn dry suit, you will see that a snorkel is more then 15% safety. It is so simple, easy to carry and virtually fail proof. Not to mention how much air it can save you on the surface. My preference is to depend as little as possible on my equipment working in order to keep me alive. This thinking extends to just about every area, for example dry suits, I use only neoprene dry suits so in the event of a tear the suit still has fail proof buoyancy built in that the other suits do not have. Even with a torn suit and a failed BCD I can drop enough weight to stay afloat. Weight belts are another example, I put all the weight on my belt, nothing integrated and the belt is the last thing I put on so in an emergency I can drop that fast and easy with just one pull. I know these seem like minor things but in the event that every mechanical piece of equipment I have fails at the same time I am still coming home that day because there is fail proof redundancy built into just about everything.