DIR- Generic SMB/Lift Bag, what are you packing?

[Kevin Floyd]

My first technical instructor had me get the big Hollis SMB, not sure of its lift but more than 3 or 4x my original SMB. It’s a little big to get completely full on one breath from less than 40ft during shallow training but easily done at 80+ on a real deco assent.

Right now it’s to only piece of gear I don’t have a back up for, unless you count the little one I started with. Before I go get a second one I was wondering what everyone else carries.

plus what our your thoughts on colors?

 

[ls23]

I carry a 3ft SMB on lake dives and a 6ft one on ocean dives. Both are orange.

 

[Ayisha]

A 1m/3',3" closed circuit, orange DSMB with an Over Pressure Valve, and a thumb spool.

 

[PfcAJ]

6’ wide halcyon smb.

the little 3ft ones are for class, but aren’t great for being spotted.

 

[Kevin Floyd]

Does anyone carry a backup?

 

[Matan]

The 1m (3.3ft) for beach shallow diving (max depth 9m 30ft) when sea is calm.
Deeper stuff the super slim 1.8m - however it does have a tiny issue when it's windy since it's quite thin so it bends.
The "old" 1.4m wide SMB is really the best but harder to inflate fully w/o drysuit (which is half a year here) - I need two blows to it and the second one includes finning to stay down when diving w/o a drysuit.



Matan.

 

[barth]

Does anyone carry a backup?

Everyone in the team has a smb. We only use one smb during the dive. If everyone has a smb I don’t need a backup.

 

[PfcAJ]

Does anyone carry a backup?

Depends.

fast moving deep dive out in the ocean far from shore? You bet.


30’ reef bumble? Nah.

 

[macado]

I gravitate between 3' and 6' SMBs depending on sea conditions / how far offshore I am. I personally like the 3' ones because they're compact and fit my drysuit pockets pre-rigged with a spool or reel but I know they're not always optimal for being seen in bad conditions.

Another thing for me is the 3' can actually be pulled back underwater. (Aborted ascent/found buddy or found boat/anchor and going back down). I realize this scenario is pretty rare but I'm just giving an example.

For deeper / offshore dives I always have a backup SMB or liftbag in lieu of an SMB. In some cases the boat captain may want every diver to shoot a bag so they can count everyone and make sure everyone has left the wreck and is together.

Another thing to consider is that some places may use color codes. For example orange means everything is ok (normal) or I ****** up and lost line but I'm fine. Yellow means emergency, something went wrong. I would expect to see a note on SMB possibly or perhaps a safety bottle dropped or somebody gearing up to get in the water. This is not universal and may vary by boat, region, and/or your diving group. Our group uses this for technical dives as a way of communicating we need help vs everything being ok. If I see a yellow bag with my teammates I would start to get concerned.

Mine are all closed bottom with an OPV and can be inflated with a QC connector or one way baffle in bottom. I really hate open bottom bags/SMBs.

 

[Kevin Floyd]

I gravitate between 3' and 6' SMBs depending on sea conditions / how far offshore I am. I personally like the 3' ones because they're compact and fit my drysuit pockets pre-rigged with a spool or reel but I know they're not always optimal for being seen in bad conditions.

Another thing for me is the 3' can actually be pulled back underwater. (Aborted ascent/found buddy or found boat/anchor and going back down). I realize this scenario is pretty rare but I'm just giving an example.

For deeper / offshore dives I always have a backup SMB or liftbag in lieu of an SMB. In some cases the boat captain may want every diver to shoot a bag so they can count everyone and make sure everyone has left the wreck and is together.

Another thing to consider is that some places may use color codes. For example orange means everything is ok (normal) or I ****** up and lost line but I'm fine. Yellow means emergency, something went wrong. I would expect to see a note on SMB possibly or perhaps a safety bottle dropped or somebody gearing up to get in the water. This is not universal and may vary by boat, region, and/or your diving group. Our group uses this for technical dives as a way of communicating we need help vs everything being ok. If I see a yellow bag with my teammates I would start to get concerned.

Mine are all closed bottom with an OPV and can be inflated with a QC connector or one way baffle in bottom. I really hate open bottom bags/SMBs.

This is what I was taught. Colors are not universal but generally yellow is considered bad.