I recently purchased this OMS 5' 2" Long Surface Marker Buoy with 30 lb. Lift smb from leisure pro. Anyone have any input on how good this is. I plan on using it for my advanced class.
SMB Opinions
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Dr Wu
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Bigger is better, especially if you need it for a boat to find you. I carry a Dive Rite 6' yellow SMB, and a 3' one that came with my BC.
I prefer the bigger one not only because of its visibility, but because it has an open bottom that can be inflated by purging your reg or exhaling into it. I can also push my inflator hose into it as well. But when working with thick dry gloves it is easier to purge the reg into the bottom.
I prefer the bigger one not only because of its visibility, but because it has an open bottom that can be inflated by purging your reg or exhaling into it. I can also push my inflator hose into it as well. But when working with thick dry gloves it is easier to purge the reg into the bottom.
I think it depends on your location ... likely conditions and just where you might be swept off/out toBut is it better?
Seriously - how big is too big, what's too small . . . How much is the answer to that location specific?
a smaller one for local use near shore and in populated areas where there is little risk might be OK, ... but it might be good to look into that 10foot one if your likely to swept out to the middle of nowhere, far from shipping
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If you're going to shoot it from underwater, the smaller SMBs are easier to shoot.
It's also nice for calm water.
However if you're going to be anywhere that's either remote or has can have a stiff current that heads out to the open ocean, I'd also carry a big one to inflate on the surface.
I carry my small Carter (maybe 6') everywhere, but also bring the big one (9'+ whenever I'm on the ocean). It still fits in a pocket, and if you find yourself on the surface with no boat, there's no such thing as "too big".
Don't forget to bring an extra double-ended clip or two. If you inflate the SMB on the surface and clip off your weights, you'll be nice and buoyant and the bag will stand itself up.
Terry
I figure this one is relatively okay. Most of my dives are gonna be close to shore and a couple off the boat every so often. This thread has been up for almost two months. I'm glad it's finally getting decent responses to my question
If you can, borrow some SMB's to practice on until you figure out what you want. I went through a few too many SMB's before I discovered what worked best for my style of diving. For me, the majority of my dives are tropical reef dives where I frequently end my dive in the shallows. My main concern is overhead boat traffic, so i wanted an SMB that was easy to launch from 5 meters. After trying several, i've settled on a 3' halcyon closed circuit oral inflate. Its only a few kilos of lift making one breath sufficient, and orally inflating means your buoyancy isn't changing, very easy to shoot from 5m. The bad news is that its not particularly large and the lift isn't enough to hang on, you can easily pull it back down.
I also carry a 6' x 8" Oh #@$@ bag in case i'm far from the boat. I have thought of replacing it with an OMS 10 or 16 footer. The 30-40lb+ SMB's I find are best launched from below 10 meters.
I also carry a 6' x 8" Oh #@$@ bag in case i'm far from the boat. I have thought of replacing it with an OMS 10 or 16 footer. The 30-40lb+ SMB's I find are best launched from below 10 meters.
As your location isn't indicated, it's hard to say if this is sufficient for your needs. Much depends upon the waves that you have in your local area. I use a 10' sausage that sometimes can't be seen because of wave action, so it really depends on the conditions that are present. If you're in calm water, this may be suffieient for your purposes.
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