SMB recommendation and newbie thoughts.

[fuzzybabybunny]

As I dive more I get more and more nervous about not having an SMB. If I understand correctly, an SMB can act like a safety sausage, but a safety sausage can't act like an SMB because the sausage is meant for inflation at the surface. The SMB on the other hand can be inflated both above and below the surface, and be used for signaling should I get separated or lost at sea.

In this respect, is there an SMB that has:

1. at least 5' in length/height
2. lead weight at the bottom to help it stand up on its own
3. loop at the bottom for clipping onto line
4. oral inflate
5. LP inflator
6. thingy at the top for mounting a glow stick or other device
7. overpressure relief valve
8. yellow or orange with radar reflecting tape
9. durable, good for repeated use

 

[iztok]

HOG fits all but radar reflecting tape part.

 

[rongoodman]

Other than the lead weight, the Halcyon SMBs fit your criteria.

 

[Dhboner]

The DAN smb is really good (in my humble opinion).

Bob

 

[Peter_C]

This thread was started by another local diver.

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

No need for the weight on the bottom! By having enough air in your SMB and with keeping good line tension you SMB will float properly at the surface!

I'm with Rongoodman, the Halcyon SMB is probably the best on the market and the 6' Super Big Diver's Alert Marker (14.030.050) closed circuit what all my NE Wreck divers use.

Halcyon Surface Marker Buoy's 14.002 *Buy Halcyon at DIVESEEKERS.com 888-SCUBA-47

 

[Splitlip]

+2 For the Halcyon.

 

[Scott]

+2 for the DAN DSMB

 

[aquaregia]

From my extremely limited experience and research, it seems like there are a couple reasons to have an SMB, and often the requirements conflict.

1. As a marker tube for lost-at-sea situations, something large and visible is required.

2. As an ascent line, something small enough to be easily inflated at depth is required. This is obviously dependent on the depth that you're setting it off at; consider that a breath is unlikely to provide more than 10# of lift. I was entirely unable to successfully fill my 40# SMB at 35' despite many strange and perhaps dangerous tricks (deflate BCD, breathe into bag, etc, release bag, inflate BC, etc).

 

[watboy]

As others have mentioned, SMB and surface signaling may have different requirements depending on your dives. I for the longest time was trying to find the perfect SMB for my diving but ended up getting 2. I carry a 3' Halcyon which is i think 8lbs of lift, that I can easily shoot from 5 meters. My diving is mostly tropical reef diving and my main concern when launching an SMB is overhead boat traffic. In addition, i carry a 6' foot halcyon which is much larger for surface signalling. As an SMB, it has some 40lbs of lift and I need to be below 10 meters to launch it. Be wary of the tall thin one's, I found a saeko dive SMB which was 6', but narrow and less lift. I thought it would be easy to launch from 5 meters but tall enough for surface signalling. Ended up that when wet, it wasn't strong enough to stay rigid and would flop over, making it a useless for surface signaling.

As I dive more I get more and more nervous about not having an SMB. If I understand correctly, an SMB can act like a safety sausage, but a safety sausage can't act like an SMB because the sausage is meant for inflation at the surface. The SMB on the other hand can be inflated both above and below the surface, and be used for signaling should I get separated or lost at sea.

In this respect, is there an SMB that has:

1. at least 5' in length/height
2. lead weight at the bottom to help it stand up on its own
3. loop at the bottom for clipping onto line
4. oral inflate
5. LP inflator
6. thingy at the top for mounting a glow stick or other device
7. overpressure relief valve
8. yellow or orange with radar reflecting tape
9. durable, good for repeated use