Where to put your SMB

[Wayward Son]

in the long run, death is gonna win.

In the immortal words of surgeon general joycelyn elders:

"You know, senator, we're all probably going to die of something sooner or later."

 

[Wayward Son]

I was with Puff when he bought the pouch. I kinda regret not buying one myself. I'll be back down there in 2 weeks so I may pick one up when I get my tanks filled.

 

[Gdon]

So, where ever you put it. On your BC, in your BC, on your leg, strapped to your face mask..............Make sure you lay hands on it EVERY SINGLE DIVE!

Safe diving,

Ken

Slightly of topic, but if you leave some SMBs rolled up all the time and never use them until you need them you will find that the material sticks to itself in the tube, making it darn hard to inflate.
As for where to stow it, I've never found a location I was really happy with. Thigh pocket is my current arrangment, when I bother to strap it on, which is not as often as it should be.

 

[bigken462]

You're right Gdon, it's only by pure luck the thing worked - considering our luck that day. If you can imagine the cheapest plastic material available and still hold air, that was about what it was. All 6-8' of it - ever how long it was, rolled up tight to about an inch. Looking Back it may have cost 5 bucks. This was back in 04, and had been in my BC for 4-5 years. There was so many red flags flying that should have kept us out of the water, I was must have been total blind by them hitting me in the face. Just too stupid and the time to see what was in front of us till we were in over our heads.

Ken

 

[tibenmiami]

I have my lift bag/ SMB folded for easy deployment in between my backplate and a sleve that is attached to said BP for this very reason.

I have the Oxycheq one, but could not find a picture quickly.

No drag, no danglies, frees up my thigh pocket(s) (which I have on my drysuit, wetsuit, and shorty).

When at sea. How do you deploy it?

 

[FireInMyBones]

When at sea. How do you deploy it?

I reach back, pull it out, attach my reel or spool to it and inflate.

I have a smaller 3.5' long sausage that I have rolled up and pre-attached to a small spool for use in a lake. That goes in my thigh pocket.

My large bag, I keep behind me, as it take up too much space elsewhere (I feel).

 

[jh_MacLeod]

Three divers on the end of it, with 6-8 foot seas...
Ken

I used to carry a compact normal SMB, but after one particularly challenging dive of my own, I decided to start carrying one of the large Carter personal floats. It rolls to a reasonable size, but if I pre-attach the SS spool (as I prefer to do), it makes for a somewhat bulky package. Even then, it can still be easily attached to the bottom of a backplate (or vest, I suppose) with a few bungee loops. It rides between the butt and the tank pretty well.

Then, earlier this year when I was ordering a Dorcy light from Piranha, I stumbled across something they call the Dual Holder Butt Pouch. It was cheap so I gave it a try. The zipper pocket is small (but big enough for a backup light), and I have found the two velcro wraps with cinching straps to be quite versatile. In addition to the float and spool, I am now also able to carry a snorkel and spare mask in the same space. All are accessible quickly, with a little practice; so when I could this summer, I had fun shooting the bag from relatively deep at the end of some dives.

 

[Splitlip]

When at sea. How do you deploy it?

For me:

I carry my (Halcyon DAM) SMB folded "Japanese Fan" style in the pocket behind my back.

The Halcyon closed markers have a length of 1" webbing with a SS bolt snap on the bottom. I clip the bolt snap off to a Manta reel which is clipped off to the base of my plate behind the hip.

To deploy, I unclip the reel and stretch my arm. The SMB is ready to go.

 

[slingshot]

"Butt pouch" eh? I don't like the sound of that!

I keep the 75# Carter personal float rolled up and bungied transversely under the back of my BC, there are holes in the plastic plate of the scubapro knighthawk that I run the bungie through. My wife carries hers vertically along the side like D_Bs picture, but with the bungie running through the side holes of the plate.