Every Dive Carry - what gear do you bring on every dive?

[MB NZ]

• PLB/canister
• DSMB/spool
• Line cutter
• Spare computer
• Compass

• Pony when solo diving

• Hunting gear for specific dives
• Photography gear for specific dives

I used to carry a spare mask all the time, but as my diving has got less adventurous, I'll often skip it.

 

[Fastmarc]

Tropical diver.

Dive pouch:

• Dive alert
• Gloves
• Jon line
• Snorkel
• whistle

DSMB & Spool
Flashlight CX1
Knife
Line cutter
Shear
Redundant Air Supply (pony: AL19)
Wrist slate
Dive computer

 

[Subcooled]

I've been reflecting a bit on what I take into the water (and also on how I can pare down what I bring so I can use my travel BCD more often which doesn't have anywhere near as much space in it) and I thought it might be interesting to see what folks bring with them on dives. I couldn't see a similar thread, but happy for this to be merged if my search skills failed.

The goal here is to exclude all gear without which a dive wouldn't typically be carried out (regulator, mask, fins, BCD, exposure protection, dive computer, save a dive kit) and only list off what could be considered supplemental gear - cutting devices, lights, emergency signalling equipment etc.

I'm not really sure where this thread will go, hopefully not into a flame war, but I would be interested to get a sense of what divers bring in the water every time. I'm going to split my own list into "always" and "sometimes" and list out the conditions for the sometimes. and before I get accused of being a Christmas tree diver, all of this fits in my BCD pockets, with the exception of the primary dive light which I have on my left shoulder D-ring snugged down with some bungee). That said, happy to take critique if people think this is overkill - I tend to subscribe to the "better to have it and not need it" approach.

Always:

• Spare mask
• DSMB, spool w/ 50ft of line, double-ender
• Primary light (Kraken NR-1500)
• Tiny backup light (XTAR D20) - in case of emergency for signalling or if primary fails/someone needs a light
• Signal mirror and storm whistle
• Wetnotes and pencil
• PLB (ACR ResQLink)
• Eezycut trilobyte
• Trauma shears
• GoPro (only take it out if something rare or interesting happens)

Sometimes:

• Wide-angle video light Big Blue AL2600 (nice to have for night dives or fill in light for shooting)

Your list is a long one.

Short answer:

1) a dive knife with a serrated edge (unclean dive sites)
2) a backup mask (cold water)

Long answer:

I will ALWAYS carry a proper short but robust dive knife with a serrated edge. Not a smooth one, but a serrated one. Those work better. I do not trust line cutters alone. One of those failed me once as the thing I tried to cut was harder than the razor blade. It would really suck to get stuck on the bottom. Sometimes you might even want to carry a wire cutter, but some sort of robust cutting device is a must in my opinion. I have to admit that at least once I forgot my knife, and I was in rapidly flowing water very much wanting to cut my safety rope. Oh, well... Knives <3

Another thing that I ALWAYS carry with me is a spare mask. The water here is +4 Celcius, so diving without a mask is quite unpleasant.

A good dive light is great, but not required in good visibility. A dive computer is only required if bottom depth, amount of gas, difficulty of assessing ascent speed, or repetitive diving give cause to DCI. While I almost always carry a bottom timer or a depth gauge (my dive computer is broken), there are times when I do not.

Now, in cave diving, I will ALWAYS carry enough redundant light, cutting devices, and a safety spool.

As you can see, the minimum equipment really depends on the site, but will always include a good cutting tool and things that guarantee a safe return.

I do not dive in oceans. If you need ocean diving equipment, then please listen to ocean divers. I can only tell you what you need in a cave or in a local underwater dump.

 

[Subcooled]

My EDC List:

• one forty-five caliber automatic
• two boxes of ammunition
• four days' concentrated emergency rations
• one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
• one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
• one hundred dollars in rubles
• one hundred dollars in gold
• nine packs of chewing gum
• one issue of prophylactics
• three lipsticks
• three pair of nylons stockings

There's a piece of 007 equipment for underwater fights you forgot, though.

 

[CT-Rich]

My EDC List:

• 
  
• one issue of prophylactics
• three lipsticks
• three pair of nylons stockings

You should really double bag it for safety

 

[lowwall]

I mostly do warm water boat dives and like to keep things simple.

Always
- shears

Mostly
- light (DGX 600 button)
- cheap action cam (clipped on unless there is something really cool)

Sometimes
- DSMB with spool
- compass

 

[CycleCat]

Actually, I dive warm clear water only. I keep it pretty simple:
-dive light for peering under rocks
-a line cutter and knife or shears
-a whistle
-safety sausage when appropriate

 

[Rearviewmirror]

Here are the results so far:

 

[OTF]

Interesting that "primary light" is leading, I specifically omitted it from my list because it actually doesn't come on every dive. Only when it's dark.

 

[bubblemonkey2]

[Posting to up-rate the signal mirror, snorkel & shears]

signal mirror
shears, stainless EMT style
line cutter
serrated knife
storm whistle
Nautilus
SMB & reel
redundant air (gas)
snorkel, folding pocket
torches
camera
spare mask