An SMB that's not expensive?

[Sleepdr]

If you are on an extremely limited budget, deals can be found with some patience & willingness to pounce quickly. I spent a couple weeks trolling the auction site that shall not be named. At the right place & right time, I found a new packaged XS recue kit - 6' yellow dsmb (with OPV, SOLAS tape, etc), mirror, whistle, etc. for $25 before shipping.

Barring that, I'd grab one that Jim has in stock... and may just do that myself, since I also want a smaller orange tube.

 

[Centrals]

My 10 yrs old Buddy smb(with dump valve) is still going strong. Look after it and it will last.
I look for quality especially on safety equipment.

 

[Rich Keller]

My local dive shops has a couple of inflatable signalling devices, but even the less expensive one is like $70 (the other is closer to $90). Why on earth are they so expensive, and is there a cheaper and still good option for boat diving?

I'm thinking maybe we could pick something up used, or buy it for less when we get to Cozumel?

Is a safety sausage enough, assuming we're diving with a divemaster?

I went with this one Blue Reef Diver Below Deluxe 6' Signal Tube . Made from good materiel, good construction, self contained with overpressure and dump valves. I would not count on anyone other then yourself as far as safety goes. I got this for a trip I made a few weeks ago with the idea that if I was left behind I would need it to attract attention. The other thing you should have is a finger spool Blue Reef Finger Spool Reel . If you are left behind and they come back to look for you they will start the search where they left you and work out from there. If you attach the line to your weight belt and drop the weights they will act as an anchor keeping you on site.

 

[DukeAMO]

People, you don't have to get all snippy about it. It's a legitimate question, especially since the OW course basically tells you nothing about the different types of visibility options. And actually, we'll only be in Cozumel for 1 day.

Thanks to those who posted links to less expensive ones and useful info. I can check with the dive shop in Cozumel and see how much they are there too. Honestly, I don't know why a tube of material would cost so much, even with a couple of valves. You can buy a digital video camera for the same price. Sigh.

I didn't find any used ones, but just because something's used doesn't mean it's falling apart. There are plenty of people who've only used their gear for one or two trips. It would be pretty easy to make sure an SMB wasn't leaking or falling apart too.

 

[Wookie]

Wookie, you don't have to get all snippy about it. It's a legitimate question, especially since the OW course basically tells you nothing about the different types of visibility options. And actually, we'll only be in Cozumel for 1 day.

I'm sorry you considered my response snippy. I try not to be snippy, I try to be forceful when it comes to safety equipment. Chihuahua's are snippy. I'm more the Rottweiler type.

I pick people up on boats for a living. I see surface signaling devises that are not sufficient to the task. If I have to look for you, or if you are overdue and I don't see your signal, I get nervous. When I get nervous, I get in a bad mood. When I get in a bad mood, everyone else gets in a bad mood, ruining the trip.

Yes, there are more reasonably priced safety sausages/SMB's out there, and maybe I mis-read your post, but it seemed that there was some urgency to you acquiring an SMB. Going back and re-reading, there was no urgency, only a desire to pay less than the price quoted at the dive shop for some upcoming trip in the future sometime to Coz.

I'll sell you a top of the line 5 foot SMB for $40. I buy them in bulk, 50 at a time, and sell them to my customers who come to the boat without one, or with a small 3 footer, or with a faded one, or one with a hole in it. Mine is safety yellow on one side for flat light conditions and orange on the other for waves/whitecaps/bright sun reflecting off the water. It isn't sufficient for tech divers, but is exceptional for recreational divers diving recreational profiles. They have a brass snap so a broken cheap plastic clip won't result in the loss of your SMB. I don't make any money on the sale of the SMB, but I think that having a really effective way to let the boat know where you are is kind of important. It's certainly worth 70 or 90 bucks at your LDS.

The most effective and user friendly SMB's I've seen are the ones from DAN, Halcyon, and Dive-rite. The DAN kit retails online for $140 from Scuba.com, The Halcyon marker I like (closed bottom) retails online for $117 at Extreme Scuba, and the Dive-Rite marker retails online for $97.75 from Dive Gear Express. So, you see, I don't think the $70 or $90 your LDS wants to charge you is all that out of line at all.

For my last bit of rottweilerness. The surface marker is for your own benefit and safety in the event you need to be seen in the water. Ask the folks who have actually used and been seen and picked up by a boat, or have drifted for 12 hours, having seen the helo but not having the helo see them. You can't have a more important and expensive piece of equipment than the one that saves your life. Will you get lost? Probably not. If you do get lost or separated from your group/buddy, will the boat driver find you anyway? Probably. If you're one of the .00001% of divers that gets left behind by the boat, even for 10 minutes, or one of the .001% of divers who get away from a moored boat and the divemasters don't spot you right away, will you kick yourself in the butt for being cheap when it comes to the one thing that will help the boat crew rescue you? Only you know or care about your own safety.

 

[scubafied]

My only suggestions would be to get one that is at least 6ft tall and possibly start with one that has an OPV or the ones that are partially open at the bottom. As Jim mentioned, without these you run the risk of overfilling/rupturing the SMB. And as Wookie suggested, the moment you have it, take it diving and practice with it. It can be fairly task loading at first and I have seen many new divers take the unintentional ride to the surface. Subsequently I have seen many seasoned divers send up under-inflated ones that lay peacefully on the surface instead of standing upright. Safe Diving.

 

[Rich Keller]

I would not try to inflate it and send it up without practice first. That is only needed if you are coming up in a crowded area. If you just need it to signal the boat, inflate it on the surface. There is no need to make this harder then it has to be.

 

[brunow]

As a newbie myself, which would be better solid orange or yellow or one that has both on opposite sides? If the solid color is better, which color and why?

 

[dmoore19]

There has been several discussions regarding the color of the tube. There is no standard and AFAIK there isn't a consensus on which color is better, I think it depends on light and background colors and many other variables.

 

[DukeAMO]

I'm sorry you considered my response snippy. I try not to be snippy, I try to be forceful when it comes to safety equipment. Chihuahua's are snippy. I'm more the Rottweiler type.

Apology gladly accepted. I actually toned it down about 5 minutes after I posted it.

I might take you up on that offer. I'll chat it over with DH and PM you if that's what we decide to go with.