Best Color For Visibility

[fisherdvm]

I am sure someone with physics background can answer this well. What's the best color for suits and gear to offer high vis at depth or in dark enviroment.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

In my experience, either yellow or bright green.

 

[Fuzzmutton]

I'm not a physicist and I'm sure that some will say that with my little experience I have no business offering any opinions BUT ...I will anyway.

I have made 36 dives in so-so viz but with at least 5 dives being in viz of 0-2' (my bad viz dives were a max depth of 60'). I noticed early on that while I couldn't see my hubby if he turned around because his gear is black, blue and purple, I could see his neon yellow snorkle tip head on. Once on a really bad viz dive being led by my instructor I thought I was near the bottom of the resevoir until the ghostly form of a neon yellow tank drifted by below me in the gloom, I could see nothing of the rest of the diver.

Both of my tanks are neon green. Hubby says if he can see nothing else and loses sight of me, he almost always spots my tanks.

 

[Thalassamania]

Violet will travel furthest, on you lit blue will travel furthest, but the lack of contrast will make them the least visible. I'd have to go with a fluorescent orange or fluorescent green.

 

[95yj]

Have to agree with Thalassamania. Colors at the lower end of the scale travel farthest, but everything else down there is that color too. I can always spot my divers who are wearing bright green first.

 

[String]

Generally i find reflective goes so much further than any particular colour.

Ive dived with someone that had a dayglo orange drysuit and i'll admit he stood out more than most (Suspect from satellite when on the boat!)

 

[loosebits]

I don't want to be seen, why give my buddy any unfair advantage?

 

[Fabulous]

Just studied color absorption in the Divecon Training Manual and started thinking the same thing.

Apart from luminescent and fluorescent colors I would have thought white as it retains its light reflective value over any color.

Only issue would be if there was a lot of white objects in the background.

When I have dived with buddies with white scuba tanks they stick out against a black wet suite at any depth or visability.

 

[cdiver2]

Generally i find reflective goes so much further than any particular colour.

Ive dived with someone that had a dayglo orange drysuit and i'll admit he stood out more than most (Suspect from satellite when on the boat!)

This guy

 

[String]

Argh. I dont know where to start.

Nice err suit.

And is that really a CCR with a snorkel ?!