Info Build your own Save a Dive Kit

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Build your own Save a Dive Kit*​


by Dave Hicks
From the Marker Buoy Dive Club October 2021 issue:

What’s that hissing noise??? Where are those bubbles coming from??? My dive computer is dead!!!

We’ve all experienced this situation on a dive excursion. You are all kitted up and ready to go and some piece of gear goes sideways. You have a loose hose on your 1st stage regulator blowing out air. The O-ring has failed or vanished from your tank. Your dry glove was attacked and holed by an urchin or barnacle. These issues can easily range from annoying to showstoppers.

It’s bad enough to have an issue strike on a local shore dive, but if you are on a multi-day trip away from home you could be looking at problems that will ruin your trip or force you to rent or buy replacement gear. And the more people that you dive with, the more likely that an issue will arise in time to spoil somebody’s dive trip. It’s great to be self-sufficient and be able to resolve your own gear issues on the spot, but it’s even better if you save a fellow diver’s problem with a spare part or quick fix. You might even get a free beer or new buddy out of the situation.

The solution is to fall back on the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared”.

This article will show you how to put together a Save-a-Dive Kit and a Spares Kit that will help you prepare to deal with many common problems that you or a buddy are likely to encounter on a dive trip. Many experienced divers have these kits, and there are many ways to assemble effective kits. We learn from our experiences, mistakes, and great tips from other divers. The kits I outline in this article were built over 30 years of diving lessons learned. I encourage you to pick and choose from this article or build a kit just like mine. I’d love to hear feedback and ideas from your experiences as well.

I typically carry and use two different boxes with me on dive trips. The smaller one I will call the Save-a-Dive Kit. The second is my Spares Kit. The two are complementary but separated for use in two general scenarios.
  • The Save-a-Dive Kit is focused on last minute issues. I bring it on every shore dive, day charter boat, or live aboard excursion. It’s small, portable, and waterproof so I can stow it under the bench in any dive boat. This kit contains small tools and simple parts needed for a quick fix to salvage a single dive.
  • The Spares Kit is bigger and contains backup equipment you might not carry for a single dive, but that you may need to save an entire trip. It holds bulkier replacements for things you can’t continue diving without, including gloves, hoses, regulators, etc.

Save a Dive Kit​

Here are the entire contents of my Save-a-Dive kit laid out for display.

You’ll also want to have a few mini ziplock bags to contain some of the smaller bits like Q-tips and zip-ties so they don’t get wet or scattered.

I’ve included prices for most of the items below for reference. You may already have a lot of these items.

Everything on this list can be found from Amazon or Dive Gear Express or your local Dive or Marine stores

IMG_20211004_115353 (Large).jpg


  • Pelican 1120 case {7" x 5"x 3.5")
  • Gerber MultiTool with pliers
  • Keychain Swiss Army knife with scissors
  • Cresent wrench 6"
  • (Upgrade pick) Knipex 5" adjustable wrench
  • Batteries for dive computer (AA, CR2450, CR2032)
  • Small philips/flat screwdriver
  • Dental picks for O-ring removal
  • Allen hex wench set (7 pcs)
  • Electrical tape (waterproof)
  • Velcro strips (6 pcs)
  • Bungie cord (1/8" 6ft)
  • Silver sharpie
  • O-ring kit (LP & HP hose, Din, Yoke)
  • Plugs for 1st stages (LP & HP)
  • Pressure gauge spools (x2)
  • O2 lube
  • Silicone lube
  • Quarter (for Shearwater battery cap)
  • IP gauge
  • LP air nozzlez
  • Pressure gauge (1" button type)
  • Super Glue
  • Double ender clip 3"
  • Quick links & s-biner clips
  • Small zip ties (x20)
  • Q-Tips
  • DIN inserts (x2)
  • Contact lenses
  • Cash
Custom Items
  • Overpressure valve
  • QC6 connector (offboard gas)
  • Mineral oil (small vial)


* I recently wrote an article on this topic for my dive club's newsletter. It's an expanded version of a reply I made in a post early in the year. I'm sharing the article in full here. I hope some people find is useful or educational. I go into some detail about the use for each item.

Continued in the next post

 
The IP gauge on that list is useful in theory -- but only if you're capable or willing adjust a regulator whose IP is off.
Good point, I have not used it this year, it is using up space [and weight].
Back in the tool box it goes.
This box evolves depending on the 'what if' factor.
 
As fond as I am of working upon my own gear, my "Save a Dive Kit" is generally far more modest than that posted list;

I have a pretty large "kit" for local diving and a smaller fly away kit. About a quarter of my Sprinter van is a save-a-dive kit.
 
My save a dive kit saved a guys dives today, his SPG "blew" on the charter boat.
The boat kit had not much, and said they can't do anything :no: .
I pulled a spare SPG and the right size spanner and it was done .
He could not thank me enough, well be could, but was gone like a flash back at the dock, I did get my SPG back though.
An older diver on the boat said " with that kit, can you service my regulator ?" I know he was only having a laugh, I said " I don't touch Oceanic".:acclaim:
 
Good point, I have not used it this year, it is using up space [and weight].
Back in the tool box it goes.
This box evolves depending on the 'what if' factor.
As your diving level changes, so will your box. I keep my IP gauge.

Let’s say your diving to 300’. One of my checks before every dive of significant depth is IP. Not because a reg might be free flowing but because the IP might have settled down to 100psi instead of 140. A reg really sucks at 300’ at 100psi over ambient.

I have 17 dive rite 1st stages and 2’d stages. I keep one rebuild kit for 1st and 2nd stages in my kit.

My kits are a lot bigger than everyone else’s, but I could be teaching, could be on multiple rebreathers, and can’t call a dive just because something is broken.

I use two compartmentalized Rigid toolboxes for most days. If I’m going on the plane or someone’s boat I condense down to one toolbox. On last weeks trip to the Great Lakes my save a dive kit weighed 28lbs.
 
, but I could be teaching,
I think this is a key factor on the size of a SADK. Most students have no idea IF their equipment is on the verge of failure. With you as the instructor, it's not just a cancelled dive...That's money out of your pocket in time and travel costs.
 
Thanks for this thread being here. As a new diver I have a small tackle box with all kinds of stuff in it. Much more than I probably should have but I am just trying to figure it out right now. So far for me it’s been better safe than sorry
 
My save a dive kit saved a guys dives today, his SPG "blew" on the charter boat.
The boat kit had not much, and said they can't do anything :no: .
I pulled a spare SPG and the right size spanner and it was done .
He could not thank me enough, well be could, but was gone like a flash back at the dock, I did get my SPG back though.
An older diver on the boat said " with that kit, can you service my regulator ?" I know he was only having a laugh, I said " I don't touch Oceanic".:acclaim:
Alway be a hero!
 

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