DSMB Suggestion?

[_Ralph]

Halcyon.

Buy once, cry once.


_R

 

[outofofficebrb]

Halcyon.

Buy once, cry once.


_R

I originally bought an Innovative 6 ft with OPV and option for oral inflate or purge inflate with octo or exhaust bubbles. Fine until you dive cold and oral inflation and removing regs are a bit more challenging with numb lips.

I bought the Halcyon 3.3 ft (they make larger ones too) and cried once but it was a happy cry. I should’ve started with it to begin with. It’s fantastic! It also stands erect and inflated easily, especially with the metal tip and not having to push anything down with numb lips.

 

[joe10540]

I used to have the Halcyon DSMB that was also a #50 lift bag. It was too large and unruly to use as a DSMB but not really big enough or the right shape to make using it as a lift bag practical (It would leave whatever you were trying to lift 7’ underwater). Finally settled on a smaller DSMB that is easier to deploy and if I need a lift bag I picked up one specifically designed for lifting.

 

[smokn']

I used to have the Halcyon DSMB that was also a #50 lift bag. It was too large and unruly to use as a DSMB but not really big enough or the right shape to make using it as a lift bag practical (It would leave whatever you were trying to lift 7’ underwater). Finally settled on a smaller DSMB that is easier to deploy and if I need a lift bag I picked up one specifically designed for lifting.

Yeah, I don’t so much care about using it as a lift bag. What size did you end up with?

 

[joe10540]

DSMB? 6’ long and it looks like 3” wide. Purchased used so I couldn’t say what brand but it isn’t so large that it needs a ton of air to get started so that it’s full by the time it hits the surface. The lift bag is I think a #60 bright orange lift bag that looks like a ball buoy on the surface.

 

[divad]

I would like a DSMB, preferably around 6” wide, 4-6’ long, must have oral and regulator inflation, OPV. A nice semi-closed/baffle bottom also. Anyone have experience with a good DSMB that fits the bill? I’d like to keep it under $50 if possible.

I have a never-used underwater 6" X 6' SMB with oral inflator and bottom baffle that actually holds air overnight. Where are you in the South?

 

[tbone1004]

It’ll be replacing the safety sausage I currently carry on all my OW dives, mostly local lakes and Florida coast. I want the flexibility to deploy at depth and something a little better than a 36” sausage. It’ll mostly just stay clipped to my BC.

yeah for that, I'd just carry a 36" small guy which is usually enough for deploying from depth, then a fully closed surface version.
I carry this guy for shooting from depth because it's super small, easy to inflate *about half a breath on oral inflation*, and is easy to roll back up
1 meter SMB, ORANGE, oral inflate scuba
I use this guy as my 50lb lift bag as well as my "oh sh!t come find me!" surface sausage.
Extreme Exposure

It's worth it to carry both for me because the big one one is not bad to inflate from say 70' or deeper, but very difficult to properly inflate from any shallower, and the small one I can easily shoot from 10'

 

[The Chairman]

This one...


6ft High Vis YELLOW SMB ,

I have some just like that, but I put them in a mesh bag I created for the purpose so they won't unravel.

 

[Akimbo]

I'm rarely negative enough to make a 6'+ DSMB stand up near the end of a dive. They just lay on their side until I get to the surface and can add some ballast.

I did some testing on the DAN Surface Signal Kit and the the reflector did light up the Radar screen like a small boat -- but not until I reached the surface and could make it stand up.

 

[boulderjohn]

I'm rarely negative enough to make a 6'+ DSMB stand up near the end of a dive.

Standard procedure usually taught with a DSMB is to be neutrally buoyant next to the spool or reel during your stops, but a lot of people are changing that practice and are staying negative enough to pull the DSMB to an upright position for better visibility. There are many situations where you really do want that sucker sticking up high.