Everyone kinda looks the same underwater...

[M DeM]

I've only dived in groups-- vacation diving. So we're all near each other if not snuggling with everyone.

I go to look for my buddy, and...

Holy crap... we all look the same in wetsuits. Especially the guys (sorry guys, but I can at least look for a girl's ponytail if she's got one.)

So how do you guys recognize your buddy if they don't have something unique like white fins or color on their wetsuit?

 

[nolatom]

find something distinctive. tank color, hose color, glove color, mask frame color, type of buoyancy device. Maybe you'll both dangle a flashlight from your wrists.

Me, I have a wetsuit with green accent stripes. And (don't laugh) my fins don't match--one silver, one green. It's a long story, that last one--you don't have to do it that way. But in a pinch, with nothing else to distinguish one all-black diver from another in lousy vis, I wouldn't be averse to swapping one fin with a buddy, especially if it's not a "big travel" dive. Having to look for (or surface for) a misplaced buddy is a bummer.

 

[ibj40]

First, I try no to let my buddy get so far away that I don't recognize them, that's why she is my buddy.

However, to address your situation, when I am on the boat, I try to identify a significant (or even insignificant) distinctive characteristic of each diver in the group; such as color of fins (as you suggested), type of exposure protection (not everyone wears a wetsuit), BCD type, mask skirt color, height/weight, etc.

 

[Saniflush]

My normal dive buddy (Mrs Flush) and I have a pretty simple rule. It is the responsibility of whoever is following to keep up with whichever of us is leading. This works out well for us since neither of us are speed demons underwater but I could see where it might not work as well for others.

 

[АлександрД]

take two this devices
one for you, another for your buddy.
It is enough for one year or more.
You will never mix your buddy with others than... excluding others who will follow this idea

better to put it on the tank valve with small rope or under tank belt with clip included.

 

[TMHeimer]

I have only dived in a "group" once, so it is not a problem for me. But, when I was assisting with OW courses--yeah it was a concern. Sometimes I found that identifying the student worked by size of the person, or their ability in water. For them to identify me, I used a colourful bracelet thingy (still could see the colors at 20+ feet, of course).

 

[tmassey]

Do you own fins? Initials top and bottom help a lot. A *Lot*.

If you rent everything, that can be a problem. Not only do many companies rent the same looking gear to multiple people, but you’re not familiar with how it looks anyway.

Unique gloves can be an easy way to travel light and still see the difference. Bright yellow is easy to spot, even at depth. Avoid blue: those are very common. And rarely do people rent gloves!

How about striped leggings?

The tank strobe idea isn’t a bad one. I’m not a fan of the entanglement hazard. Arguably, if you are asking this question, you are not qualified to be anywhere near an entanglement… But I still worry.

In the end, even in a rental situation, you should be able to find some unique combination to identify your buddy. The problem I have had at times is, what I thought was unique on the surface didn’t end up being so once we got to depth. So try to figure out more than one way that your buddy is unique.

I will kind of back up what other people said: if you are diving effectively, it should be easy to keep track of your buddy. And you want to avoid that big ball of divers as much as possible: they frighten everything away and ruin the viz!

But I remember the days as an early diver and looking up and having no idea where my buddy is. Or even worse, thinking someone was my body and only after several minutes realizing that it wasn’t. So I understand the need for some extra assistance. I would just caution you: that should be considered backup for only if the worst happens. It’s a slight crutch that you might need to use as a beginning diver, but your goal should be to get good enough to not need it, rather than try to come up with some foolproof way to avoid improving to that level.

 

[Slym]

I have a blue tank and name on the bottom, makes things nice and easy for me. as for seeing my buddy, well her pony tail is a good marker. Can't say we get too far away from eachother that we need to worry though.

 

[M DeM]

I *love* the different color fins -- especially the color combo.

This is totally going to be the hot new diving trend, and you can say you started it.

find something distinctive. tank color, hose color, glove color, mask frame color, type of buoyancy device. Maybe you'll both dangle a flashlight from your wrists.

Me, I have a wetsuit with green accent stripes. And (don't laugh) my fins don't match--one silver, one green. It's a long story, that last one--you don't have to do it that way. But in a pinch, with nothing else to distinguish one all-black diver from another in lousy vis, I wouldn't be averse to swapping one fin with a buddy, especially if it's not a "big travel" dive. Having to look for (or surface for) a misplaced buddy is a bummer.

 

[M DeM]

This is great.

take two this devices
one for you, another for your buddy.
It is enough for one year or more.
You will never mix your buddy with others than... excluding others who will follow this idea

better to put it on the tank valve with small rope or under tank belt with clip included.