How do you mark your gear for identification purposes?

[augk]

Thanks for all the great info I didn't even have to ask the question.

 

[ChrisA]

How do you mark your equipment? I've never left my gear in a dive shop before but I guess it's pretty common to do so. My gear isn't marked. If another diver has the same piece of equipment as me it could be a problem figuring out who owns what. Disputes could arise. How do you guys mark your gear so you can identify it as yours?

Ever seen how rock climbers ID thier equipment? They must have 100 times as much stuff as divers. And worse. they have this custom where they pool thier gear and then take out from the pool what is needed for a climb. Then at the end of the day they sort it all out. WHat they do is use colored tape. Everyone picks a color code that they think is not used by others. So I'd put green and blue tape on all my stuff and some other guy has black/red. Two colors is needed to make a unique code. (except this one guy who used just black electrical tape "because it's so stupid no one else would do it." and he was right.)

So I put green tape on everything. It's just vinyl electrical tape but it sticks to anything and is not harmed by saltwater. You can wrap it around your fin straps, snorkel and even the handle of a dive bag.
I put it over a hose protector on my reg and around the tank boots on my tants. Everything has a 3/4 inch creen stripe on it and I can ID it from 20 feet away. I went in topick up my reg in the shop and was able to point to mine which has 15 feet away

 

[RIDIVER501]

Shapies, paint pens and in some cases distinctive stickers.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Sounds like a great system! (pink equipment).
--Atticus

I have a pink dive knife. When I first started buying gear I found the knife in a pawn shop. It had the blade I wanted (blunt with a line cutter NOT by the hand guard), and was definetly high-vis.

You have to be secure in your machismo to dive with a pink knife.

 

[CUunderH2O]

I used a black china marker (grease pencil) to put my initials on my yellow fins. Hasn't faded at all and stands out well.

 

[spectrum]

I was thiinking of using our telephone number with area code. That way if something gets away from us we may get a call from the finder and retrive the item for the cost of a nominal reward. Meanwhile it had a unique identifier. Spouses stuff is different enough at least in size to make ID easy.

Is there some fatal flaw in the phone number idea? We already have a listed number.

Pete

 

[Trisha]

Yep, there is a problem in going on vacation and having your home telephone number or home address on gear, luggage, etc.
It tell thieves where you are not!
And, yes, there are criss-cross directories and Internet white pages which might help find your now-empty residence.
I'd put my business number and address on those things, instead.

As for marking items, I use Sharpies, white paint pens (they dry up fast, so mark a lot of things at one time), and fabric paint. Don't forget the tags on soft weights, boots, hats, and gloves; your integrated weight pockets; mesh boat bags, regulator bags, and other carrying cases. The white paint eventually wears off, but by that time I have other gear that needs identification.

 

[sauga]

Well now, back in my Army days...okay, no war stories. Anyway, we marked our gear (which ALL looked alike) with our initials and last four digits or our social security number, i.e. ABC1234. In places that don't use SSN's, you could always use birth year or something. The odds of running into someone with the same set are pretty slim.

 

[spectrum]

Yep, there is a problem in going on vacation and having your home telephone number or home address on gear, luggage, etc.
It tell thieves where you are not!
And, yes, there are criss-cross directories and Internet white pages which might help find your now-empty residence.
I'd put my business number and address on those things, instead.

Good point, I know how easy that can be back tracked. The buisness number idea sounds like the ticket. Accesible, Unique and Safe.

Thanks,
Pete

 

[Titan8883]

Sharpie makes a new metallic silver marker that works great on almost anything. I bought a 4-pack at office max and Im still on my first one.