Recommendations for Nautilus/lifeline?

[Jaan]

Yea, mine was old and probably got sat on and kicked around and who knows. I guess I was making a point that I (maybe just me) tended to get lazy with checking it since the battery is good for so long.. I'd basically rinse it and stick it back on the suit and head out. I had been meaning to check the batteries for a while now and finally got around to that. Might try Dan's trick of at least holding it up to the light to check for leaks And set a reminder for battery check

True enough .. it would suck way more to see the water in there when you needed to use it. Good tips on closing it on both sides from Dan also. I'll do that to be extra careful

 

[Dan]

Another thing I do after each trip, is to peel off the silicone casing liner, look the battery casing if any water in it, open the cap, & put it in storage drawer until my next dive trip.

Opening the cap helps to keep the cap o-ring from getting flat spot from being compressed during the trip.

During the trip, it’s good to have the Silicone casing liner on the PAB to keep the latch from accidentally unlatch. Also the silicone casing liner would act as bumper (shock absorber) from rough handling (sit on, bang on, etc.) during getting into or out of the water.

 

[kelemvor]

Do you own an inreach?

Admittedly I got mine (large version so I can’t take it diving) for my backcountry journeys but if I was drifting at sea, I’d be stoked for someone…anyone to know my gps coordinates via satellite communication. I can’t think of a single reason why this wouldn’t be useful. If you press the panic button , someone is coming for you. The inreach doesn’t need to talk to your diveboat.

I don’t dive with my inreach, I have a nautilus in my pocket. That said I fully intend on getting a dive housing for my full-size inreach, just gotta get off my lazy 6 and fire up the mill cause no one makes one that I’m aware of.

Search scubaboard. There's threads discussing inreach ad nauseum. In short, Inreach is better than lifeline but it does have several critical limitations - especially if you're diving outside the USA. The best solution is the one that every country in the world has agreed upon, the EPIRB/plb system. In some countries, transmitting to iridium is illegal as those frequencies are used by other radio-communications services such as military or emergency.

A good emergency device should be able to communicate with the LEO and HEO satellites, it should also support GPS (north america, some other parts) but also Galileo (Western Europe), GLONASS (Eastern Europe) and BEIDOU (SE Asia).

The best part about EPIRB is that it's backed by COSPAS-SARSAT. It's funded by many nations and will work everywhere. Not only are there engaged emergency services all over the planet, but boats can also receive distress signals and assist. The latter is very likely to be the closest help you can get. You can read all about the system here Emergency position-indicating radiobeacon - Wikipedia and here International Cospas-Sarsat Programme - Wikipedia

With inreach, the people working the garmin call center aren't going to know there's a ship just 20 miles from where you're drifting, and if they did would they even have capability to contact that ship and if they could, would they have someone who could speak the language? Are you somewhere that iridium can function? That's a whole lot of dubious maybes.

I'm sure inreach works great in US waters and close by. I'm also sure inreach is preferable to the modern nautilus lifeline lacking a 2 way radio. However, PLB is by far the safest solution in the water anywhere in the world. I'm not saying inreach is a terrible product - but it's definitely inferior to plb because of the support systems surrounding EPIRBs.

I encourage you to spend a few hours researching how things work, and understand what the limitations are. Don't limit yourself the the sales material on one the website of companies selling one product if you want the whole story.


Personally, I've got a lifeline - and have used it. I still carry it in a pouch when I go into the ocean because I've got the ones with an integrated marine radio. I have also upgraded to a proper PLB.

Want statistics? PLB/EPIRB system has consistently rescued 2-3 thousand people every year. According to garmin, they rescue about 333 people/year.

 

[Dan]

All this discussions about Nautilus Lifeline brought me back to when I first posted about it here: Best signaling devices from the searcher’s point of view - update

That was 4 years & over 500 dives ago. Thank goodness that I have not been using it & my PLB1. They are getting close to their battery life though. So, I need to carry a spare battery during my next trips.

 

[Dan]

Further search on my earliest post on this matter, I found this thread: New Nautilus Lifeline Marine Rescue GPS which is back in 2016. That means it’s time to replace the battery. I’m going to go ahead and send out my PLB1 to the OEM for battery replacement.

 

[lostsheep]

I’m not anti PLB and will have a look at them. That said I use my inreach for my backcountry adventures to and it excels at that. The subscription fee sucks but it’s cheap enough. My family loves the link to my location it sends when you check in. We move everyday when we’re out camping and rarely have a set destination. Inreach let’s you follow rule number 1 , tell someone where you are going

 

[Dan]

I like InReach Mini underwater case. I hope PLB manufacturers make something like that for their PLB’s

 

[wateraddiction]

I’m not anti PLB and will have a look at them. That said I use my inreach for my backcountry adventures to and it excels at that. The subscription fee sucks but it’s cheap enough. My family loves the link to my location it sends when you check in. We move everyday when we’re out camping and rarely have a set destination. Inreach let’s you follow rule number 1 , tell someone where you are going

I was going to purchase a Nautilus Lifeline for my husband who just got certified. We dive in the Caribbean but it's plausible that in 10 yrs he would venture to Asia and more far-flung destinations. After reading your posts, I realize he also bike camps off grid 1-2 times a year and he should have an InReach device.

do you suggest I purchase an InReach with the diving casing for him and he could use that for camping/hiking and also for the 1-2 vaca dive trips he'll take every year (no livaboards, just boat diving at resort destinations with the exception of occasional shore diving in Bonaire). Or do you rec I purchase 2 separate devices for him - one for hiking and another for diving?

 

[Jaan]

After reading your posts, I realize he also bike camps off grid 1-2 times a year and he should have an InReach device.
Or do you rec I purchase 2 separate devices for him - one for hiking and another for diving?

Keep in mind that the InReach devices require a monthly subscription so if only going out rarely, paying the monthly fee may be a concern. I'm not sure if you can enable/disable these plans on demand.

Also looking back on this thread there were multiple posts about not finding dive cases suitable for the larger InReach devices and other PLB devices going back to 2022. Since then, we have released and have had many divers use our larger DRYFOB-XL PLB dive case for diving with a variety of PLBs, Satellite communicators, marine radios. In case anyone is still looking for a dive case, consider the DRYFOB.

I've listed some known devices that fit in our FAQ for reference, while not a comprehensive list it covers most of the popular models.
@wateraddiction you could potentially look at this list to research various alternatives that might be right for occasional use for both diving and hiking. See the FAQ and scroll down to the list of devices that fit if you think that may be helpful.

Sorry if this has added more variables to your shopping dilemma. Whatever you choose, this is a wonderful gift idea.

Our own first personal devices were the small Nautilus ones which already come in a dive rated case and have a pouch that can go on a belt. By the time 10 years rolls around and he may be venturing further, there will most likely already be newer/smaller/better models out there so something simple for occasional local diving may make the most sense for you IMO. (even if that means we don't get to sell you a nice bright Christmas color DRYFOB haha. )

 

[wateraddiction]

Keep in mind that the InReach devices require a monthly subscription so if only going out rarely, paying the monthly fee may be a concern. I'm not sure if you can enable/disable these plans on demand.

Also looking back on this thread there were multiple posts about not finding dive cases suitable for the larger InReach devices and other PLB devices going back to 2022. Since then, we have released and have had many divers use our larger DRYFOB-XL PLB dive case for diving with a variety of PLBs, Satellite communicators, marine radios. In case anyone is still looking for a dive case, consider the DRYFOB.

I've listed some known devices that fit in our FAQ for reference, while not a comprehensive list it covers most of the popular models.
@wateraddiction you could potentially look at this list to research various alternatives that might be right for occasional use for both diving and hiking. See the FAQ and scroll down to the list of devices that fit if you think that may be helpful.

Sorry if this has added more variables to your shopping dilemma. Whatever you choose, this is a wonderful gift idea.

Our own first personal devices were the small Nautilus ones which already come in a dive rated case and have a pouch that can go on a belt. By the time 10 years rolls around and he may be venturing further, there will most likely already be newer/smaller/better models out there so something simple for occasional local diving may make the most sense for you IMO. (even if that means we don't get to sell you a nice bright Christmas color DRYFOB haha. )

Thanks for your response -- I'll get one of your DRYFOBs as a stocking stuffer for our next Bonaire trip!

So I just purchased an InReach for my husband for his biking/camping/hiking trips (U.S domestic since he drives his bike) and I'm happy to pay the annual sub fee (and activating for only when he goes off-grid). If we dive in the Caribbean/Mexico/Bonaire, is the InReach not useful and should I not buy their diving case? The Nautilus has too many leaking reports for me to comfortably purchase as a worst-scenario Emergency device.