Recreational divers, post your rig here, let's share good and bad ideas

[LI-er]

My message has obviously been lost and quoted out of context...Nowhere have I ever said not to carry a PLB.

You clearly stated there is no point in carrying a PLB if the equipment is fine. Now you blame others for not understanding it's "supposed deeper meaning".

But he doesn't remove all his suicide clips and retractors, when there is arguable an equal scale of magnitude likelihood of them causing an issue as there is of him being lost at sea.

As compared to being left behind by a boat, or swept away by current and not found in a timely fashion, I do not believe there is an arguable equal scale of magnitude that one of my retractors or clips will snag on a wreck and I won't be able to get myself free.

There is a slim but unlikely chance of being lost at sea, but he does feel it is necessary to mitigate that risk. Why mitigate one risk and not the other? Why carry a PLB, but not fix the hazards that he carries with him on every dive?

Leaving the relative odds aside, I don't view an inextricable entanglement due to my clips or retractors to be a significant hazard. As stated numerous times already, I don't typically swim into fishing nets or monofilament or cables inside of wrecks and get myself hopelessly entangled in a web. The only 3 "suicide' clips are on my camera and are easily removed. Should one of the retractors snag, it's an easy matter to cut it free with one of my two easily reached cutting tools. As a last resort, another option is to simply remove the rig and ascend on the stony bottle.

If lost at sea, there are no other alternatives other than to be found. Hense the numerous signal devices and the PLB which you state isn't needed because my gear is fine.

 

[stiebs]

You clearly stated there is no point in carrying a PLB if the equipment is fine. Now you blame others for not understanding it's "supposed deeper meaning".

Where, pray tell did I clearly state there is no point in carrying a PLB?

I merely posed a question. You've quoted it in your signature. It is a question asking why you carry a PLB.

It appears you lack basic knowledge of the English language.

 

[LI-er]

It appears you lack basic knowledge of the English language.

Says the guy who can't spell "initialism" and doesn't know how it differs from abbreviation or acronym.

THAT's funny!

 

[USdiver1]

So, here's a thought: How would people feel about a no derail rule on the forums? Like, people are arguing in the comments about the semantics of acronyms vs abbreviations vs initialisms. This does not feel topical to scuba diving, and kinda makes it a pain to follow the conversation on actual dive advice. Other forums I've been on have a rule that stuff like this gets taken to a designated off-topic area for continued discussion, so that it doesn't distract from the matter at hand. Do you think we should push for that here?

Multiple tangents and non sequiturs are oftentimes what make a specific thread a SB classic. Not only do I consider this the best thread of 2025, but several posters deserve at least a MS in mathematics for their contribution to the advancement of trigonometry [the branch dealing with tangents].

 

[johndiver999]

Well I finally understand why the OP would finds a PLB a necessity. If I were driving the boat, he would have a greater chance than anyone else on board to be "accidentally" left behind.

 

[LI-er]

Also, @LI-er most of the complaints seem to be about how dangly you are, not about what you carry. Pockets, or perhaps a mesh bag, are definitely an option.

All my gear is carried in a pocket with the following few exceptions:

1- stony bottle securely rigged and stowed below and behind my left arm (it won't fit in a pocket)
2- 2nd cutting tool firmly attached to BCD hose in a sheath (doesn't dangle)
3- The camera doesn't count, as any diver who carries one is either going to hold it or clip it off where it will...wait for it.. dangle. I clip mine off in as many as 3 places to keep it snug when not in use.

So what's left:

1- small dive light on retractor tucked behind the right pocket
2- smb & reel clipped to a D-ring in front of my right weight pocket.

 

[LI-er]

If I were driving the boat, he would have a greater chance than anyone else on board to be "accidentally" left behind.

If you were the captain of a boat, you'd leave a diver abandoned at sea because you don't agree with their gear choices.

Well, that honest self appraisal says a lot and it's not good.

 

[johndiver999]

As @Blackcrusader pointed out, I never wrote that nor implied I ever did anything like this. What I DID say was that I occasionally incur a small DECO obligation, most or all of which is met during the ascent leaving 1-2 minutes maximum. There's more than enough gas available to me to do a 3 minute safety stop and have a few hundred psi in my tanks on the boat which would be sufficient for a short required stop.



I've got more reserve gas between the stony bottle and the primary tank when I begin my ascent than the average recreational diver, and I don't need to share it with anyone.

Nor did I ever write, nor remotely imply that I need extra gas just to complete a typical rec dive.

@johndiver999 try to read more carefully, stick with facts, not conjecture or personal opinion expressed as the only right choice. If you need an example of what constitutes a fact, see most of my posts.

Well I quoted you in that comment when you said a 5 min deco- yet you deny the statement when I provide a direct quote.

Now you say it is 1-2 minutes, but more importantly, you are claiming that you REQUIRE the use of the primary tank AND the pony bottle gas with 500 psi to make the ascent.

That is possible of course, but the fact remains that you are describing doing deco dives without maintaining an independent reserve of gas which is sufficient to allow a safe ascent. And you justify this by claiming that it is analogous to a recreational diver (who does no deco and who carries no redundancy).
If you suck down the pony on the bottom to such a degree, then it essentially negates (or significantly compromises) any "safety" benefit of the pony bottle, and relegates its function to primarily a means to simply carry more gas - all for someone who tries to "imply that I don't need extra gas".

Are you going to shoot a video of your ascent protocol on the deco dive, showing the gas supply and computer readings this weekend? I think it would be very relevant to the discussion.

 

[johndiver999]

If you were the captain of a boat, you'd leave a diver abandoned at sea because you don't agree with their gear choices.

Well, that honest self appraisal says a lot and it's not good.

Hey you're probably right, I just wouldn't let you on the boat - I was exaggerating.

 

[LI-er]

Are you going to shoot a video of your ascent protocol on the deco dive, showing the gas supply and computer readings this weekend?

You just posted that if you were captain of a boat that I was diving from, you'd intentionally leave me stranded in the middle of the ocean.

You're in no position to ask me for favors.