sausage or lift bag as surface marker?

[Soggy]

I'm trying to decide whether to get a safety sausage or lift bag as a surface marker for open-ocean boat dives. I'm a plain-ol' recreational diver staying within recreational limits. What are the pros/cons of lift bag vs. safety sausage? I just read the article on GUE's website discussing this and didn't find it very useful.

Suggestions?

 

[salty]

This is something your going to bet your life on, personaly I think a larger round orange "bag" will stand out more than a thin stick. I have a CC lift bag it does double duty as redundent lift/deco bag and if need be surface signaling.

 

[Scubaroo]

What's the purpose of the surface marker? Are you going to use it as an emergency signalling device, or as a surface marker with a spool for drift deco?

Personally I think every diver in the ocean should carry a safety sausage as part of their regular gear. I also carry a SMB and spool for ascents (neither of which I have had to use in anger).

 

[Rush]

I prefer the SMB over the standard safety sausage. This preference was most clearly supported during my dive trip to the Galapagos. When in the pangas (zodiaks), while it was sometimes tough to spot divers' SMBs when they surfaced after the dive and were carried a ways out by the current, it would have been impossible to spot them had they used a standard safety sausage.

 

[ericfine50]

Aaron,

I use Halcyon's large SMB and I carry a lift bag as well. The SMB has its own purpose. IF I get seperated from the boat, it will help with visibilty. The Lift bag would be if I was going to hang or bring up something.

Eric

 

[Bob3]

I recommend the Carter Personal Floats, they pull double duty as both a sausage & lift bag.
http://www.carterbag.com/personalfloat.html
The 75lb & 110lb are both good.

The boys at GUE don't need floats in caves, silly.

 

[Waterborne]

I would recommend a liftbag instead of the sausage. It can pull double duty as a lift or signal device. Which translates to one less thing to carry and deal with. Just my .02 cents

 

[redacted]

is make yourself more visible on the surface, the safety sausage is relatively cheap, compact and easy to use. If you also want to make yourself more visible before you reach the surface, then the DSMB or lift bag is more suitable. Can also be used to aide a rest stop if needed. Although Mexican DMs seem to do pretty well orally blowing a breath of air into the safety sausage (careful, not too much or POP) from about 20 ft and using it just like a DSMB.

I use the DSMB (OMS BCA-255, 5 ft long, 50 lb lift) to ward off boat traffic on local lakes. It also come in a model that is almost 10 ft long with 100 lb lift. Both similiar to the Carter personal float without the oral inflator tube.

 

[MikeS]

Both Halcyon and OMS make hybrids. I think they’re a good compromise if you only want to carry one.

Halcyon – Big Alert Marker with 40 lbs of lift and Super Big Marker with 52 lbs
http://www.halcyon.net/mc/dam.shtml

OMS – BCA255 with 50 lbs and BCA 268 with 90 lbs
http://www.omsdive.com/lift-smb.html

The major difference between the two is how they are filled. With the Halcyon you can either disconnect your low pressure inflator hose and use it or simply blow into it. With the OMS you purge a regulator below it and a baffle keeps the air from coming back out.
Having compared them side-by-side I think that the Halcyon is better built. It has a better attachment method with the integral snap, and reflective tape that the OMS doesn’t. On the other hand, I prefer being able to purge a backup regulator to having to disconnect the low-pressure inflator hose to fill it.

I have the Halcyon Big Alert Marker and would likely make the same decision now if buying another, but it would be a tough decision. Any time I go in the ocean I carry it along with a 150 ft spool (not to be confused with a reel). To be any good in an emergency one should practice deploying it, since maintaining neutral buoyancy while deploying it is a challenge at first.

Mike