Sausage or Liftbag to be seen?

[all4scuba05]

I've heard two opinions. Wondering what most are thinking.

Here's the scenario. Ocean dive off a boat during daylight. 2-4 foot swells. For whatever reason(let's not go there), you're on surface away from diveboat. You have a 6' sausage and a 100lb lift bag. Which will you expect them to spot?

Some say that a lift bag is better because it's wider, while others have said that the sausage is better because of the height. (color can be whatever you wish)

I thought a study was published in a magazine that showed one was way easier to be seen?

 

[HowardE]

Most boat captains tell me that sausages are easier to see than lift bags. Lift bags don't usually go more than a few inches above the surface, and a sausage you can hold up and wave back and forth... giving a 6' sausage 7' or more of height above the water.

 

[Rand]

There was a bit of discussion about SMB size and lift in this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/217845-3-75-safety-sausage-question.html

In my reply (#7) I referenced the study published in Scuba Diving Magazine's October 2007 issue.

I'd say use the lift bag for lifting and the SMB for signaling/being seen.

 

[dannobee]

Or get OMS's 9 foot sausage with 90 lbs of lift.

 

[Fastmarc]

Since buying my DAN sausage, I dive with it on every dive.
I finally had to use it late last year when we surface and realized that the boat had lost us.
The boat man reported that he had no problem seeing it even though the waves were high & he was far away.

 

[Buoyant1]

I think it's made by Highland (not sure) but my LDS has one that's like 8-10 ft tall and about 10 inches wide!

Makes for a lot of jokes a the shop!

I'd vote for the sausage over the bag though...at least if you are riding the swells, you can still hold the thing and wave it...

 

[Oyster Diver]

Definitely the sausage. I was lifting an artifact with a lift bag and it got away from me on the anchor line. We were able to recover it, but the lift bag was was out of sight a lot in small swells.

 

[fyh]

I usually carry both a bag and a sausage. Bag is yellow, sausage is orange.
It's not one of the jumbo sausages, just a standard size, maybe 4 ft.

I did get separated from the boat once last year due to some really bad current. I hit the surface about 200 yards from the boat in calm seas (about 1 to 2 ft) .

I inflated the sausage, clipped it to the end of my speargun, and raised it in the air. Within 5 seconds, one of the 3 guys on the boat spotted me and waved to let me know they saw me.

 

[SlowRain]

Pretty much a no brainer here....lift bags really don't suffice as a visibility aid. They are pretty much low profile in the water, especially when there are even moderate swell. I suppose something like the OMS lift sausages are an option, but honestly I found them pretty bulky to haul around...personal opinion. My lift bag is in a pocket at the base of my BP/W and is there mainly for use as part of an ascent line if I lose the anchor line or worst case I have BC failure and Dry Suit failure at the same time as a backup.

For visibility...safety sausage is the way to go. Mine is a 6 or 7 foot model and is yellow on one side and orange on the other.

 

[seaducer]

Or, if you do not have any trouble with a "limp sausage", you can stick your lift bag on the end, then you have a 4-7 foot long sauage as wide at the top as the lift bag is...