Saving Your Dive

[Doc]

Tools? These days it isn't about size, thickness or volume...
Weight is the consideration

And you'll want to add in the METRIC set, as well.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Funnily enough last weekend on a 2 night trip, finally changed my LPI valve with one in my spares box I always carry. It' had been leaking for a while and it seemed that 50% of the gas was coming out of the button rather than going into the wing. Of course it had been getting worse over the last few weeks and I had kept meaning to change it.

If I'm going away on a trip things are different. My gear geats dive most weeks, so I know the condition of it. Even so the regs get put into service 6-8 weeks before the trip and dived a few times before the vacation, and the wings, a good look over

I change my hoses every 2 years regardless - because of the climate here and how it causes premature aging - again if a trip is coming up and the hoses a near a change, then they get done. (the old hoses get kept as spares)

On a trip I always take a spare reg set on top of basic tools Just so I can be self sufficient - nothing worse than the shop not having hex keys to hand. obviously O-rings a mask and some fin straps. My wife broke a fin strap on her XT's a few years ago. We didn't' have a spare so se dived with shop fins and hated them - lesson learned.

 

[Altamira]

A lot of good ideas have already been presented, but I will add an item specific to certain dive locations. If you are going to be diving in the Middle East or a place where DIN is the standard valve, I would carry a couple of spare DIN inserts. On a recent dive trip to the Red Sea, I went through 3 Dive Op supplied DIN inserts before I found one that did not leak at the yoke connection point. I was about ready to pull out the spare DIN insert in my SAD kit when the last one they had on the boat worked as required.

 

[Bierstadt]

I dive locally and I take what I need to repair my second stages and I have a stage set I can canabalize if need be on a boat dive. I have little adjustable wrenches and a hex set that go in a little drybox with my C-cards, mask defogger, etc. I will add a backup mask and more o-rings at some point.

 

[lowviz]

length of bungee for bandaid repairs, fully charged CIGAR lighter for flame polishing the ends in high winds, and a USB thumb drive.

Never know who you will meet with files/pics to share...

 

[Storker]

O-rings, a patch kit, and a small tool set with adjustable wrenches and an Allen key set are the basics of my SAD kit. There's a lot more (my watertight SAD box is pretty much full), but all the other stuff is secondary.

 

[ScubaSteve85]

New to the drysuit game so I'm not sure how necessary it is, but I just ordered some spare drysuit seals in preparation for a trip to Cali. A little pricey, but I'm not planning on bringing a wetsuit and I would hate to miss a dive because of a torn seal.

Other than that, standard items that come with me on every trip are a multitool, extra hex wrenches, extra port plugs, o-rings galore, spare mask, spare double ender, spare fin strap, backup light, and if weight permits, a backup reg I've been saving for a slung backup gas cylinder. After reading this thread, I need to add duck tape, zip ties and an adjustable wrench.

 

[Storker]

New to the drysuit game so I'm not sure how necessary it is, but I just ordered some spare drysuit seals in preparation for a trip to Cali. A little pricey, but I'm not planning on bringing a wetsuit and I would hate to miss a dive because of a torn seal.

Did you include glue? Or are your seals field-replaceable (ring system or similar)?

 

[ScubaSteve85]

Did you include glue? Or are your seals field-replaceable (ring system or similar)?

I have the sitech quick neck and wrist seals so Ill just have to bring the little roller tool that came with them. I should probably practice that skill before I actually have to do it, but I'd hate to accidentally tear a perfectly good seal. Just have to settle for YouTube instructional videos for now.

 

[Storker]

I have the sitech quick neck and wrist seals so Ill just have to bring the little roller tool that came with them. I should probably practice that skill before I actually have to do it, but I'd hate to accidentally tear a perfectly good seal. Just have to settle for YouTube instructional videos for now.

Ah. Same as i have (I dive a Waterproof DS). And like you, a set of seals can be found in my SAD kit. However, if you use latex instead of silicone seals, you can save a torn seal weekend with a patch kit and/or a roll of electrical tape. Just make sure to plan your dive so that a flooded suit doesn't lead to an emergency (been there, done that, got the T-shirt)