Reminds me of a recent thread about what type of writing instruments people used to make notes underwater. Me? I use one of these...
They are made from a cellulo-organic material which is known for its depth compensating properties. Specially designed, these precision writing instruments are of hexagonal cross-section in order to accommodate divers wearing a range of gloves. The active ingredient in the instrument is a polymorph of elemental carbon, specially imported from the country of New Hampshire. Each instrument is coated with a patented substance known as "yellow paint" to allow the instrument to double as a signaling device - either at depth or at the surface. You'll notice that image I've posted above is a purpose-built piece of tech gear; easily identified by the lack of several failure points that are commonly seen in recreation pencils:
Plus, you'll also notice the model I use has no wireless transmitter, no switches to fail, etc.
Now, you may say "But Ray, isn't a pencil a life support system?" And of course you'd be right to ask that question. You'd sound like a bit of an alarmist nut, but you'd be right. Either way, I do worry about redundancy for anything that holds my life in its hands (if it had hands) so I always carry an appropriate backup...
Some folks may opt to carry a SparePencilTM...
but I believe that something that was originally designed to carry just enough graphite to enable helicopter pilots to write "Oh sh-t!" before drowning has no place in tec diving! That's why in cases where you REALLY need redundancy many recreational divers opt to sling one of THESE as backup...
On the other hand, hard-core tec people like myself will often "dive doubles"...
which are perfect as this configuration allows you to completely isolate one pencil in the event of a "catastrophic" failure...
:shocked2:
They are made from a cellulo-organic material which is known for its depth compensating properties. Specially designed, these precision writing instruments are of hexagonal cross-section in order to accommodate divers wearing a range of gloves. The active ingredient in the instrument is a polymorph of elemental carbon, specially imported from the country of New Hampshire. Each instrument is coated with a patented substance known as "yellow paint" to allow the instrument to double as a signaling device - either at depth or at the surface. You'll notice that image I've posted above is a purpose-built piece of tech gear; easily identified by the lack of several failure points that are commonly seen in recreation pencils:
Plus, you'll also notice the model I use has no wireless transmitter, no switches to fail, etc.
Now, you may say "But Ray, isn't a pencil a life support system?" And of course you'd be right to ask that question. You'd sound like a bit of an alarmist nut, but you'd be right. Either way, I do worry about redundancy for anything that holds my life in its hands (if it had hands) so I always carry an appropriate backup...
Some folks may opt to carry a SparePencilTM...
but I believe that something that was originally designed to carry just enough graphite to enable helicopter pilots to write "Oh sh-t!" before drowning has no place in tec diving! That's why in cases where you REALLY need redundancy many recreational divers opt to sling one of THESE as backup...
On the other hand, hard-core tec people like myself will often "dive doubles"...
which are perfect as this configuration allows you to completely isolate one pencil in the event of a "catastrophic" failure...
:shocked2: