Things Scuba Instructors teach that are either bad or just wrong.

[Pressurehead]

I know how you feel, 100 lb+ test mono on wreck off Sydney.
And the new braid line with a hook [grey it was and hard to see] on a mooring line to a site here, so you must have cutting tools you can acquire with either hand.
The Victorinox kitchen knife is cheep and does the job.

 

[SlugLife]

Do some you old guys remember in the past when we had a large knife strapped to our leg [mine was on inside of the left leg] and we had our snorkel [basic tube with mouthpiece] pushed down the straps beside the knife ?
Only on dives we may require it, that is.
Did not notice it when flutter kicking [which we did].
This was taught to me by some 'old salt' divers 50+ years ago.
Entanglement you say, we had "Excalibur" and often a small knife on the harness as well [I did].
I have rolled one when required now.
Only had a snorkel on mask when I was teaching [as required and is a law here].

These days I dive in areas with a lot of boat-anchors and ropes. Occasionally, I'll find a nice one worth removing from a pile, or sometimes I just want to eliminate a potential entanglement hazard.

DGX Titanium M-Cut Safety Tool

The DGX M-Cut is a lightweight and corrosion resistant cutting tool.

www.divegearexpress.com

That line-cutter will cut through a boating rope, but you're looking at sawing 7 to 20 times per cut depending on the rope. Multiple cuts, and you're wasting precious energy, time, and air. I still have those line-cutters, but recently added these beastly 10inch utility shears. One quick motion and it slices through every anchor rope like butter. No ocean dives yet, but I've taken these on about a dozen dive-trips and no rust so far.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Do some you old guys remember in the past when we had a large knife strapped to our leg [mine was on inside of the left leg] and we had our snorkel [basic tube with mouthpiece] pushed down the straps beside the knife ?
Only on dives we may require it, that is.
Did not notice it when flutter kicking [which we did].
This was taught to me by some 'old salt' divers 50+ years ago.
Entanglement you say, we had "Excalibur" and often a small knife on the harness as well [I did].
I have rolled one when required now.
Only had a snorkel on mask when I was teaching [as required and is a law here].

I used surgical tubing to hold my plastic knife sheath for a 12-inch Sportways orange-handled knife to the inside of my right calf. My snorkel was secured inverted contouring along the back of my calf. If I needed two knives, I wore a small Wenoka on my left forearm.

 

[Pressurehead]

small Wenoka

I still have one, had it on my inflator hose for a time, photo when I find it.

 

[Pressurehead]

Alongside it's big brother, and they are sharp, why? Because I can.
This is why we carry knifes. The Fishing Line Lost at Sea in a Year Could Wrap Around Earth 18 Times

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I know how you feel, 100 lb+ test mono on wreck off Sydney.
And the new braid line with a hook [grey it was and hard to see] on a mooring line to a site here, so you must have cutting tools you can acquire with either hand.
The Victorinox kitchen knife is cheep and does the job.
View attachment 749501

I use those, well I don’t know if it’s exactly like the one you pictured but similar. I got a handful from the crab guys who use them to cut through wire reinforced crab pot line like butter.
I had a gig diving on crab boats clearing line off props in our local marina. The green horns would get line tangled up in props all the time at the start of the season. They had boxes of those knives and they were only about $10 a piece or less.
Best line cutters I’ve ever used.

 

[Pressurehead]

Yep that's them, called Victorinox 'Paring Knife with Ultra-Sharp Edge', around $10 AU here [they were $6 when I first bought them].

​

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Snorkels belong in a pocket as they normally are not needed.

Objection! A snorkel can save you from drowning and should never be stowed away by inexperienced divers. A young woman, who ran out of air and surfaced alone, had difficulty staying afloat and drowned. The soothsayers can rant all they want but the fact remains. Once panic sets in there is no solution. This woman was using rental dive gear and the BCD handed to her was one or two sizes too big. It was fully inflated and had lifted above her shoulders, leaving her head partly submerged. NAUI suggests having some lead in the BCD (as a counterbalance), and most of it on a detachable weight belt (recreational divers). The role of the Divemaster should be to check all gear is suitable for the intended diver.

 

[Jeff_O]

I always use a snorkel diving with scuba. It is on my right side and power inflator on the left side. When I used a pony bottle the second stage on the left and my primary second stage on my right. I know where my power inflator and dump valve is on my dry suit. A sharp knife holstered on my dry suit power inflator hose right at my chest. Left inside leg a second knife. I've been in heavy kelp and had been warned not to take it. They felt it would catch on kelp. I saw kelp catch fin old style straps and diver keep kicking going nowhere. You tape the excess strap and eliminate that easy. I always when going through an area of kelp that I felt could be a problem, use both arms forward in v formation to easily gone through. I can say I heard before people carry a snorkel in a pocket or on a leg. Funny it was said you don't need a snorkel ice diving. Nuff said?

 

[happy-diver]

Just make sure your snorkel is dir