Too much DSMB for me?? Screw up!

[Marie13]

OH, that DOES look good!

$20 for the 100ft option, $22 for the 150ft one. Do it! Certainly cheap enough.

 

[aquacat8]

$20 for the 100ft option, $22 for the 150ft one. Do it! Certainly cheap enough.

I only see the 75 foot pink on both sites... where are you seeing the longer ones?

 

[Jay]

I recently purchase a 6 foot DSMB and tried it on a drift dive in West Palm. It was a disaster, though luckily I was not hurt. I used a cheap plastic ratcheting reel I had used successfully with a smaller DSMB but this time I somehow did not disengage the mechanism AND at the same time I was also having difficulty orally putting enough air into the big DSMB from 30, feet so I used my second stage, and I went rocketing to the surface and scared myself silly before I knew what hit me.

So obviously I need practice. Also I guess I should use a spool instead of a reel. Also if I use a reel can you advise on a quality reel?

But I think that for me, being a small gal, that big DSMB might just be too much to handle at depth. I mean what is the lift capacity of that thing? It shocked me! I am thinking of going back to the little one... need to buy one again as I lost the other one at BHB.

I wanted to have 1 DSMB that would work for both SOS and non-SOS situations.

I went for this AP one with an inflation valve. Their inflator valve is great; there's no fluffing ... ~2seconds and you're done. I have a separate 1m LP hose for that which I'm also going to use for my Dive Alert. The hose creates nice space away from my gear, and for my Dive Alert it's easier to keep my ears below the water level. I have the AP reel too - it's not cheap but worth it IMO. They ship direct. Only downside is the valve is about 1inch cubed. AP Self-sealing SMB with Easifil Adaptor | AP Diving

 

[BlueTrin]

Thanks for your replies! Going to practice in the pool, and be more willing to LET GO if necessary!

Agree with you should be ready to let go or cut the line if you use a reel I think

 

[Marie13]

I only see the 75 foot pink on both sites... where are you seeing the longer ones?

I gave the link to the black one on DGX

 

[AJ]

Opinions please:
I have a 6 ft halcyon that I can shoot from depth. I can disconnect my inflator hose and fill the bag until it wants to go. Is that a advisable or am I asking for problems. Problems include dealing with the bag, hose and reel and then reconnecting the hose.

Personally I inflate through my mouth. In other words: transferring air from my lungs to the smb keep me neutral. After I have released the SMB I start breating again. That way I can control the amount of air in my lungs and SMB and prevent shooting up. Takes some practice, but imo this is the best/safest method.

 

[uncfnp]

BTW. If you are deploying a 6 foot bag at depth, say 75 feet or more, and a mistake allows the bag to drag you up, you are probable putting too much air in. Just before I release my bag I can feel a definite tug but nothing I could not counter briefly if I find something wrong.

 

[Ghetto Diver]

Uncfnp explained it better than my post earlier...this is what I meant by when you feel it "wants to go"

Also...you can practice dry. That's what I did. Get familiar with where it is, how to unclip and position in your hand in front of you without looking at it.
Similar to shooting... I used to this a lot with a cleared pistol to practice draws, reload etc.

 

[johndiver999]

BTW. If you are deploying a 6 foot bag at depth, say 75 feet or more, and a mistake allows the bag to drag you up, you are probable putting too much air in. Just before I release my bag I can feel a definite tug but nothing I could not counter briefly if I find something wrong.

I agree, if you a deploying deep, it is actually safer. You probably only need one lung full of air. If you do that and then release it and it gets tangled immediately or you screw up, you should be able to pull it back down (just a few feet) , dump some air and/or fix the tangle. All without getting dragged to the surface.

Once you release it and it is traveling up smoothly, then it would be unlikely to have a problem, but if you do, then you should be mentally prepared to just drop it and let it go. You need to be very mindful of the danger it presents, once it is flying up and has expanded, you must be ready to drop it instantly - don't even think about fixing a tangle.

If you really screw up and get tangled in it when it is pretty full and dropping does not resolve the problem, then you probably should dump air from the BC, exhale and prepare for a ride. I doubt you could cut it faster than it can reach the surface.

Trying to inflate a large 6-ft marker, from 20 or 30 feet, is actually very difficult since you would have to be quite negative to control it, since you would have to put so much air in it at such a shallow depth. A smaller marker is probably safer to deal with since it can't hold such a dangerous amount of lift. if you make it to the surface and you are really lost, then you might consider deploying a second, much larger SMB. Inflating a large marker at the surface does not present the same dangers. That is my take on it anyway.