What's in your Save-a-dive kit?

[Belzelbub]

Mine is essentially as follows.
010 o-rings for LP hose
011 o-rings for LP port
014 o-rings for yoke (I don't dive yoke, primarily for buddies)
016 o-rings for PPS Transmitter battery compartment
111 o-rings for DIN
112 o-rings for Pedix battery compartment (also works for most DINs, not mine, though)
026 o-rings for Oceanic battery compartment
??? o-rings for flashlights (I forget the size, but I have a few of them)
CR2450 batteries for Oceanic computers (kids')
CR2 batteries for PPS Transmitter
AA size batteries for Perdix
Regulator tool
Shearwater battery tool
silicone lube

 

[Aviyes]

Since most of my diving is while traveling, I stick to the gear unique items or small items like original mask/fin straps, BCD repair kit, battery and battery tool for DC and o-rings. No need for other non-unique tools, the dive shop/boat will have them.

Doh...running that list I realized I might have accidentally thrown out the battery tool for my geo 2.0 during my move. Crossing my fingers it was in my GoPro case and not the DC box.

 

[ofg-1]

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

I prefer to skip a dive than to carry things that will be useless in like 99% of the dives. This sort of kits might make sense for instructors or diving center owners, who need to fix the problems of hoards of barbaric OW divers who almost never check their gear the day before or even when it’s already assembled before the dive. For me it’s not worth it

Or if you're like me and most of your dives are independent in pretty remote locations with no DC for miles around having some spares can be a life saver.

 

[2airishuman]

I did a search and did not see a thread on this yet... If I missed it, please point me in the right direction.

Newer diver here. I like to be prepared for anything and would like to build a save a dive kit. What do you keep in yours? Any specific recommendations for brands or what not? I dive mostly with experienced and prepared divers but don't want to always rely on them to have whatever is needed. If you were to build a basic kit to cover the most common issues with a budget of around $150 to start, what would yours include? I know there are plenty of lists online-I am just asking for personal experience of the most critical pieces to get a start on it.

Things I have come up with:

O ring/gasket set
Din/yoke converter
Tool Kit
Straps (mask, fins)
Drysuit gaskets

Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge!

Hello SnowBeast

I don't think lists are particularly interesting to discuss. It's the thinking behind them that matters.

If I am diving locally by myself from my car or truck I don't usually carry a "save a dive kit" as such. I usually have an extra cylinder and then I always have basic tools (crescent wrench, screwdriver) in my car. If something goes wrong it's no big deal because I don't really have much invested in the dive.

If I am diving some distance from home, from my car or truck (or my own boat), or with kids or friends, I usually bring an extra cylinder, an extra set of regulators, an extra mask, and some sort of extra wing. That gives me enough that I can swap parts around if necessary. I sometimes have o-rings and so on but I have found that with proper maintenance they are rarely necessary and I prefer to make those sorts of repairs on the bench.

If I have paid for a boat dive I don't bring anything extra because it gets in the way and having that stuff is part of the service they provide.

It's important to maintain your gear and replace it when necessary. I follow the manufacturer's service intervals on my regs and replace hoses, BC inflators, fins/fin straps, computer batteries, etc., before they get dodgy.

 

[kablooey]

A spare inflator.

 

[TMHeimer]

I won't list all I take in the kit as links to threads have been posted. I will list what I recall using in 800+ dives--
--o ring (once I think, maybe twice).
--mask strap ( gave one to a buddy once and used one myself once or twice).
--spare mask-- used this maybe 3 times. Better than farting around re-strapping mask when you are geared up.
--spare shell collecting/fish speared bag after losing one during a dive a time or two.
--pliers (think I used them once to loosen first stage knob).

 

[Kimela]

Always add duct tape - preferably in a bright color. Last trip I used it to hold my light to my camera rig AND as a band-aid for a blister on my toe (more waterproof than band-aids). Lots of uses. I roll some onto a pencil and keep it handy.

 

[TMHeimer]

Always add duct tape - preferably in a bright color. Last trip I used it to hold my light to my camera rig AND as a band-aid for a blister on my toe (more waterproof than band-aids). Lots of uses. I roll some onto a pencil and keep it handy.

Yeah, I use it all the time. That's a good idea though, I'll put some in the kit just in case.

 

[markmud]

All the o rings in the world

Hi Ministry,

I have been collecting O-rings over the last ten years. Batteries are easy to come by while you are in the wilds. Most everyone has a spare battery. Not the O-rings that seal the battery compartment.

Onboard Vision, a diver flooded his computer's battery compartment. I did not have the battery for his computer. Someone else did. I had an O-ring, that according to my mil-spec-mark-7 eyeball was an exact match. Problem solved.

Remember, the donated battery would have lasted less than a dive with the same failed O-ring that caused the flood in the first place. It was a .04 cent part and so small and light weight that an airliner does not even feel it at take-off or decelling after landing.

Just yesterday, I was looking for O-rings for our Hollis dive lights. Hollis was going through an ownership change and was unresponsive. The lights came with some spares. But nowhere was there a description of the O-ring itself.

I micrometered and calipered the O-ring and found them at theOringstore.com I found my replacement O-rings for my Oceanic (Pelagic Pressure Systems/Aqua Lung, Shearwater) sender. The minimum order for one of the O-rings was huge. So I bought a kit which has 95% of the O-rings I regularly use for scuba in relatively large quantities of each. Some of the O-rings in this kit are so close in size, that they could be used in a pinch if the proper O-ring has been used up. The kit that I bought has hundreds more O-rings than offerings from an LDS or on-line dive retailer. An Oceanic battery kit with one battery and one O-ring costs the same as this entire kit. They are Buna-N, duro 70 O-rings.

When I replace batteries, I always like to use an O-ring that is fresh, supple, not deformed, nor damaged. They are stupid cheap. I always use KY for O-rings, either Christo or petroleum-free silicone grease (and I have both in my save-a-dive kit.

My wife's back-up computer had what we thought was a fresh battery. It was dying quickly. We were at LCBR (not many purchase options for spares there). I had two spare batteries, the computer's spanner wrench, and a handful of new O-rings. Problem solved.

I also carry tools, IP gauge, batteries, masks, and some fin straps. And, specialty tools for scuba equipment.

In a water resistant bag, my kit weighs 2 lbs 5 ounces. We were restricted to a 55 pound checked bag and a 15 pound carry-on while flying on the DE Haviland Twin Otter AC from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman. My Save-a-dive kit made the trip with no issues. I even brought my pony/bailout bottle with its regulator (my bailout always travels with a trans-fill whip).

Why not!


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