Which safety sausage or surface marker do you recommend ?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Melanie White

Contributor
Messages
140
Reaction score
30
Location
72315
# of dives
0 - 24
Which safety sausage or surface marker do you recommend ? And with or without a reel?
I'm getting all my husband's and my gear together for next months trip minus weights and tanks.
All I like is this, computers, and neoprene mask strap covers.
And only computers because I'm having a hard time making my mind up
 
NONE. And here's why...

We were in Florida for a 2 week trip, when one of our "boys" got separated from the boat. The whole time he was about 1/2 mile away but we couldn't' see him. We circled the area for quite awhile, gazing out on the horizon for his SMB. Saw nothing. Everything we saw floating on the surface that looked like a diver ended up being a buoy, trash, nothing, or a lobster pot float.

We eventually got low on fuel looking for him and was just about to call the USCG so we'd have enough fuel to get back to land when we finally saw him.

He had his SMB out, and was blowing on his whistle the whole time. He said he just floated there, watching us drive all around him. There was nothing he could do to make us know he was nearby. SMB's cant' be seen, a whistle is worthless, and the little mirror looks just like all the other 263,913,287,442,286,876 sparkles on the water on a sunny day. There were three others on the boat and all three of us failed to see him.

After that incident and almost having to leave him and call USCG, we went to a red smoke signal that is waterproof and submersible. It's cool-burn and can be held in the hand and will float and burn on the surface of the water. Now we all carry one in our BCD pocket. Mine has been to 112 feet over the last 3 months and 8 dives and is still watertight.

Video:
 
NONE. And here's why...

We were in Florida for a 2 week trip, when one of our "boys" got separated from the boat. The whole time he was about 1/2 mile away but we couldn't' see him. We circled the area for quite awhile, gazing out on the horizon for his SMB. Saw nothing. Everything we saw floating on the surface that looked like a diver ended up being a buoy, trash, nothing, or a lobster pot float.

We eventually got low on fuel looking for him and was just about to call the USCG so we'd have enough fuel to get back to land when we finally saw him.

He had his SMB out, and was blowing on his whistle the whole time. He said he just floated there, watching us drive all around him. There was nothing he could do to make us know he was nearby. SMB's cant' be seen, a whistle is worthless, and the little mirror looks just like all the other 263,913,287,442,286,876 sparkles on the water on a sunny day. There were three others on the boat and all three of us failed to see him.

After that incident and almost having to leave him and call USCG, we went to a red smoke signal that is waterproof and submersible. It's cool-burn and can be held in the hand and will float and burn on the surface of the water. Now we all carry one in our BCD pocket. Mine has been to 112 feet over the last 3 months and 8 dives and is still watertight.

Video:
Where did you get yours?
 
NONE. And here's why...

We were in Florida for a 2 week trip, when one of our "boys" got separated from the boat. The whole time he was about 1/2 mile away but we couldn't' see him. We circled the area for quite awhile, gazing out on the horizon for his SMB. Saw nothing. Everything we saw floating on the surface that looked like a diver ended up being a buoy, trash, nothing, or a lobster pot float.

We eventually got low on fuel looking for him and was just about to call the USCG so we'd have enough fuel to get back to land when we finally saw him.

He had his SMB out, and was blowing on his whistle the whole time. He said he just floated there, watching us drive all around him. There was nothing he could do to make us know he was nearby. SMB's cant' be seen, a whistle is worthless, and the little mirror looks just like all the other 263,913,287,442,286,876 sparkles on the water on a sunny day. There were three others on the boat and all three of us failed to see him.

After that incident and almost having to leave him and call USCG, we went to a red smoke signal that is waterproof and submersible. It's cool-burn and can be held in the hand and will float and burn on the surface of the water. Now we all carry one in our BCD pocket. Mine has been to 112 feet over the last 3 months and 8 dives and is still watertight.

Video:

The best product that no one can find...
 
I'll answer the OP's question...

I have 2 DSMB's, both made by Halcyon. I use their 3.3' DSMB and Slim 6' DSMB. They're well constructed, and have lasted me for a few years now...

The 3.3' is super nice for dives where there is little current and you can be relatively sure you'll surface by your boat. It can be inflated (orally) from 15' without much issue. The 6' is clearly larger, so I carry that one when I'll be in more current.

A lot impacts a boats ability to find you when you use your DSMB... bigger is often better. If I ever get a chance to dive in a remote place with strong currents (SE Asia) I'll likely pack a 16' SMB that I saw for sale on Dive Gear Express the other day... that thing is HUGE.

With all this, I use a DSMB for two main reasons... I don't want to be hit by a boat when surfacing, or waiting for a pick-up. The added bonus of increasing my visibility should my boat be actively looking for me is just that, a bonus.

The flares posted above are interesting... I doubt they would be allowed on a flight however, so that fact alone would limit their use for me...

Really the ultimate SAR (Search and Recovery) tool would be a PLB... but that's a totally different beast when compared to a DSMB... I wish I could carry both, but for several reasons I haven't sprung for a PLB, yet.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom