Which SMB?

[alexxred]

Hi all,

Just wondering what SMB's your guys prefer. I'm mainly doing boat diving, often in some big swells. I had a carter one, which I loved (although it was HUGE). The current one that I have I find a real pain to inflate.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Alex

 

[rainman_02]

I normally use a ~3ft Halcyon. If it looks like a day with big swells, I'll take my 4.5ft.

 

[DocWong]

I always carry a small 6 lb Halcyon SMB for drift ascents with calm waters, but also carry the big 8', 60 lb Halcyon SMB for when the waves are larger. Out in the ocean it can make a big difference.

When the waves are big, you want to be seen.

 

[alexxred]

^^^^
Thanks for the replies. I'll look into those.

Have any of you guys used the Carter SMB's I had the PF75. Really heavy duty but well made. I'm thinking about getting another one of those, but I'd be interested to hear from you guys what you think of the Carter stuff. It did require using my reg to inflate,

I've seen some of the Halcyon ones have an oral inflate & that you can also use your LP hose. Are there big advantages to this to say using your reg. The problem I can see with using your reg is if it gets tangled, in the SMB then away you go. Is this also a potential problem if you use your LP hose?

**Having looked at them I would go for either the 4.5 or 6 (overkill??)

Also would you guys go for closed circut or semi closed??

 

[Web Monkey]

^^^^
I've seen some of the Halcyon ones have an oral inflate & that you can also use your LP hose. Are there big advantages to this to say using your reg. The problem I can see with using your reg is if it gets tangled, in the SMB then away you go. Is this also a potential problem if you use your LP hose?

In cold water, it's really nice to be able to inflate your SMB with exhaust from your reg, since it keeps the inside of your reg dry, and cuts way down on the chances of having a free-flow and keeps your reg away from the bag and the line.

The tech @ Atomic mentioned that flooding your second stage then dumping a bunch of air out of it in very cold water drastically increases the chances of a free-flow, since the second stage doesn't have the same thermal protection as the sealed first stage. I took his advice, since I had a very nasty free-flow in very cold water, by inflating using my second stage.

OTOH, I've never been able to use the "exhaust" method and hang on to my Carter (same one you have) long enough get a decent amount of air into it, since even a 1/3 fill at depth is still 25 lbs of lift, which really starts to drag me up.

You can certainly inflate it with second stage, which will give you a nice fill in a hurry, however that leaves you with the possibility of a free-flow or entanglement and a very rapid ascent.

In warm water, the method shown on the 5thd video works nicely. I thought it was s around here somewhere, but doesn't seem to show up on the search. In cold water, the best I've come up with is a safe but partial fill.

So far nobody on the surface has insulted me about my short tube

I have friends who use a "blower" attachment on a drysuit hose. It's decidely non-dir, and also has a pretty low flow rate compared to a second stage, so I'm not sure if that would get you anything. On the positive side, if you freeze it open, it's easy to unplug

I'll be watching to see if anybody has a better answer, since I'm not really happy with the current situation.

Terry

PS. sorry, I didn't even answer the question. I carry a red and a yellow 75 lb Carter.

 

[RTodd]

The Carter sausage ones are probably the best. Even the really long one is pretty easy to stow. I have one of the Halcyon ones too but I don't like the Halcyon inflator fill design.

 

[alexxred]

Thanks for the responses. I'm just curious what don't you like about the inflator fill design?

Is using your second stage to inflate considered DIR, or is the risk of engagement considered to great?

I find that the only way to get enough air into the carter PF-75 is to fill using my second stage. Also I have experienced my reg free flowing as soon as I take it out of my mouth, unless I turn it back to predive.

 

[Web Monkey]

Thanks for the responses. I'm just curious what don't you like about the inflator fill design?

You mean the garage-blower-nozzle thing? It inflates the bag too slowly, and I don't like having to disconnect and reconnect my drysuit while wearing big blue smurf gloves. I've used it, and it's not awful, it just doesn't impress me enough to want to carry it with me

Is using your second stage to inflate considered DIR, or is the risk of engagement considered to great?

Sorry, no idea if it's DIR. I only subscribe to the "having a really great buddy I train with, having a safe dive plan and sticking to it, not carrying stuff I don't need" parts of DIR . However, since I got caught on the line once while inflating the big bag with my second stage, doing it that way now scares the **** out of me and I try to avoid it.

Someone here recommended inflating with the second stage exhaust, which I like a lot. It keeps the bag and spool overhead, so there's almost no chance of getting it tangled in your gear, since your gear is below it.

I find that the only way to get enough air into the carter PF-75 is to fill using my second stage. Also I have experienced my reg free flowing as soon as I take it out of my mouth, unless I turn it back to predive.

Yeah, that's a problem. If the water is cold enough, you'll get a freeflow that can only be stopped by shutting off the tank and letting the reg thaw.

It would be really nice if Carter made a bag that was the same length, but maybe 1/3 the volume. A 7', 25Lb bag would be about perfect.

Terry

 

[alexxred]

so then are there any better optoins than the Carter to the Halcyon?

 

[PhilEllis]

I have probably sold over 1000 SMBs in the past 8 years. The Carter is a very nice SMB, and I have lots of local customers that use that bag. For a look, click.......

Carter PSMB 75 Pound Safety Sausage

My personal preference is the XS Scuba safety sausage. It is large enough, and relatively inexpensive. Take a look at this link.............

XS Scuba Personal Safety Marker

You can save an additional 10% on our site by using the discount code FIRST30 in the shopping cart.

I don't really understand a closed circuit safety sausage. I have yet to find anyone that can explain to me why it is better. I prefer a variety of filling options.

Phil Ellis