Which Surface Marker Buoy is right for Me?

[jringold]

Whatever you get, practice, practice, practice. I watched about a bazillion youtube vids on launching one. It looked extremely easy. Last week I had my first chance to try it out for real from about 60 fsw. It was a colossal failure – took off like a MX Missile. Then the knot I had tied for the loop came undone once it hit the surface.

 

[captio2000]

Get the 6 footer from DAN. Has all the features, comes with signaling mirror, whistle and LED light. Only one I've seen that advertises a radar reflector strip to help you get found if you are really lost.

 

[lerpy]

My recommendation from my diving experience, and from working on a boat, is get a 6 footer. I personaly have one that is 6 foot tall, and is a closed bottom so oral, or LP line inflate. It has reflective strips on top and a pocket you can slide a strobe into. Once you have it, practice as people have said, be able to deploy that, and get it well filled ( make sure it has relief valve). The other thing is keep tension on it. When I accend I stay slightly negative and use the line as my guide, keeping tension on it so it is upright. So many people deploy it and it hits the surface nad flops over rendering it ineffective. Keep tension, and when you get to the surface hold it upright until your boat is close enough to protect you.

 

[doctormike]

These are the best.

 

[CNYMAD]

I'm very new to deploying a SMB. With good advice from others, I purchased Zeagle Deluxe Signal Tube (SMB) 251-1002 with reviews at scuba.com and a good reel as well. The advice to practice, practice, practice is the best. Also, carry a knife in case of tangling.

 

[stuartv]

These are the best.

There are like 5 different models there. Which one? And what makes it better than the DAN one at 2/3 the price? The DAN ones having a radar reflective strip seems really good. I don't see mention of any Carter ones having a radar strip.

 

[doctormike]

There are like 5 different models there. Which one? And what makes it better than the DAN one at 2/3 the price? The DAN ones having a radar reflective strip seems really good. I don't see mention of any Carter ones having a radar strip.

 

[JohnnyC]

There are like 5 different models there. Which one? And what makes it better than the DAN one at 2/3 the price? The DAN ones having a radar reflective strip seems really good. I don't see mention of any Carter ones having a radar strip.

The "radar reflective strip" in the DAN SMB is actually a small panel, and it is nowhere near large enough to be an adequate radar reflector. Look at actual radar reflectors for things like man overboard situations.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/re...3968-radar-reflective-smb-safety-sausage.html

Yes, the Carter bags are better. They are MUCH higher quality, and order of magnitude at least.

 

[stuartv]

The "radar reflective strip" in the DAN SMB is actually a small panel, and it is nowhere near large enough to be an adequate radar reflector. Look at actual radar reflectors for things like man overboard situations.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/re...3968-radar-reflective-smb-safety-sausage.html

Yes, the Carter bags are better. They are MUCH higher quality, and order of magnitude at least.

Wow. Carter bags are at least 10 times better. That's pretty impressive as my DAN one seems pretty good. 10 times better than that must be amazing.

I don't have time to read the whole radar reflective thread. Can I infer from your post that the strip in the DAN SMB is 100% useless (i.e. it would make exactly 0 difference, compared to an SMB without any radar reflective material) when a boat with radar is searching for someone?

---------- Post added October 7th, 2015 at 09:56 AM ----------

Carter bags are the Gold iPhone of the SMB world. Got it. That definitely helps me feel okay about sticking with my DANdroid SMB.

 

[doctormike]

Yes, the Carter bags are better. They are MUCH higher quality, and order of magnitude at least.

Wow. Carter bags are at least 10 times better. That's pretty impressive as my DAN one seems pretty good. 10 times better than that must be amazing.

Stuart, Stuart, Stuart.

Just when I was becoming impressed with your analytical abilities, you make a rookie assumption like that. Johnny (like most of us in the technical diving community) calculate orders of magnitude in base e. The Carter bags are approximately 2.718 times better than the DAN SMB.