Will this Scubapro SMB do the trick?

[anchochile]

New diver, doing my first boast diving trip soon to the Channel Islands (two days). I'm working on getting together the necessary safety & signaling equipment that I haven't needed for the shore dives I've been doing in Monterey. The trip is beginner-oriented and all dives will be guided by a DM, but it still seems worth having a signaling device for use on the surface in case I end up away from the boat.

A friend gave me this older Scubapro SMB and I'm wondering if this would do the trick for this trip. It's very simple, no valves or anything - just open on one end and sealed on the other. Size is 4 feet long.

I'm not trained in deploying a DSMB from depth, nor do I have a reel, so this would be just for use on the surface. I guess I would inflate it with a regulator?

I'd love to avoid spending money on yet another piece of gear if possible. Will this do the trick?

 

[runsongas]

yea, you could make it work in a pinch. better than nothing. a 6' dsmb with a finger spool is more common for ocean diving.

 

[Bowers]

i am not a fan of the open bottom smb's, but the short answer is "yes, it'll do". that style comes with some cord attached to the smb loop and stuffed in the bag under the smb instead of having a spool. if you replace the chord and practice deploying it from the bottom of a pool (using backup reg to inflate it), you'd be good to go.

 

[eelnoraa]

Not a big fan here either, it will always better than not having one. In your dive trip, you will most likely not need to shoot the bag at depth, more than likely, you will shoot it on surface to indicate you location in case you are separate from your group. You just have to hold the bottom loop down after you inflate it.

 

[anchochile]

Thanks, all, for the thoughts. Sounds like it's not the best tool for the job but should be sufficient for this trip. I'll try to practice inflating it at the surface on a shore dive in the coming weeks.