Help Needed With Safety Items

[james.earnhardt]

My wife is currently completing her open water and I want to outfit our BC with some basic safety items. Right now all we carry is the standard whistle. Please help provide some ideas as to what to carry because we have all had that "man I wish I would have thought to have brought that before" moment.

So far I have thought of these items:

Whistle
Safety Signal Mirror?
Safety Bouy?

[DirtyWaterIL]

those are all good things to have. One thing you need to also do is make sure you know where the items are, and how to use them. I know it may sound stupid, but if you really need help and are in a serious situatuion it is easy to forget things and not be able to figure out something as simple as blowing up a smb. Also make sure they are in a place where you can easily access them in an emergency.

[texdiveguy]

Basic folding knife

[94GTStang]

I say get a dive knife or EMT shears. I use this http://scubatoys.com/store/detail.as...TitaniumRemora knife and I like it a lot. It attaches easily to my BC and is small enough to be out of the way. Luckily it has seen more topside action than underwater.

Could also get a safety sausage that inflates via either your octo or reg.

[MEL-DC Diver]

Surface Marker Buoy. While the other items on the list have value, the SMB will likely be the most often used. After that, I would get a knife or shears.

[techgnostic]

Originally Posted by texdiveguy

Basic folding knife

I folding knife is an ok backup...but it is hard to deploy with gloves. Look at getting a fixed knife, and my personal fav: EMT shears (they cut line better than suratted edges). There are threads dealing the knives worth looking at first.

A steel cap on the knife or a tank banger, or a u/w noise making device is a very useful thing to have as well.

Don't forget a slate: makes communication between buddies a lot easier.

[thor]

Although not basic equipment: Forget the whistle. Buy her a dive alert. You can hear that thing a mile away. Also a compass and knife are not a bad idea.

[Splitlip]

the type of diving you do may drive some of the gear.

I do mostly ocean drift diving.
I have a dive alert mounted on my LP hose.
I always carry at least 1 DSMB and a spool which I can also inflate orally at the surface.
If seas are narly I will carry 2 dsmb's.
I don't bother with a mirror. Besides, masks reflect the sun pretty well.
I always carry a flashlight.
Night dives, I don't bother with a 2nd DSMB, but will carry an extra mask as wll as 2 backup lights.
Always 2 cutting tools. Usually 3.

Don't get the image of a christmas tree.
It all tucks neatly away with the exception of the 2nd DSMB spool if I carry it. That goes on a d-ring on my right hip. I don't care for a butt d-ring.

Can you get away with less. I would hope.
But in my history, I have used a knife to cut my 1st stage free from a monofiliment birds nest, I have drifted in rough seas away from my boat without the tender knowing and had to be picked up by strangers, I have been run over at the surface by a boat, have lost a mask and I once rescued four divers adrift. (I saw the reflection off their masks)

Edit:
In my Avatar, I am carrying every item listed above with the exception of the spare mask and 3rd light. I was getting ready for weight check.

[Judestudio]

Originally Posted by thor

Although not basic equipment: Forget the whistle. Buy her a dive alert. You can hear that thing a mile away. Also a compass and knife are not a bad idea.

Second to the Dive Alert. I heard it's a must-have on some liveaboard / dive boats.

[james.earnhardt]

Thanks for all of the help and ideas so far. My wife and I are diving in Crete, Greece so all of our dives will be Ocean dives. I started pricing out the bouy marker, dive alert device, save a dive kit and some first aid stuff. Honestly though with the price of everything and the cost of getting all of my wife's gear together I can't afford to buy a good quality light and knife yet. I know there are some basics but can anyone recommend a good starter set until I can save for the real deal. I was looking at pricing the BCD knife at $14.95 but it doesn't look like it has a tank banger on it. Next step up is the Hydralloy at $32.95 looks pretty good. For the light I was looking at the Uk-Q40 because it is on sale. Any input please help and if there are some used equipment or old rental equipment we would consider that also. Once again thanks for the help.

Paul Earnhardt