AD 2016 Q3

GEAR
ACCESSORIZE
YOUR DIVE
By Reilly Fogarty
Photos by Stephen Frink
Quality dive accessories exist to make
diving not only safer but also simpler
and more enjoyable. Whether it’s
an easy-to-use signaling device to
get your buddy’s attention, a rugged
cutting tool to get you out of a sticky
situation or a bright light to illuminate a
dark place, an effective accessory might be
just what your gear bag is missing.
LESS IS MORE
While a few handy accessories can enhance your dives,
carrying too many may do the opposite. Looking like a
Christmas tree underwater with countless shiny gadgets
hanging from your BCD might make you a hit around
the holiday season, but it will also make you work harder
while swimming and limit how quickly you can reach
what you need. More dangling gear also increases your
risk of being entangled in loose line, nearby buddies or
innocent marine life. Thoughtfully consider what tools
or gadgets you’d like to take with you on each dive.
CUTTING DEVICES
Few problems in diving can be as stressful and dangerous
as underwater entanglement. Even when you’re not in
immediate danger, having a cutting device — or better
yet, more than one — within easy reach will put your
mind at ease and let you focus on having fun. Whether
you use it to trim a few inches off your weight belt before
you gear up or to free your buddy from some fishing line
he swam through during the dive, a cutting device is one
of the most important accessories you can have on hand.
Trauma shears and fully serrated knives can make quick
work of thick lines and wire, while hook-shaped cutting
devices are most useful for cutting thin lines with one
hand. Corrosion resistance is an important factor when
choosing a cutting tool, and devices made of titanium or
high-quality stainless steel will generally last the longest.
Any device that is simple, robust and easily accessed can
be useful in an entanglement and will make dealing with
problems that arise underwater minor annoyances rather
than emergencies.
ATTENTION-GETTING DEVICES
Whether you need to let your buddy know you’re
running low on gas or you want to show her the elusive
albino frogfish you just found, attention-getting devices
such as tank bangers and underwater maracas can be
incredibly useful. These accessories come in a variety of
forms, from elastic bands with hard rubber balls you use
to strike your tank, to waterproof containers filled with
metal beads that you shake. Other types of noisemakers
can be attached to your regulator’s low-pressure inflator
hose; these use gas from your cylinder to make duck
calls or whistling noises that are hard to miss. These
accessories are particularly useful in good visibility
when your buddy can see you but needs to be reminded
to look in your direction. In areas of limited visibility,
noisemakers can still be helpful, but their usefulness is
limited by the visibility. This underscores the importance
of maintaining viz-appropriate proximity to your buddy.
LIGHTS
Essential on night dives but often overlooked for
deeper dives, wreck dives and dives on certain reefs,
108 | SUMMER 2016