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I have O2 and a big first aid kit, especially for when I dive the North Coast of California, where it’s typically a 1/2 minimum drive to find the closest cell phone coverage. I’ve had DAN insurance since I got certified. Every dive, I carry a DSMB w/spool, signal mirror, dye marker, buddy strap, shears, DIR knife and line cutter, not to mention can light and two backup lights. I also carry a Nautilus Lifeline (old school with voice capability). It’s been very handy. I’ve never had to use the emergency GPS location distress beacon feature, but I have used the voice capability to ask for pickup when back on the surface and I’m either down current from the boat (oops!) or in a planned drop off and pickup later scenario. Too bad the current model doesn’t have the voice capability.
If you have a Garmin Descent, you can pair it to the inreach2 and you will be able to send messages or activate the SOS directly from the watch without having to take it out of the case!
Of course you know I have the ACR PLB vacuum sealed in a dry fob dive housing (the wicked dive housing leaked) I also have a spot x (larger than the garmin inreach) and on our trip to Socorro someone else had the Garmin inreach and it out performed the SpotX in connectivity to the point that I am going to likely switch over sometime this year. I think the Garmin inreach would work well for you.
Do you know the Wenoll oxygen rebreather system. Its very common in at least Germany and provides 100% oxygen for 7.5 h with a small 2 liter bottle. Or 3.5h for two persons. So in your van you could leave the big O2 bottle away or just use it as deco stage. Lets face real emegencies in really rural areas an hour is nothing to get to the next hyperbaric chamber. And what is often forgotten, when a diver is beeing actively rescued by another diver, the rescuer also might need oxygen or a hyperbaric therapy.
I bought a DAN O2 kit last year for the diving I do in The Netherlands. It's heavy and big but like you said, better to have it when you need it. Got a SMB, light, whistle, mirror. I've been debating which beacon to buy. The Inreach appeals to me because it works globally and it's two-way, but it contacts a remote rescue center which might be overkill. A Lifeline might work better to alert a liveaboard or day boat, quicker respons and avoids alerting the whole rescue services. But most small boats (especially in places like Indonesia) dont have a receiver. I guess it depend on the destination.
When it comes to med kits I suggest having two. I suggest having one trauma kit dedicated to immediately dealing with life threatening injuries. It should have things to deal with life threatening breathing conditions and bleeding, containing things like tourniquets, Quikclot, NPAs, and other tools to deal with chest injuries. The second kit is what most first aid kits are, a boo boo kit. They have tools for dealing with minor bleeding, fractures, burns, etc. You keep them seperate because you don't want to have to dig through a pile of bandaids to find the NPA to deal with an obstructed airway. Or someone opening up a $10 pressure dressing when all they needed was some gauze and an ACE wrap. Another thing to consider for technical divers is that we can use our oxygen bottles instead of having a dedicated DAN oxygen bottle. Even at 1,000psi an AL40 has more oxygen than the average DAN kit. You just buy the smaller DAN kit that just has the regs/masks and then add an adapter that you can get from DGX that will convert DIN to the MedOx style valve. One final thought it doesn't hurt having equipment beyond your current skill level, as someone might have the skills to use it on a victim. In fact that victim might even be you. You don't have to go hog wild, but if planning a group trip off the beaten path an skin stapler or an ambu bag might hold things over until medievac arrives.
Another you tuber I follow uses a garmin insight. Wherever you can get satellite link it will work. She just used hers in Africa on a road in the middle of nowhere. That is just information. Good luck and stay safe
For PLBs, as you say it is important to understand what individual examples will give you. Some may just transmit on the marine VHF frequency, others may transmit your GPS position to a safety centre via satellite. Others may connect to AIS, which is like an aircraft air traffic system, only for boats. But many small boats don't have AIS, just like not all little airplanes have transponders. But if you research you can make an informed choice. Rescue masks: I believe it's always good to have one in a pocket as it's not going to be much use to save your buddy if it's still in the dive box. But clean it after every dive because if you do need to use it you don't want to kill someone via some evil green moss infection! Floats: the inner tube ones a great, both for stability and because you can use them to stow all the gear your student is stripping off his simulated victim on the rescue course.
I have the inreach for all the reasons you mentioned. Outside of the dive housing it's only ipx7 and the tiny buttons are a pain with gloves, so you need a couple of preset messages: "ok, but delayed", etc.. It does add another intermediary between you and your rescuers, so something to consider when time is of the essence.
Yes! Just make sure everything still works😆 I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve looked at a dive boat’s old o2 kit and everything is corroded/unusable.
You can turn the Garmin subscription off in months you're not using it, so if you've got a couple of months when you're not gonna be particularly active you can save some $£
Great video again. Tons of wisdom there, food for thoughts even for non-solo divers. I only dive in “easy” tropical crowded spots but never go without a DSMB, whistle, mirror, light, small cutting devices - I think even on the other side of the rainbow I would still bite my lips not having a least given myself a chance in case something went really wrong 🤷 Good to see how well prepared you are, by the way these DAN safety gears are just awesome 😎
I made my O2 emergency kit from a regular 2,5 l steel thank and regular scuba regulator with an adapter to use the mask on it and it works perfectly :) I am doing my rescue course nowadays and I plan to go solo as well (not under 20 meters), with everything redundant. I use a buy on which I keep stuff and also a phone and a GPS. Of course the Mediterranean Sea is less dangerous than the ocean but… you never know. Love your videos :)
Just a little PSA here. A lot of people don’t know that you can use your health FSA to purchase first aid equipment including O2 kits and AEDs. I recommend contacting the company that administers your FSA card to give them a heads up before you purchase it.
Great video again this week Sarah. It is good that someone is putting together a suggested kit that is tailored for divers. My only concern is of divers who live in their vans like yourself, be carrying Oxygen around with them. Yes, it IS necessary when diving remotely like you do, but it has to have a dedicated storage place and valve protection so as to not allow any small knock that might result in a small but continuous unknown leak of the gas. Accordingly, it should be lockable, well marked with legible signage that explains is use and danger. It goes without saying the person must be well trained in its use and maintenance (with the appropriate O2 certs.), and they must be fully prepared for the cost of the care and maintenance. As you know oxygen lowers the flashpoint of many oils and products found in many area of a vehicle and many others in a self contained van, such as yours,, and a small continuous unknown leak of oxygen can easily promote fire, even a spontaneous explosion especially when it's 100% oxygen. Personally, I would rather see people better plan their dives and then see strict adherence to their dive plan so they are not in need of carrying and using O2 at all. Long extended ascents to the shoreline act well as safety stops and help reduce nitrogen bubble formation in a diver. I personally suggest these profiles when diving alone or in remote locations, along with limiting dives to two per day. Everything else you recommend is rock solid of course. The comments below are also well worth adhering to. Great stuff everyone! Safe diving and see you out there.
Amazing article, I have two DAN First Aid Kits one for diving and one for the car. Definitely a must!! Great idea to put the whistle into the smb Garmin is highly portable compared to the other alternatives, is my favorite. Congrats!!
90% of boats don't have EPIRB. Its expensive and people don't buy stuff coast guard don't requires them to have. PLB is good peace of gear but texting with Garmin is very hard on dry land, and being in water in emergency situation, trying to press bottons with wet hands on tiny PLB like Garmin and trying not to get it wet is not best solution.
I don’t know detailed specs on this but I have heard that the garmin has great connectivity. It’s smart to consider where you will be using it and double check that the brand you are buying will work there since some countries have gps limitations.
Yes. The idea is it stays close to your face and physically connected to you so you don’t lose it. You can also recover the regulator without your hands
