Just a general question for those who've had to locate someone under a SMB or liftbag:
What color liftbag/SMB is the easiest to spot from a distance??
Do the conditions (cloudy versus sunny or calm versus rough) dictate one being better??

The general choices I see are orange, yellow, and what I'll call tennis ball yellow. I currently own some of each but I'm just wondering what color everyone thinks stands out the best on the water.

Orange has always been pretty easy to spot for me. I don't think the conditions have made a difference.

I think I am going to invest in a larger SMB that has both colors. :)

What's your experience Brian?

Orange by far IMO. The Yellow stuff blends in with the reflection on the water sometimes. If you've got the sun to your back, it's tough for the boat to see you regardless. My orange sausage is a vital key to my diving, I use it very frequently.

Another idea I had was to get some reflective tape, like the kind they use in lettering for signs or for reflectors on highway cones. I made a reef marker with this stuff for night mango fishing, and the shit lights up beyond belief when you point a light at it.

John,

I've been using yellow but I'm switching to orange.

Inlet,

I have SOLAS tape with my initials on it on the top of all my SMB and liftbags. I got them from Divesigns (http://www.divesigns.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11) in the UK and having the initials on them lets the captain know who's bag/SMB it is he's following (in case people have different run times for the dive).

Brian, I carry both, will hang on the yellow and send the orange up if I need assistance. I've got some laminated notes to send with the orange, ie: "I need help". As with the dive plan, I review this procedure with the boat prior to descending, hopefully I'll never need that orange one :)

Schott

Like inletsurf said, the reflective tape will reflect for miles, just point a Q-beam at a intercoastal marker at night, that is line of sight and miles away. It will look like a light shining back at you. And as far as color, I would vote on florescent orange as the brightest and easiest to see against the ocean and waves.

Brian, Id also go with the orange... easier to see, regardless of conditions... we usually do orange if we blow up a sausage, yellow if theres something to retrieve, like an anchor. Color-coding prevents us from trying to "retrieve" someone who got separated from the flagman!!

I have SOLAS tape with my initials on it on the top of all my SMB and liftbags.


Putting identifying marks on your ALL of your gear is some very good advice.

Putting identifying marks on your ALL of your gear is some very good advice.

I mark all of my gear with my name or my 3 initials, you want to use all 3 of your initials as sometimes 2 people on the same trip will have the same first and last name initials.

If a piece of gear is recovered after a diver comes up missing, it would be nice to be able to know for sure if it was the missing divers gear.

On my Lift Bag I have my name on it, so if I am doing a deco stop and hanging, the Captain of the boat knows who is where and on which bag, that is especially helpful if the divers get started, it can be challenging to track 3 different divers doing a drifting Deco on the East Coast, especially when they get separated.

Orange bag with initials.

The orange is for daytime use and the yellow for night time..my sausage has both...This is according to mfrs.