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There’s Just Too Many Scuba Diving Accessories!

The number of scuba diving accessories you can buy is truly staggering!

You’ve got lights, knives, tank bangers, safety sausages, safety whistles and just about anything else that the manufacturers think you’d consider buying.

But how do you decide what you really need in this plethora of paraphernalia? It’s not an easy question and it depends largely on what you want to do and where you want to dive.

Here is a list of some of the scuba diving accessories you can get, not all, but some. Some you may find useful, whilst others you may just shake your head in dismay.

The choice is yours.

Compressors

These are the things that make all the racket when you in your local dive shop. It sounds like the shop is going to blow up!

Have a look here to see how they work and what they are used for.

For more information on Bauer compressors have a look here.

Dive Knife

If you don’t have one of these scuba diving accessories already, get one now!

Dive knives are invaluable tools that could save your life. You never know when you’re going to run into some fishing line or worse and you need to have something to cut yourself out.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about those 1970’s dive swords that you strap to your leg. All you need is a small serrated knife attached to your inflater hose or BC cummerbund.

I used to dive with a knife in both places just in case I got tangled up to the point where I couldn’t reach one of them. When it comes to this dive accessory there’s really no way around it.

If you want to dive safely you need a dive knife.

Safety Sausage

I’m not talking about those little three foot sausages that you attach to your BC and come in an assortment of colors. Those things do little more than add a little flair to your dive outfit.

I’m talking about the 20 foot tall, blazing orange sausages that you have to keep in your BC pocket and inflate with your regulator! These sausages can be seen for miles and there’s a better chance that the dive boat will find you even in rolling waves.

Yes they’re more cumbersome than dive whistles, but all except the most powerful whistles can barely be heard on open water.

This safety sausage will get you noticed!

Dive Computer

True, you could use your dive tables.

But dive tables assume that the second you hit the water you’re at your target depth and you stay at that depth until it’s time to surface.

What happens if you find a ledge? Your dive was supposed to be at 18 metres and now its at 22 m.

Do you know the tables well enough to make adjustments on the fly? I doubt it.

A dive computer takes all that guess work away. It constantly monitors your depth and calculates how long you have left in your dive. If you accidentally run over your bottom time, many computers will tell you how long of a safety stop you need to do in order to avoid decompression sickness and the really cool dive computers will monitor your air consumption and tell you how much time you have left, given your current breathing rate!

We live in an age of technology so make the most of it.

A dive computer will increase your bottom time and increase your safety. This dive accessory is well worth the price.

Lift Bag

If you like to pick up lost weight belts and anchors off the ocean floor, you’d better have lift bag handy. Not an accessory everyone needs, but its there if you ever should need it.

Dive Reel

This one goes hand in hand with the lift bag. A lift bag’s no good without something to tie it to.

Dive reels are also good to tie off and use the reel as a guide.

Dive Slates

The best way to communicate with your fellow divers underwater is with a dive slate.

Sure you can use hand signals, but nothing beats the dive slate. There are many uses of the humble dive slate, have a look here for more information.

Tank Banger

There are people out there who’d argue with this one, but I love these little things!

A tank banger is basically a large rubber band with a hard, round piece of plastic attached to it. You stretch it around your air tank and when you want to signal your buddy, you just pull on the plastic piece and let it go.

The result is a loud clang that will definitely get your buddy’s attention. I’ve seen people use all kinds of methods to communicate with their buddies. Some people can make a clicking sound with their hands, some tap their dive knife on their tank; I even dived with one guy who could talk perfectly through his regulator while under water!

But nothing beats a tank banger for getting your buddy’s attention quickly.

Dive Lights

Who knows what lurks in the darkness of the reefs? A small dive light is all it takes to show you all the cool stuff you’ve been missing.

As far as scuba diving accessories go, this is a must have!

Dive Flag

If you’re diving from a beach or far from your boat, this one’s a no-brainer. In most areas it’s the law.

Log Book

You never know when someone will demand to see your log book before letting you on the boat. If you’re not prepared to show your experience you may hear, “No dive for you! Next!!”

Underwater Compass

These are handy little devices for all dives from an anchored boat. Unless you want to surface every 15 minutes or so to get your bearings (a hazardous practice), I’d bring a compass and mark your bearings underwater.

Dive Watch

Unless you’re sporting a dive computer, the only way to track your bottom time is with a dive watch.

Knowing how long you’ve been underwater is vital to avoiding decompression sickness. Without a dive computer, a dive watch becomes a must-have!

One of the best dive watches out there is the Citizen Dive Watch. Read my review on it here.

Dive Bags

There is a huge amount of dive bags for sale, varying in quality as much as in price.

Do not fall into the trap of buying the cheapest, as with most things you get what you pay for!

Your choice will be; Mesh Dive Bags, Duffle Dive Bags, Backpack Dive Bags, heavy Duty Dive Bags and Luggage Dive Bags.

They all serve a purpose, but they are not all equal.

Have a look here for further information.

Diver Propulsion Vehicles

Diver Propulsion Vehicles are not used by the generally diving population.

They do have a place as a diving accessory, but is more suited to diving that requires you to cover a lot of area, like cave divers or divers that are searching for something.

They are good fun, perhaps a bit extravagant for the normal diver, but fun nevertheless.

Have a look here for more information.

Sure there are other scuba diving accessories you can buy. For example, I never went anywhere without a lobster snare and catch bag during the lobster season! But the scuba diving accessories previously mentioned are things that’ll make anyone’s diving safer and more enjoyable.

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