As you move more and more towards advanced recreational dives or technical diving you will eventually end up with thigh pockets on your exposure suit. Then you have to decide what goes in those pockets. You will also run into two schools of thought on this:1. Left Pocket is for Emergencies
2. Right Pocket is for Emergencies
Wait...what? Yeah. Funny right! The scuba industry can't even agree on which items go into which pocket. And we only have two of them!
What Goes In The Pockets?
If you have pockets, then in my opinion, you should have certain items in those pockets on EVERY dive. And those items are:| Backup Mask |
| Wet Notes or Slate |
| dSMB /w ~150ft Spool |
Depending on your dive, you may want to have a couple additional items:
| Spare Spool |
| Spare Double Ender Bolt Snap |
| Whistle & Mirror |
Okay great....but which pocket do I put them in?!
Left Pocket is for Emergencies
This philosophy is rooted in the idea that the right pocket is for things you plan to use on the dive. Because, if you have a Pony Bottle or stage tanks on your left side (traditional position) then the left pocket will not be as easily accessed for the often used items. It is also a miss labeling of the left pocket as "emergency", what is really meant by this is "least likely to be used".| Left Pocket | Right Pocket |
|---|---|
| Backup Mask | dSMB \w ~150ft Spool |
| Spare Spool | Wet Notes or Slate |
| Optional | |
| Whistle & Mirror | Spare Double Ender Bolt Snap |
Right Pocket is for Emergencies
This philosphy is rooted in the idea that if you have a Pony Bottle or stage tanks on your left side (traditional position) then the left pocket will not be as easily accessed. So anything you need to access in a hurry needs to be on the right side. And anything that can be done at your leisure or pre-planned goes in the left pocket. This is my preferred method and the one also prescribed by GUE and what I learned in GUE Fundies.| Left Pocket | Right Pocket |
|---|---|
| dSMB \w ~150ft Spool | Backup Mask |
| Spare Double Ender Bolt Snap | Wet Notes or Slate |
| Optional | |
| Whistle & Mirror | Spare Spool |