What Is Redundant Dive Gear and Why Liveaboards Need It
Ever wonder why experienced divers pack their gear like they're expecting something to go wrong? When you're on a liveaboard hundreds of miles from the nearest dive shop, a single broken O-ring can end your week. In this episode, Ray Hollister draws on over forty years of running dive operations to explain exactly which backup gear you need, why most divers get redundancy wrong, and how to protect a multi-thousand-dollar trip from a fifty-cent part failure.
Key Takeaways
- Redundant gear isn't about fear—it's about staying in the water. Think of it like bringing a spare tire on a road trip. You're not expecting a flat, but having one means a blowout doesn't ruin your vacation. On a liveaboard far from any dive shop, backup gear keeps you diving while repairs happen.
- Not all gear needs a backup—prioritize by importance. Your equipment falls into three groups: life-support items like regulators and computers, dive-enabling items like masks and fins, and convenience items like cameras. Focus your backup budget on the first two categories since those actually keep you underwater and alive.
- A complete spare regulator is worth its weight in gold. Regulators fail in sneaky ways—slow leaks, sticky valves, worn seals. Carrying a full backup means the boat technician can fix your primary while you keep diving with the spare, instead of watching from the deck.
- Two dive computers beat one every time. Computers can flood, freeze, or display garbage data. Running two computers throughout your trip means a failure doesn't force you to sit out dives doing math with old-school dive tables. For a couple hundred dollars, you protect a trip costing thousands.
- Your mask is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy. Straps snap, lenses crack, and silicone rots in the sun. A backup mask costs less than a nice dinner, weighs almost nothing, and prevents the nightmare of being unable to see underwater for the rest of your trip. Yet most divers forget to pack one.
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