The Complete List of Essential Scuba Diving Accessories
Reading Time: 9 minutes Have you double and triple checked that you have ALL the essential scuba diving accessories you need for your next dive? Keep in mind: safety, functionality, and FUN – why else would you be scuba diving, anyway?
Essential Scuba Accessories for Any Diver
You’ve got the basics and the big ticket items. Now it’s time for all the gizmos and gadgets that go with it. And to think you thought you had it all covered. Believe us, so did we.
But successful diving goes beyond the basic gear set up – smaller items are necessary for:
- Safety
- Storage and Transport
- Functionality
- eco-friendly diving
- and more fun underwater!
This article lays out all the essential scuba accessories you’ll need for a successful diving career!
- Essential Scuba Accessories for Any Diver
- Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Safety
- Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Storage and Transport
- Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Better Diving and Functionality
- Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Eco-friendly Diving
- Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Fun
- Enjoy this Post? Pin it!
- Read More About Scuba Diving Gear
Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Safety
First and foremost is safety! In fact, most scuba safety equipment comes in the form of an accessory. Each piece of gear listed serves a unique purpose with your well being in mind!
Surface Marker Buoy (SMB)
Arguably the most important piece of safety gear? An SMB signals to nearby boats that you’re at the surface! A must-have if you want to protect yourself from boats or you get stuck in a bad situation.
Finger Spool/Reel
An underrated and seldom thought of piece of equipment. A finger spool/reel attaches to your SMB or dive flag so you don’t lose it at the surface while you dive below. You can go cheap (like I did) or you can invest in a higher quality with a little more functionality.
Dive Knife
Removing marine debris, emergencies, self defense, or getting untangled are just a few of the reasons to always carry a dive knife.
Flashlight
Essential for night dives, deep dives, ship wrecks, cave diving, or exploring cracks and crevices. Every diver should have at least one flashlight!
Compass
Some gauges have them attached, some come separately, some are on your wrist, some are on a retractor. Touch up on those orienteering skills folks! You’d hate to get lost underwater!
Dive Flag and Buoy
If diving off your own boat, or doing some beach dives, diving with a flag and buoy is a MUST! It alerts boaters above your location to keep you safe while exploring underwater.
Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Storage and Transport
These scuba accessories make your life easier when going to and from your dive site. Additionally, others offer proper storage and protection for some of your more expensive pieces of gear!
Gear Bag
How are you going to carry everything to and from the boat or dive site anyway? A must have!
Regulator Bag
I just purchased this not too long ago and I wish I had bought it way sooner. If you invested in all that expensive equipment (regulator, octopus, computer, gauges, etc.), best take proper care of it, right?
Dry Bags
Dry bags do exactly what they imply: keep everything inside dry! Our lives are on the water so we can’t even begin to tell you how many we own. If you’re a frequent visitor to the beach, a boat, or any water based activity, we recommend aowning a few.
BCD Hanger
You didn’t even know you needed this until I mentioned it. How else are you going to hang up your BCD? The thick design handles the weight of your BCD well!
Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Better Diving and Functionality
Continually improving as a diver is a key component in the sport. These accessories will help you dive better while being more functional underwater!
Dive Log
I’m sure you heard it enough during your open water class. But let me remind you again: log your dives! It’s important for certifications, reference, or obtaining a captain’s license!
Gloves
Gloves are a necessary barrier between you and marine debris, lobster you’re catching, lionfish you’re spearing, or even the cold water (if that’s your thing).
Hood
For diving in colder temperatures, deeper dives, or even shark diving, don’t forget a hood!
Clips
It may be just me, but you can NEVER have too many clips. I mean, something’s got to carry all these fun items.
Slate/Pencil
If you have students, or your dive buddy just sucks at hand signals (guilty), you can always use a slate and pencil to communicate!
Noise Maker
How else are you going to get the attention of your dive buddy when they suddenly dart away from you to look at a cool fish?
Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Eco-friendly Diving
By nature, divers are the frontline ambassadors for our oceans! As the need for ocean conservation becomes more clear, it’s essential that we practice what we preach and help the oceans in all the ways we can!
Reef Safe Defog
Ditch the baby shampoo and go for the proven formula that’s safe for our coral reefs!
DISCOUNT: USE THE CODE “OCEANWIDE” AT STREAM2SEA FOR 10% OFF.
Reef Safe Sunscreen
You’re likely to be diving in the tropics, right? Better stock up on reef safe sunscreen!
DISCOUNT: USE THE CODE “OCEANWIDE” AT STREAM2SEA FOR 10% OFF.
Essential Scuba Diving Accessories for Fun
These scuba accessories are still oh-so important for a fun and better dive! Why are you diving anyway, if not for fun?
Fish ID
We’re big proponents of knowing your fish ID. It’s important to understand the ecosystem you’re visiting and it’s more fun when you know what you’re looking at. Not to mention, identifying species-specific behavior is beyond cool. For more, check out our resources for marine life ID.
GoPro/Camera
We realize this is a large can of worms as dive and action cameras are a topic in itself. For now, we love and use our trusty GoPro
. You just can’t beat the versatility (we haven’t had the need to upgrade from the Hero 7 Black)
Lionfish Hunting Gear
One of our favorite ways to take care of the environment is to spear for lionfish. The invasive species is causing a reckoning to the coral reefs in the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean. The two most important pieces of gear when hunting for lionfish are a spear and a containment system.
For a full breakdown, check out our article on the gear you need to hunt lionfish.
RELATED:
Mask Strap Wrapper
Not only does it feel more comfortable on your head, you can find really cool designs too. Innovative Scuba Concepts make the funnest designs I’ve seen.
Lobster Gear
In Florida, spiny lobster season (particularly mini-season) is a BIG deal. Make sure you have the appropriate permits, follow all the laws, and go get some lobster! (We like a net and tickle stick over a snare)
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Read More About Scuba Diving Gear
We hope you enjoyed our post on essential scuba diving accessories. Hopefully you’ll find it useful on your next adventure! Here are a few more ocean-loving articles we think you should read next:
- What Gear Do You Need for Scuba Diving?
- Scuba Accessories You Didn’t Know You Needed
- Complete List of Lionfish Hunting Gear
- 11 Reasons to Dive in Fort Lauderdale
What other essential scuba diving accessories do you use? Leave a comment below to let us know!
