9 Accessories Every Scuba Diver Needs

Scuba equipment is about utility. After all, BDCs, tanks, and regulators are there to transform you from a land animal to a sea creature. It’s vital they’re dependable, safe, and secure.

But diving is about more than just surviving underwater. It’s about exploration and discovery. It’s about seeing new places, making new friends, and encountering new animals. It’s about having fun. So here are must-have dive accessories - toys, tools, and more - to help you thrive as a diver, not just survive. 

1. A Good Full-Sized Gear Bag

The gear transforming you into a merperson needs to travel with you somehow. We recommend you do it right with take it in dive-specific luggage that's not only custom-built to protect your gear while standing up to but that can stand up to sun, saltwater and sumo-like baggage handlers. The trend in full-sized dive luggage is toward slightly smaller and decidedly lighter bags as airlines have gotten strict about luggage restrictions in recent years.

2. A Good Dry Bag

Let’s face it - few areas on a dive boat are safe from water. How do you make certain your wallet, cell phone, clothes and towel stay bone-dry while you're out having wet fun? Your best bet is an airtight dry bag that will seal out water and moisture even if dropped overboard.

3. Some Good Dive Lights

It's another world on the reef at night, and your passport to diving after dark is a trusty dive light. You need a good primary for night diving, of course, but a good pocket light is useful both as a backup light and for peering into crevices by day. Check out the latest dive light reviews from ScubaLab, Scuba Diving Magazine’s equipment testing team, for the best models on the market, and PADI’s Night Diver certification to access the wonderfully weird world of after-dark diving.

4. A Compass

You can’t ask the local stingray for directions back to your boat - that’s on you. Some computers include a digital compass, but you may need to use a good, old-fashioned compass in the event of a computer malfunction. If the closest you’ve ever come to a compass is watching Captain Jack use a magic one to find Shipwreck Island in Pirates of the Carribean, you can hone your wayfinding skills in PADI’s Underwater Navigator Speciality Course.

5. Surface Signaling Devices

Take it from us: Surfacing down-current a long, long way from the dive boat is one lonely feeling. You can't always prevent it, but you can prepare for it with a good set of surface signaling gear. We recommend a tall, inflatable signal tube, an ear-splitting whistle, and a signaling mirror as standard equipment on every dive.

6. GPS Rescue Device

Getting lost at sea is a nightmare for almost any diver, but you can put your mind at ease with a GPS rescue signaling device, such as the Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS. Once you activate the Nautilus, your GPS position is sent to surrounding boats — it also floats and can be taken to 130 meters/425 feet.

7. A Well-Stocked “Save a Dive” Kit

Minor gear failures like a blown O-ring or leaky fitting won't keep you from diving if you have the right backup parts and tools to engage in some basic field repair. A fully prepped dive kit includes items like new O-rings, a mask and fin straps, and zip ties.

8. A Trusty Dive Knife

Dive knives are aren’t for defending yourself against marine life or shaving off coral for a souvenir. What they are great for is for cutting tangled fishing wire from reefs, or disentangling yourself from kelp.The latest dive knife designs resist corrosion and hold a sharp edge longer than ever before.

9. A Tank Banger

Divers know the sound all too well — clank! clank! Tank bangers are perfect for divemasters pointing out critters in the blue or buddies who want to quickly capture the attention of another diver.