A few people have had trouble putting the flag away, now although we don’t claim that the flag is completely idiot proof we have put together a short video to show not only the quick and easy deployment but also the ease of putting the device away once it has been used. Like any equipment if you give it a little tender loving care you will be able to enjoy the benefits of the device for many years!

The video is below and we hope that it helps clear up any issues that any of you might have had with the collapsing of the device.

The event is expected to attract over 14,000 visitors this weekend and looking around as we set up there is loads to see and do!

We are on stand 242 and if you would like a chance to win a flag or seven nights accommodation on Turkey then come and say hi!

Location:Victoria Dock Rd,East Ham,United Kingdom

All these inventive ways to use the flag but there are other ways that are more focused towards the overall reason of safety.

We were sad to read in the news before the festive period that 3 climbers had been announced missing and presumed dead on Mount Hood in Oregon. One of the climbers was later found unfortunately dead but the other two are still missing presumed dead. The authorities say that they will not try to recover the bodies of the missing climbers until the weather conditions improve and the risk of avalanche has subsided.

In the LA Times on the 21st of December we read that following this event and another similar in 2007 Oregon Legislature are considering a bill that will require climbers to carry a personal locator beacon, although according to the LA Times this has never been passed through the Senate.

The flag on this occasion would probably not have benefited these climbers as there is a very strong possibility that they were involved in an accident. However the mindset of many climbers and walkers is that they would probably attempt more difficult peaks if they had the ability to be located easier by rescuers. Personally I think this is an irresponsible view as it puts others lives at risk unnecessarily, but if people wish to take on the challenge so be it.

The flag could be used as a location device to narrow down the area of the GPS locators, attaching it to the top of a tent, or waving the flag in case of a rescue helicopter could get you seen quicker.

The H.E.L.P. is there for anyone who needs to get someones attention, from climbers who need to be seen in a difficult location or a baby buggy in a supermarket, there are simply loads of ways that the flag can benefit people.

From this exercise there were a number of questions and points that came up in forums (yeah we look at the forums to see what you guys are up to) so we thought this would be a good time to address a few of the “issues” and questions that people have.

“It looks a bit small to me” (this was posted next to a picture of a 16ft scuba sausage)
OK now I don’t know if the person that actually posted this visited the site to discover more about the product before they posted, however we have never claimed to be a replacement to the scuba sausage, an alternative yes but not a replacement. Both the flag and the sausage have their benefits and their disadvantages, so each could benefit a diver in different ways.

“Why Yellow?”
Well it isn’t cause we love yellow as a color it is because a number of reports and research by the Health and Safety Executive in the UK had discovered that “‘The folding divers’ flag with a day-glow yellow pennant is considered to be the best all round location device. Devices including flags and paired buoys are more clearly observed when the search aspect is abeam to the direction of wind.” And that is the main reason behind the yellow. Originally we took the view that with the soccer World Cup approaching if they didn’t sell we could take them all down to South Africa and sell them to the Brazilian Soccer fans, but we prefer keeping you guys safe.

“It’s Expensive to only use once!”
Ok this dude definitely didn’t check out the whole website before posting to his forum. This is a real easy one to deal with! The material that the flag has been made with and the body/shaft has been designed to be used time and time again. I have been using mine for over 80 dives and it is with me every dive and it is still absolutely fine (it even survived a jedi fight to the death on the return from Egypt a months weeks back). So it can be used a lot more than just the once making it in our opinion good value for money.

These were the main topics that came up during the day which we thought this would be the best time way to approach them. If you have any questions at all then please drop us a line on our contacts page and we are more than happy to help out in any way possible.

Cheers

The article gives an in depth look at surface signaling devices before the birth of The Dive Flag.

There was a very interesting part in the conclusion that says “We also found that fluorescent yellow was very easy to spot in overcast conditions.” We found this interesting as the likelihood that the flag should need to be deployed would normally be in conditions that are slightly overcast as the weather changes.

Have a look at the article it is well worth a read.

1. Should your cat sit on your keyboard and break the brackets that keep it at the nice angle that stops you getting wrist ache, you can use the dive flag as a prop under the keyboard to recreate the angle.

2. While diving with the flag should you see a lobster in a hole you can pop them out using the dive flag, this is one of the better uses for it.

3. Should you surface to find your boat missing and your dive buddy says to you, “I told you we should have taken more notice of the dive master” You can smack them in the head with it until peace and tranquility return. This use also doubles up because as you are hitting them so they become shark fodder you are actually waving the flag to get attention at the same time.

4. Should you be a fan of the Brazilian national soccer team, the World Cup is only a short 10 months away and being bright yellow the flag is perfect for waving and supporting the side at the match or at home!

5. If you spot a cat stuck in a tree simply extend the dive flag and give the cat a good prod with the end, this should shoot the moggy out of the tree and into the loving arms of its owner (let’s hope they can catch).

6. At an athletics meet should you find yourself in the relay team you could get away with substituting the baton with a flag, this way if you are in the British or American team (both who have had their fair share of baton drops in the past few years) you can simply extend the flag as you go to change over, thus reducing the margin of error.

7. In the event of the remote control for the TV going missing simply extend your flag and use the extended device to simply press the buttons on the front of your TV. Or if you find your remote too far away to get into your grasp extend the flag and drag the remote closer to you.

8. If you are out on the golf course and you suddenly realise that your caddy has run off with the flag on the 9th hole, simply pull out your flag and place it in the hole as a substitute until the rascal caddy can be located.

9. Whilst out in the car, when you come across an endless stream of traffic cones simply extend your flag to its max, stick the flag out of the window so it is just enough to clip the traffic cones over and watch in the rear view mirror as the cones scatter across the road. Note this is not advised on faster stretches of road!

10. While out clothes shopping with a spouse give her the flag when she enters the changing rooms and when she needs another size rather than keep coming out to get it she can simply extend the flag, place the item on the end and pass it to you waiting the other side to get the new size. If it comes waist high she needs smaller (result) if it comes shoulder high then the next size up is required.

11. Although the dive flag helps with reducing the need to have a scuba sausage we have seen the sausages get stuck and not fill up with air. In this case simply extend the dive flag underwater put it up inside the scuba sausage and fill with air. Should it not fill with air then continue to the surface and wave your sausage with the flag inside it.

12. Mark your territory, back in the day of the gold rush people marked out their area using pegs and string, when the next gold rush happens stake your claim with 4 sturdy dive flags fully extended!

Yes we know it is a little silly but basically http://www.TheDiveFlag.com has a number of uses that are completely silly but if you should need it then it is compact and easy to use for a number of different reasons it will be by your side.

Desperately looking around for someone to help him answer a question that he felt he should have known the answer to immediately, I caught his eye smiled and said I would happily help him out.

Self
Contained
Underwater
Breathing
Apparatus

Being a child of the TV generation she turned to her father and said “But I saw a TV show and they said it stands for Something Creepy Under Boat Andy!” The father looked at me and rolled his eyes and smilled then said “Oh well I learned something!”

Now this guy was lucky to be seen and is not the first hillwalker to go missing of late, the high profile disappearance of a British backpacker, Richard Cass, in the Australian dens bushland of the Blue mountains. So although the H.E.L.P was designed with scuba divers in mind it is now that we feel everyone can benefit from having a help near by.

OK so maybe not everyone but here is the thing, the H.E.L.P. will give people the benefit of being seen in an extreme environment. In the case of the bushwalker he told press he was climbing to the top of the mountain to see a route back and then couldn´t get his directions right when he got back down. Had he been lucky enough to have the H.E.L.P. with him he would have been able to signal from the top of the cliff to the many helicopters that were looking for him.

In any case we are happy that he is safe but we look forward to hearing how people get found becasue of the H.E.L.P. and not thruogh sheer chance. Stay safe.

While we were shooting the below video there was a moment where we sent the two divers off under the waves so we could film from a distance we moved the boat back around 200 metres and it wasn’t long before another boat started to make its way over to see if the divers needed help!

Two couples and a one year old baby were on a speed boat that broke down off the coast of Anglesey, now this I admit can happen to absolutely anyone but it was the next part that completely shocked and angered me. The group had “No Life Jackets, No Flares and Could Not Work the Radio!”

This in my opinion is a total disregard for the elements and what they are capable of doing to you, not just the natural elements but even the element of chance and the fact that they didn´t know what they were doing put lives at risk.

ALWAYS make sure you have a safety device or a signaling device with you at all times when you are participating in any form of remote sports. Don’t leave your life in the hands of others who might not be able to find you.

Luckily this story had a happy ending but had they not been lucky enough to get a mobile phone signal they could well have been in a great deal more trouble than they already were.