About this product
A dive flag float marks the point on the surface above a diver. Its job is to tell every boat in the area that somebody is below, so they keep clear and slow down. It is bright red PVC, carries the DIVER BELOW marking, and is inflated by mouth in five to ten breaths.
The sand pocket at the bottom is what makes it stand up. Filled with a handful of wet sand or a small weight, the float sits vertical and holds position, so the flag is visible from a distance instead of lying flat on the water where nobody sees it. Unweighted, a light inflatable float lies over in the first breeze.
Attach it to a reel or a line clipped to you, and let it follow you as you move. Divers who tie the float to a fixed point and then swim away from it are marking the wrong place, which is worse than no marker at all because it tells a skipper the water beside the flag is clear.
This matters in Tanzanian waters. Off Dar es Salaam and around the islands you are sharing the water with dive boats, fishing boats, dhows and small outboards, and not every skipper is watching carefully. A visible marker and a boat cover that stays with you are the two things that keep a shore or drift dive safe.
It packs down to nothing, which is the real reason it gets used. A rigid float lives in the store because it will not fit in the bag; an inflatable one is in a BCD pocket on every dive.
Inflatable Dive Flag Float - DIVER BELOW Signal Marker with Sand Pocket