Hog harness rigging for carrying octo?

[gfaith]

My wife and I dive with the "Streamlined OW". My hoses are 24" bungee backup and 44" main reg. Wife uses
22" bungee backup and 40" standard for the so called "Streamlined OW". I just like a bit more length due to my
girth..

 

[AlexL]

This will be our first OW dives since our certification and she's already tentative enough without throwing a new equipment configuration for her to understand.

then set em both up as 'standard rec'. no suprises in new environments.

I'm really just wondering if I need 2 new hoses to change over to the Streamlined OW config, or if I could just replace the yellow octo hose with a black hose and a 70 or 90 degree.

27~34" primary with a 40" secondary seem to be 'standard rec'. you can do a 40" primary donate reg + 90, + ~30" necklaced secondary reg, but that secondary's hose going to sit funny on your shoulder. shorter (18,22~24") hose also has the nice feature of preventing your secondary from smashing into the deck if you forget to clip it off when you remove your rig.

 

[stuartv]

Make sure the hoses are flexible enough before you go shoving them places. Do saftey drills on the boat deck, surface and about 5-10 feet down on the descent to make sure it will deploy easy. Don't get complacent. My octo hose was cheap, but still new, a dried out rental hose may not fold the same.

Don't bother with that "streamlined rec" nonsense. If you use the 7 foot hose (it's not technical, that's a misunderstanding) it'll lay closer, more streamlined, and more comfortably. You can also forgo the elbow that ends up being another set of o-rings that can fail. Streamlined rec only exists because people are intimidated by the long scary black hoses .

If you buy a 40" streamlined rec hose, you'll probably find it uncomfortable and upgrade to a 7 footer in six months time, only with a hose you have no use for and less money for diving. Do it right the first time.

Yep, I plan to rig it all and experiment thoroughly to make sure it will deploy smoothly without kinking a hose and damaging it, etc.. And I already told my g/f that, on our first dive, I intend that we will practice the OOA drill (each as OOA) when we get in the water and are still near the surface, just to make sure it's fresh.

As for the 7' hose... I ain't afraid uh no hose! I don't like the idea of the 7' for at least one reason:

This is for Rec use. I'll be diving with my g/f (also a new OW diver) or Instabuddies. I choose to assume that they will generally not have extensive training and are prone to panic moves. As such, I want to rig myself so that if they just swim up and grab my primary, they will not pull on it, with the hose going around my neck, and have something happen like have the hose pull my mask off. Don't forget, I will have a snorkel dangling off the left side.

At least one very respected member here on SB has recommended the "streamlined OW" config to me. Not to imply AT ALL that you are not! I'm just saying that it is clear (to me) that there are experienced, knowledgeable, skilled divers and instructors who DO think it's good for Rec diving. And ones who don't. In the end, I expect I will try it. I might not use it for Tech diving (if I ever go into that). But, for basic OW Rec diving, the risks seem pretty low. And the cost of one 40" hose and a swivel is low enough that I won't mind eating it if I try it and don't like it.

 

[tbone1004]

I'd beg to differ on the streamlined straight to long hose thing. I dive in caves and wrecks regularly and with 7' hose in backmount, 9' in sidemount. As soon as I hit OW, the long hose comes off and go to a ball swivel on a 44" hose, have been for 5 years, and couldn't be happier. It goes just as streamlined as the 7' hose, just easier to handle for me. 5' hoses are absolutely idiotic and have absolutely no merit, if you're going to wrap a hose, wrap a 7' hose. If you don't like tucking it and don't have a canister, put a knife on your belt, or spend $15 and get the can simulator from Deep Sea Supply. It is positively brilliant if you're not diving with a canister and want to keep the long hose from getting unruly.
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=1335

For you right now if you want her to dive like she's been trained, you should have gotten the hoses you wanted and just had her use the octo instead of the longer hose. She can clip the octo off to her right shoulder and just leave it clipped there, if you want to use a regular retainer, then just loop it through itself on the right shoulder and run it as normal. Having her swap to the suicide strap wouldn't have been a problem though, could have put the primary on an O-ring for breakaway, under shoulder and clipped to the d-ring. Breathe off the short hose and call it good. You can swap the hoses on the first stage if you want, but not that big of a deal....

 

[stuartv]

then set em both up as 'standard rec'. no suprises in new environments.



27~34" primary with a 40" secondary seem to be 'standard rec'. you can do a 40" primary donate reg + 90, + ~30" necklaced secondary reg, but that secondary's hose going to sit funny on your shoulder. shorter (18,22~24") hose also has the nice feature of preventing your secondary from smashing into the deck if you forget to clip it off when you remove your rig.

There is no "both" yet. I have one reg set. G/f has none. Mine is new and I had it setup for standard Rec. I'm going to let her use it this week and I'll use rental gear. If she decides she likes scuba diving, then we'll buy her a set. Or give her mine and buy myself another set.

I guess, if I decide to try the streamlined setup, I'll just go ahead and buy 2 new hoses. My 40" hose is yellow. Maybe if the g/f likes scuba after all, I'll just get another identical reg set to the one I already bought and get it with the right hoses from the start.

 

[tbone1004]

if they haven't been used see if you can go back to the LDS and get them to swap it out before you go, all black hoses, and whatever lengths you want. 40 or 44 depending on how big you are, and somewhere between 22 and 26. I prefer shorter rather than longer, especially for single tank diving. You can use a standard 32" hose with absolutely no issues and just bow it out, that is the GUE standard for open water. I prefer going under the arm for streamlining, and that requires the extra few inches.

 

[diver 85]

Get you a necklace going for that octo-----end of story..........cheap( as in pennies cheap) & very effective--& comfortable---& easy for ANYONE to find..............

 

[AlexL]

Don't forget, I will have a snorkel dangling off the left side.

snorkles and around the head routing are pretty incompatable. 1m free floating, or 5' tucked in the waist band near the plate works well when a snorkle is involved.

a swivel

save a few bucks and get an elbow fitting, $8 from DGX

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Ditch the snorkel. You're going scuba diving not snorkeling. You can use a 40 inch hose with an adaptor just fine. Later you can use the 40 on your stage or deco bottle. That said I use a 7ft hose all the time. When I am forced to use a standard reg set for some pool classes I use $1.00 worth of surgical tubing and two zip ties to make an octo holder on the right chest d ring.
The statement made about someone coming up and mugging you for your reg can be minimized by telling those you are diving with to not do that. Tell them to signal they are OOA or LOA and you will donate the octo or primary to them. If they are not ok with that tell them to stay away from you or go back and get some training so they don't end up needing to do it.
I was taught in my OW class the "oh crap you're out of air" method. Where you open your arms and let them grab your octo. Incredibly stupid procedure. Before you get in the water with anyone you tell them what the OOA procedure is and that if they want to live they'll follow it. Someone mugging you for a reg is someone who probably should not be in the water in the first place.
When you allow someone to grab your reg you give them control over your air supply. Never a good thing.
The air share practice with your GF is a very good idea. Should be done on every dive. Then stay together and don't buddy up with anyone else. Dive as a team and make it clear you are doing so. It's also a good idea to survey the other divers and try to ID those who may pose a problem. Then stay away from them.

 

[diver 85]

Jim L-----good luck on 'your way' of 'doing it' in a REAL OOA situation-----let's just say some really/?might 'lose it' when they realize they are down to their last half second of consciousness,---@ times(ie " If they are not ok with that tell them to stay away from you or go back and get some training so they don't end up needing to do it........)......I've never been that low on air------but/&-----God literally only knows right now how I'd act if put in it.....