Keep your hoses to yourself!

[fnfalman]

This thread is probably going to make me the most flamed newbie on this forum since other than the 4 dives to get my Open Water certification, I don't have any open water experience. Zilch.

Anyway, I've been observing how a lot of divers do not pay attention to their hose routing and use clips to tidy them up. Also, many have hoses which are too long and end up bowing all over the place.

I don't think you need to be a wreck or cave diver to practice and appreciate proper hose routing or to make sure that your gauge is secured close to your body. Don't think anyone's weird enough to attempt to have an overly long high pressure hose balance out the overly long intermediate pressure one to the 2nd stage and make two mistakes at the same time, is there?

By the way, I'm not talking about divers using rented gear because there's only so much you can do and I know that some dive shop staff / operators are constantly on the lookout for divers messing around with rented gear and the paranoid consider rearranging hose placement as 'messing' too.

Was referring to an alarmingly high number of 'professionals' featured in diving magazines with their alternate air sources and gauges dangling a distance away from their body. In many cases, the hoses were overly long as well and not routed / secured properly to prevent snagging.

<rant over> Where was I?

A. Unless these peoples' hoses interfere with your diving (i.e. snagging on you), then leave them alone.

B. You can rig up your gear any which way you like.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I sure felt silly last weekend when in 6' seas I didn't clip off my second stage on a 7' hose...I didn't because I was about to put it in my mouth when I saw a chance to move closer to the stern without a big wave rolling the boat, but when I jumped up to move over, I ended up dragging the reg behind me...

I'm sure the crew had a good laugh about the silly cave diver and his too long hose on the 30' reef dive...

 

[TMHeimer]

Progen, Just a thought. At least one instructor I've worked with kept her octopus dangling (pool for sure, maybe ocean too?) with the idea that should a student panic she doesn't even have to unclip it to assist. Could this be the case with what you're seeing?

 

[fnfalman]

Progen, Just a thought. At least one instructor I've worked with kept her octopus dangling (pool for sure, maybe ocean too?) with the idea that should a student panic she doesn't even have to unclip it to assist. Could this be the case with what you're seeing?

One of the best divers and instructors I've ever seen and dive with on a regular basis has his octo dangling just for the same reason.

I figured that if I were ever be as good of a diver as he is (course director, ex-salvage/commercial diver, military combat swimmer), I can criticize his equipment configuration. Until then, I'd rather listen and watch the man's dives and maybe learn a thing or two.

 

[TreyR]

A dangling octo is not good safety practices. If you are in an emergency you need to know where to find it not fiddle around looking for your safe second. A properly trained diver will keep their gear in the same place every time to promote good muscle memory. A "good" instructor would not promote this.

 

[Bratface]

Just don't be the newbie who wasn't paying any attention when he sat down next to my gear. He put on his BC with my primary hose inside of his cummerbund. And there was an empty tank space between us.

 

[fnfalman]

A dangling octo is not good safety practices. If you are in an emergency you need to know where to find it not fiddle around looking for your safe second. A properly trained diver will keep their gear in the same place every time to promote good muscle memory. A "good" instructor would not promote this.

Says you.

Are you a course director with thousands of dives under your belt?

How much experiences do you have with teaching students, diving with new divers and even execute rescues/aiding distressed divers?

 

[TreyR]

Says you.

Are you a course director with thousands of dives under your belt?

How much experiences do you have with teaching students, diving with new divers and even execute rescues/aiding distressed divers?

Do we have one on this forum who prcatices the dangling method I would love to hear from them?

 

[Progen]

Progen, Just a thought. At least one instructor I've worked with kept her octopus dangling (pool for sure, maybe ocean too?) with the idea that should a student panic she doesn't even have to unclip it to assist. Could this be the case with what you're seeing?

I think the octopus is yellow for a reason and even when clipped right up to the end, it's still pretty noticeable and will stick out from the rest of the kit a bit. Even a blind person wearing a rented kit put on him / her for the first time can feel where it is because the primary is supposed to be in his / her mouth and the other thing with a mouthpiece must be the octopus.

Besides safety issues, isn't streamlining a concern anymore? And as far as safetely is concerned, wouldn't equipment safety as in not getting your hoses caught, dragged, abraded, etc. unnecessarily count?

ps. By the way, just in case I get mistaken for a young kid shooting off his mouth too fast, I'm 40 years old and although I am really new to diving, I have 40 years worth of common sense.

pps. I hope.

 

[RJP]

A. Unless these peoples' hoses interfere with your diving (i.e. snagging on you), then leave them alone.

If it knocks into coral, it interferes with my diving. And yours. And everyone else's.

---------- Post added February 27th, 2013 at 10:01 PM ----------

ps. By the way, just in case I get mistaken for a young kid shooting off his mouth too fast, I'm 40 years old and...

Still makes you a "young kid" to many folks here. I'm just saying...

:d