Want to use a bungee secondary w/o wrapping a primary LP hose around me for reef div

[eelnoraa]

He is using a 7' hose in this picture. 5' won't allow routing under the canister.

While looking at this picture it appears that the hose is taut enough and rests close to the chest w/o tucking. Is this just an illusion or is he using a 5' hose? I'm buying online so no way to test unfortunately. I don't think untucking would be a deal breaker for me as I'm able to perform quite well by feel alone w/ the rest of my gear.

Dave

 

[DevonDiver]

Some divers are too 'barrel-chested' for a 5' hose. I just couldn't get along with a 5'.

I really don't understand the OP's fears about the "comfort" or the "deal" with having to wrap it. It's perfectly comfortable, why wouldn't it be?

Wrapping it? That takes about 2 seconds. I think you're over-thinking what's involved with this. It goes under your arm, you 'twist' the hose and it goes over your head. 2 seconds. DIR, Hogarthian, whatever - it's how the vast majority of technical divers use a long hose - and that community values simplicity and effectiveness over all else.

If you have a preference not to neck-loop the long hose (hard to have a preference until you've tried it), then you can fit some bungee cord around your tank and secure it there. That's a one-shot deal though - as once you've deployed it, you'll need to pause the dive and get your buddy to fit it back under the cords. That's how BSAC train their tech divers.

Otherwise, just stick to regular length primary and AAS hoses. It won't stop you bungeeing the AAS at your neck. Just use a 'Manta' or make your bungee necklace so that the AAS can be pulled out of it. Easy

 

[Searcaigh]

I use a 7' hose wrapped around me with no issues, makes a huge difference when donating air, 5' is too short in my opinion

 

[TT_Vert]

I'll give the 7' hose a go. I'll jump into a local pool and see how it feels. I'm sure it can't be that bad really. It just appears cumbersome but so does all the rest of the gear until you get into the water and notice it's as if it isn't there. I keep my waist strap relatively tight but perhaps I can get it to sit behind my shear pouch on my right side. Worst case I don't like it but I'll give it a fair shot and see how she goes.

 

[TSandM]

As long as you have something that secures the 7' hose at your right hip -- canister, knife, or pocket -- it will wrap nicely. If you are small, you may have a little slack, which you can push behind the right hip securing point. You can also tuck the excess hose under your waist strap, if it is really snug, but I found mine would periodically come loose, which was very annoying.

You can use a 5' hose if you are slender, but it doesn't take much mass in the torso to make it a bit short.

If you really don't want to wrap, a 40" hose can be routed under the armpit, but will then require a right-angle adapter to allow the regulator to sit comfortably in the mouth. This is the setup my husband uses for pool work.

 

[DevonDiver]

TT_Vert: What's the rest of your equipment set-up? What BCD do you use? What regs?Regs are important, as you'll need to consider the hose routing from the first stage. BCD - that'll give us some options for advice on what you can do with the hose.Also... it'll be well worth tracking down a mentor in your local area who is familiar with long-hose. A little first-hand advice goes a long way.

 

[smorneau]

I used a 7' hose for the first time last week. It was on a LP95 w/ BP/W. So easy to use and it made OOA drills so easy with buddy. No more looking for octo and sharing using a 7' hose is so much more practical. It also makes it easier for the OOA diver/and buddy to swim together in trim. I am glad I switched!

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Just as a data point, I use a 5' hose and I am basically a warm-water, shallow reef diver. The main reason I decided to try it was because the "standard" second-stage hose was 1) Constantly pushing on my mouth/jaw in a "leftward" direction; and, 2) Had a U-shaped loop off to my right side that would hit my buddy and/or anything narrow that I was trying to pass through (or swim close to). Both of those things were impacting my diving enjoyment. In addition, the positives of the "long hose" set-up also seemed worth trying.

So I ordered a 5' and 22" hose and put them on my regulator. I, too, wondered about the "wrapping around the head" and how complicated it would be to do that. I watched some videos of long-hose divers deploying the long hose for an air share and then it didn't seem so complicated. They didn't so much "wrap" a long hose around as they did "let" it coil itself naturally and then just drop it into place (maybe coil is too strong a word as it is not really a full coil, but my point is that the hose does seem to naturally shape itself if you handle it correctly).

This is the video I watched. Bonus: If you imagine this music in your head while diving everything goes much more smoothly

Safety Drill (S-Drill) - Scuba - YouTube

Once I got the new hoses on my regulator, I practiced on land, and I was surprised at how much less complicated or "tangly" it seemed in real life compared to what I thought it might be like. It also doesn't really wrap around the neck, so much as "half loop" behind the head. It comes off to donate surprisingly easily.

And... no more "tugging" second stage; now the second stage just "landed" front-and-center. Ahhhh. Also, no annoying U-shaped loop barging out to my right side to catch my buddy or an underwater object. Side bonus: Nice, tucked up alternate second-stage.

In addition to in-water practice, I make a habit when I don my rig (on the boat) to put my reg in my mouth, and then grab the hose in the same manner as the diver in the video and put it out in front of me like I would to hand it over on an air share. Then I can see that it's not tangled or improperly routed (this is in addition to buddy checks, etc.).

My usual buddy dives with the more typical hose setup; we practice air-shares so we are both familiar with the way each other's gear works. I did move the yellow face place from my formerly-longer-hosed alternate second stage to the one I have in my mouth, since it is now the reg to be donated.

Okay, that got a bit long-winded, but was all basically just to say that I'm an example of a beginnerish, mostly-shallow-reef-dives diver who tried a "long hose" (5') and really likes it.

My one complaint at this point in time is that I somewhat regularly experience the "behind the neck" section of hose rising up to make a sort of vertical hoop (think of a bucket handle in the "up" position). That might not happen if I had a 7' hose that was tucked on its way around (the 5' hose is plenty long on me, but I think the 7'+ tuck might change the angles?). I still prefer it overall to the "usual" hose set-up, although if I did decide to not use this method at all, I think I would try the "under the arm and then back up with a swivel at the second stage" layout. However this would not give as convenient a hose length for air sharing, and does have the swivel to consider (not sure how often they cause problems ?).

Blue Sparkle

 

[TT_Vert]

Thanks for all the info guys. I am using a DSS BP and 17# Torus wing with an AL80. Blue Sparkle, I'm trying to fully visualize what you are saying with the 5' vs. 7' but I'm having a hard time. You're saying the the 5' doesn't put as much strain on your mouthpiece vs. the 7'? Or am I to read that as you had a mouthpiece pushing sensation w/ the non DIR hose routing/length?

Thanks guys

Dave

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Thanks for all the info guys. I am using a DSS BP and 17# Torus wing with an AL80.

As it happens, that's almost the exact same setup I dive with (although I prefer AL63 when I can get them).

Blue Sparkle, I'm trying to fully visualize what you are saying with the 5' vs. 7' but I'm having a hard time. You're saying the the 5' doesn't put as much strain on your mouthpiece vs. the 7'? Or am I to read that as you had a mouthpiece pushing sensation w/ the non DIR hose routing/length?

I was comparing the "typical" hose set-up with the "long hose" set-up. I had an uncomfortable experience with the "typical" hose set up, which came with my regulator. When I say "typical," I mean something like 26" for the primary second stage, and 36" for the backup second stage, wherein the backup is donated.

Once I went to the "long hose" set-up (5' primary hose/22" secondary hose, in my case), the two problems I mentioned went away for me. There may be other ways to get around those two issues, but I went with the "long hose" set-up and I like it.

I chose the 5' long hose because I'm basically an OW diver, and I don't dive with a can light. 5' is long enough to be comfortable for me. (OTOH, my buddy tried my regs and 5' was not long enough for him, even without the tucking/can light. He's fairly stocky though. I think he would need something like a 5'9" hose to comfortably use the shorter version of the long hose.)

Blue Sparkle