Does a Long Hose set up require training?

[blackice]

I recently borowed a long hoses regulator set up and they show me how it worked, I kind of had an idea from the books and interent.

I had now problems using it, even swapping to the backup reg and cliping off the long hose, then unclipping the long hose and using it to fill my SBM at our safety stop. Then reclipping it.

It was also easy to set up and leave on the boat, long hose clipped off and short hanging down or necklace over the tank valve.

I was just wondering about other divers and if they started out with the long hoses like I have. I all makes sense to me, but was wondering if some divers wait until they do GUE-F or tech courses before they go the long hose.

=-)

[watermonkey]

blackice once bubbled...

I was just wondering about other divers and if they started out with the long hoses like I have. I all makes sense to me, but was wondering if some divers wait until they do GUE-F or tech courses before they go the long hose.
=-)
Go with the long-hose right away, the benefits 95% of the time even in open water make this the best way to dive. Just think a few scenarios through beforehand and as always start of on easy shallow dives while getting used to new equipment.
The only two areas which really require some thought are always remembering to clip off the long-hose (sounds like you've got it) and the reg recovery sweep doesn't work as well/the same as with a short-hose setup. The other problem is when resort DMs, etc go to move and setup your rig and end up dragging your primary around the boat :fury: until you jump on them, Then you demonstrate the alternate routing of the long-hose around the neck of the offender :hanged:

[Dr. Jay]

blackice once bubbled...
I was just wondering about other divers and if they started out with the long hoses like I have.Yep.

Makes your gear more streamlined, gets rid (for me) of your reg being pulled every time you turn your head, and much less of an entaglement hazard...to name a few benefits. I still have yet to take a GUE course.

I'm happy I made the switch early on, and I really haven't got much flak from other divers on boats and such.

[JohnF]

Dr. Jay once bubbled...
Yep.

Makes your gear more streamlined, gets rid (for me) of your reg being pulled every time you turn your head, and much less of an entaglement hazard...to name a few benefits. I still have yet to take a GUE course.

I'm happy I made the switch early on, and I really haven't got much flak from other divers on boats and such.

The hardest part in adjusting to using the long hose is learning how to deal with it on the damned dive boats. Keep this thought in mind "Clip it off, clip it off."

Other than that, once you've sorted out how you want to deal with the excess hoseage when diving, it's a non-issue.

The more important thing imnsho is to understand why you're using the long hose in the first place, and how to get the max benefit in the unlikely event you're ever called on in an emergency. I suspect there are too many divers out there who have adopted the long hose for rec diving because they want to look cool and really haven't given a lot of thought to the why of it. Frankly, I was probably guilty of that myself in the beginning, at least until I started my cave training and realized how useful, even necessary, the long hose was in certain situations.

JohnF

[ElectricZombie]

I would go ahead and start using the 7 foot hose. You will get better at managing and implementing it quickly. The benefits are great so, it's worth the effort.

[blackice]

Thanks team, I now have my own hoses and regulators. I raqng up the local tech diving shop and asked for a 5' hose. Went and picked it up -

why a 5' you ask? I figured that as I'm diving open water and not doubles I have no real need for the extra 2 foot - yet. and I have not light canister to run it under either. So for now that seemed to be the correct choice.

Sure inthe future if I go towards cave or deeper tech I'll change to the 7'.

- I got the hose home and held it up and realised that it's long than me (i'm only 5'5") and realised they had given me a 6' hose - which I'm fine with.

I actually had a 5' hose with another company one order and that cam in as well - so have a back up hose or I might introduce it to my wife/buddy and see if she is open to it.

Thanks for the feedback,
=-)

[MarcHall]

I prefer and recommend a 7ft hose.

With a cannister light the 7ft hose is run underneath the canister then up the chest and around the neck. Once run you can look to your left and then take up any slack by pushing the excess hose back along the canister.

Without a cannister, the excess hose can be looped and the loop run under the waist strap.

A 5 foot hose is not long enough to run under a canister, so you will be looking to purchase a 7ft hose whenever you acquire a cannister light.

Without a cannister a 5 ft hose is too short to form a loop and run under your waist strap. Any excess hose frequently ends up floating above your head. If your body dimensions are such that there is no excess hose then a 5ft hose can work. A 6 foot hose amplifies the problem of a 5 ft hose. Too short to run underneath a cannister or form a loop to run under the waist strap, but a lot of excess hose that ends up floating over the head.

Marc Hall
www.enjoythedive.com

[Soggy]

MarcHall once bubbled...
I A 6 foot hose amplifies the problem of a 5 ft hose. Too short to run underneath a cannister or form a loop to run under the waist strap, but a lot of excess hose that ends up floating over the head.


That depends on your build. At 6' 150 lbs, I am quite thin. I traded my 7ft hose for a 6ft. The 6 fter fits tucks very well under my halcyon pocket (equivalent to a cannister) and routes perfectly. The 7ft was getting all over the place and kept coming untucked.

[cast55]

Think carefully before selecting a hose shorter than seven feet - this may be a bit shortsighted. The purpose of having a long hose at all, in addition to the other secondary advantages, is to enable gas sharing in single file. When you donate gas to a buddy, he will generally exit (egress) in front of you, while you maintain physical contact with him. Six feet of hose is going to require that your face be right in your buddy's ass, and is probably going to interfere with his ability to use his fins effectively. The extra length allows for efficient progress while gas sharing, and is conducive to towing, etc.

-Sean

[Soggy]

cast55 once bubbled...
Think carefully before selecting a hose shorter than seven feet - this may be a bit shortsighted. The purpose of having a long hose at all, in addition to the other secondary advantages, is to enable gas sharing in single file.

When I begin diving in an environment where that is even a remote possibility, I'll get a 7 foot hose...and doubles...and stage/deco bottles. Right now, with my single tank, zero penetration diving, it really isn't an issue.

[blackice]

Soggy once bubbled...


When I begin diving in an environment where that is even a remote possibility, I'll get a 7 foot hose...and doubles...and stage/deco bottles. Right now, with my single tank, zero penetration diving, it really isn't an issue.

Hay Soggy, I'm with you , I don't dive doubles, I don't dive overhead, and I don't have a canister, so for now the 7' is just too long.

Hoses are not that expensive that I can't buy a new one if I have the need and change my diving.

But to do that I would have to do a serious ammount of training which does not come cheep, so it will take a while to move along that path.

As that may easily be more than 6 - 12 month away, it doesn't seems clever to have something that's too big for me and may actually cause a problem.

But I do agree that if you dive in caves and overhead enviroments, that the 7' is a must as no one likes to be bashedin the face by fins.

:out:

[Blue Space]

And I don't agree with you guys on getting a 5' or 6' for open water then if your diving progresses getting a longer hose...Why not start with the 7' and get used to it... That way when and if you do go into tech diving that will be one less thing to worry about... I dive a SeaQuest Balance and the hose stores nicely under my right side weight pocket or tucked under my waist strap either way works great and never comes undone...

[Soggy]

Blue Space once bubbled...
Why not start with the 7' and get used to it... That way when and if you do go into tech diving that will be one less thing to worry about... I dive a SeaQuest Balance and the hose stores nicely under my right side weight pocket or tucked under my waist strap either way works great and never comes undone...

There isn't really anything to "get used to." The 6 foot hose simply fit my body better. Switching to a 7 foot hose isn't a big deal, it just means a little more slack to deal with. I hate tucking it, as it is difficult to retuck after deploying for a drill.

Using that logic, you should also be diving a BP/Wings since you'll "have to" when you dive doubles.

[roakey]

Soggy once bubbled...
Using that logic, you should also be diving a BP/Wings since you'll "have to" when you dive doubles.
Flawless logic, if I do say so myself! :)

Roak

[Blue Space]

Soggy once bubbled...
There isn't really anything to "get used to." The 6 foot hose simply fit my body better. Switching to a 7 foot hose isn't a big deal, it just means a little more slack to deal with. I hate tucking it, as it is difficult to retuck after deploying for a drill.

Using that logic, you should also be diving a BP/Wings since you'll "have to" when you dive doubles.

I guess your right a little more slack and the difficult to retuck thing is nothing you should be getting use to..:confused:

I should be diving a BP/Wing setup if I was diving doubles...But I'm not and I'm a long ways away from it...I'm not sure If I will ever get into tech diving... And besides I just bought that bc and I like it I like it alot...LOL

[Soggy]

Blue Space once bubbled...
I guess your right a little more slack and the difficult to retuck thing is nothing you should be getting use to..:confused:

I should be diving a BP/Wing setup if I was diving doubles...But I'm not and I'm a long ways away from it...I'm not sure If I will ever get into tech diving... And besides I just bought that bc and I like it I like it alot...LOL

You've just made my point for me. If I get into diving doubles, and that's a long way off, I'll worry about diving with 1 foot of extra hose...besides, I just traded for a 6' hose and I like it a lot.

[liormic]

Why do you think you must use BP with wings to use dubles?
I use dubles with my zeagle ranger BC and enjoy it a lot. It's even easier to put together and by far easier to take apert.
I've seen the dir way (on video) to give the regulator to the budy to breath and quit frankly, I don't find it to be the best way.
I use a long hose folded in a long sleave wich runs from my first stage and between the back and the BC's wing and comes out in front where a budy (mine or as happened to me, some other one who needed air and I was the closest to him) can easy take it and use.

A 5' or 6' hose is OK but the longer, the better (of course, up to a point).

[bwerb]

liormic once bubbled...

I use a long hose folded in a long sleave wich runs from my first stage and between the back and the BC's wing and comes out in front where a budy (mine or as happened to me, some other one who needed air and I was the closest to him) can easy take it and use.



...you dive with a stuffed longhose...

How often do you practice deployment and stowing of your longhose? Do you need anyone elses help to restow it behind you? When a panicked diver grabs the shorthose from your mouth...do you deploy the longhose and get them to switch regs with you so they aren't a foot and a half away or do you just breathe the longhose while it's still stuffed?

[newdiverAZ]

maybe I should be diving a backplate and wings, at the dive shop today I was looking an an OMS setup, with the cords on the wings it looked pretty kewl.

[Soggy]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
maybe I should be diving a backplate and wings, at the dive shop today I was looking an an OMS setup, with the cords on the wings it looked pretty kewl.

Some call those BWOD...Bungeed Wings of Death. Do a search about some of the cons of diving that configuration before you go down that road. I don't have strong feelings about them either way, but many do and before you spend a lot of money, just make sure you are fully informed.

[newdiverAZ]

has somebody actually died while wearing them?

[Soggy]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
has somebody actually died while wearing them?

I don't know.

I am just suggesting that you do some reading...GUE (and consequently DIR) has some very strong feelings regarding them.

[newdiverAZ]

but why do they call them wings of death if noone has died because of them?

[Soggy]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
but why do they call them wings of death if noone has died because of them?

I personally don't know the history....do a search and you may be able to figure that out.

[liormic]

bwerb once bubbled...


...you dive with a stuffed longhose...

How often do you practice deployment and stowing of your longhose? Do you need anyone elses help to restow it behind you? When a panicked diver grabs the shorthose from your mouth...do you deploy the longhose and get them to switch regs with you so they aren't a foot and a half away or do you just breathe the longhose while it's still stuffed?

The longhose isn't stuffed, the sleave wich contains it is.
Well, I'm not going to argue about what's right and what's wrong. I belive that people do it that way bacause they feel it's the best way. I don't, and I know many who think and act like me.
Sometimes we should understand that there are stuff wich has more than one right answer or non at all.
When the hose was pulled out of it's sleave it's not easy to put it back in but it doesn't matter cause once your buddy needs it, you're on your way out from that dive.
When a panicked diver came to me he didn't grab the shorter hose going to my mouth but the octopus one wich was longer (but not that long at that time) and it happened for real and not as a practice!
I guess that what you're warried about (grabing your mouthpice) is why you do it the way you do but when you dive with the same buddy who knows your configuration there's no problem and even when you dive with someone else you go over everything before the dive, including using the octopus (just as you would do with the way needed to dump the weights).

[Blue Space]

Soggy once bubbled...
You've just made my point for me. If I get into diving doubles, and that's a long way off, I'll worry about diving with 1 foot of extra hose...besides, I just traded for a 6' hose and I like it a lot.

Sounds like both of us are not ready for tech diving but we like the safty factor of the long hose regardless of lenght...:mean:

[jonnythan]

liormic once bubbled...
When the hose was pulled out of it's sleave it's not easy to put it back in but it doesn't matter cause once your buddy needs it, you're on your way out from that dive.

You know, it might be a good idea to practice your air sharing more often. If nothing else, the ease of restowing a long primary and bungeed backup encourages you to pratice often. It's even fun.

I don't see what advantages the stuffed long hose provides. Why not breathe off the long one?

[cast55]

When the hose was pulled out of it's sleave it's not easy to put it back in but it doesn't matter cause once your buddy needs it, you're on your way out from that dive.

There is a critical flaw in that line of reasoning. One advantage of breathing the long hose is the ease with which it can be prepared for donation, and then restowed when it is not needed. This means I can (and do) deploy the long hose second at the slightest provocation - my buddy acting strangely or slowly for whatever reason, 95% of the time it's probably nothing, but it could be symptomatic of the onset of oxygen toxicity, narcosis, hypercapnia, hypothermia, etc. Offering that reg immediately allows you to deal with such problems pre-emptively, saving precious seconds in the event that there is such a problem.

When there is not, I put the reg back in my mouth and breathe. No hose stuffing or routing issues, and the reg is immediately good to go for the next time.

-Sean

[cast55]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
maybe I should be diving a backplate and wings, at the dive shop today I was looking an an OMS setup, with the cords on the wings it looked pretty kewl.

Under the assumption that that post was not a troll:

Regarding the dual bladder BC with 100 pounds of lift:

First off, 100 pounds of lift is ridiculously huge, no matter what type of diving you are doing. The lift capacity that you need is at minimum the mass of the gas that will be consumed during the dive, plus the buoyancy change of your exposure suit (if any) due to compression. If you need 100 pounds of gas, you have much larger problems than your choice of BC... My largest wing produces about 55 pounds of lift. I have used this wing on dives requiring twin 104s on the back, a 14 cu. ft. argon bottle, a slightly negative scooter and 5 AL80 stages.

The dual bladders are really unnecessary. If you are diving a drysuit, the suit provides a backup source of buoyancy. In a wetsuit, you will typically be diving aluminum tanks which become positive when empty. The logic behind using large capacity wings supposedly is to accomodate multiple stages, but stages shouldn't be steel anyway. Aluminum stages ride in a better, lower drag position, and can be jettisoned at any time without affecting the overall weighting and trim of your rig. The dual bladders (and dual hoses) also introduce a hose routing problem, and well as adding failure points and unnecessary complexity for a purpose of questionable value.

As someone else mentioned, these wings are so large as to require retainer cords to keep the package neatly bundled. In a typical (non restrained) wing, the wing floats up against the tank(s), resulting in a low profile package which places the buoyancy cells above and to the side of the diver, acting to keep the diver horizontal in the position of maximum function. Any action on the diver's part to change attitude results in a differential distribution of gas within the wing, which will remain stable until altered. The restrained wing keeps the gas cell close to the diver's center of mass, making it easier to roll out of position, and more difficult to maintain a desired attitude once established.

The retainer cords also act to create a constant positive pressure within the bladder, which makes dumping gas more rapid, and puts you at risk of inadvertently dumping all the gas in your wing should you puncture or tear it by accident. A standard wing will in most cases still hold gas when punctured, whereas a complete dumping can be extremely dangerous in an emergency. The redundant bladders are an obvious attempt to correct a self-imposed problem.

Another problem with these wings is that, due to the positive pressure created by the retainers, an artificial and unnecessary lung loading is presented when attempting to orally inflate. If you consider the scenarios which would require you to attempt this, it makes sense not to increase the potential complications to your physiological processes.

Finally, the folds in the bladder and cords crossing the retained wing present a snag hazard to objects which might otherwise brush against a wing without these features without incident.

There are a few things off the top of my head, with respect to a single item on your list. I'd write more, but my fingers are getting tired of typing.

Cheers.

-Sean

[tiswango]

The 7ft hose is ackward at first, but after diving it you'll figure all this out. Here some tips:

1. Put a clip on it and clip it off when no in use or changing rigs.

The clip should be tied off with 3 wraps on cave line up on the hose, not the metal connections. You should be able to put the reg in your mouth while its still clipped off. Zip ties will slid up and down the hose, cave line will stick without damange.

2. Forget about break away O-rings. Just use cave line

3. Stuff the hose through the handle on the 27lb Halcyon wing when not diving.

Clip the reg off, grab the loop in the hose and run in through the handle and lay the hose down behind the wing. ** Make sure the loop does not get wrapped around the pressure guage. ** Slide in the back plate, put on the waist and crotch strap, and then you can unclip the long hose, pull it all the way out and secure it properly.

Hope that helps!

[blackice]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
has somebody actually died while wearing them?

I don't think that is the point , it's better not to be the first.

Just think about if a if you passed past a fishing hook hanging in the water would it catchon the bungee cords or would it be the same if you had ablader with out them.

Also think about trying to inflate them manually, could be quite hard.

And each dip and bend increases drap and reduces your streamlining ... --- this lead to more effort to move and will increase the speed of your air consumption.

But yes they do look cool - but only in the shop not in the water.

Less is more.
=-)

[newdiverAZ]

thank you cast55 for an actual reply to a question that contained some reason, not just the standard "don't dive that because some whacko that I don't even know says not to dive it cause I get a cut if you buy this one. All of the reasons you post are valid, and point well taken, still don't see how it makes them the bwod, but still see the points. But ya gotta admit they look really kewl, lol



thanx

[newdiverAZ]

I'm sorry blackice, but that is the point. How do you call something the bungee wings of death if you don't know if the ever killed someone. By all means call them the bungee wings of snag, or the bungee wings of too hard to orally inflate. I personnaly wouldn't die if a fishing hook hooked me, I'd either cut my way out or my buddy better cut me out. If you panic and die because of a fishing hook snag, you need to be a lil more comfortable in the water.

[blackice]

tiswango once bubbled...
The 7ft hose is ackward at first, but after diving it you'll figure all this out. Here some tips:

1. Put a clip on it and clip it off when no in use or changing rigs.

The clip should be tied off with 3 wraps on cave line up on the hose, not the metal connections. You should be able to put the reg in your mouth while its still clipped off. Zip ties will slid up and down the hose, cave line will stick without damange.

2. Forget about break away O-rings. Just use cave line

3. Stuff the hose through the handle on the 27lb Halcyon wing when not diving.

Clip the reg off, grab the loop in the hose and run in through the handle and lay the hose down behind the wing. ** Make sure the loop does not get wrapped around the pressure guage. ** Slide in the back plate, put on the waist and crotch strap, and then you can unclip the long hose, pull it all the way out and secure it properly.

Hope that helps!

I'm not sure I agree with your first point about the way to secure the long hose to the boltsnap, I would think that cave line (wrapped 3 times ) would be almost impossable to tear away should you need to?

I find that a combination of cable tie and "O"ring works well. I have the "O" ring bent around the bold snap then feed a cable tie thru the two loops of the "O" ring and secure the cable tie to the first metal are on after the hose and before the regulator.

The bold snap doesn't move up and down the hose and it's ready to break off if needed.

I thin this sort of set up should be replaced on a regular basis. It should also be tested to find out how much effort is required to break the "O" ring.

I like the 3rd point you made. A great idea on how to protect your long hose from people walking all over it when on the dive boat.

Cheers,
=-)

[blackice]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
I'm sorry blackice, but that is the point. How do you call something the bungee wings of death if you don't know if the ever killed someone. By all means call them the bungee wings of snag, or the bungee wings of too hard to orally inflate. I personnaly wouldn't die if a fishing hook hooked me, I'd either cut my way out or my buddy better cut me out. If you panic and die because of a fishing hook snag, you need to be a lil more comfortable in the water.

Ok your right the name suggests that people die from using them, and as far as I know this is not the case (limited knowledge of such things)

I didn't call them "wings of death" but was just trying to explain my understanding of why someone may call them that.



=-)

[newdiverAZ]

that's my point, you could more accurately call a 747 the flying aluminum death trap, because failures there have taken alot of lives, but last time I checked there was stil a few people left that fly on them

[JohnStrr]

Someone posted, not to long ago, a link to dirQuest archives which had a story written by G. Irvine of WKPP dealing with a women who was wearing the BWOD. I'm not saying that that was the cause of death by any means, but it happened.

Maybe we'll get a repost, I'm too tired to search.

[roakey]

newdiverAZ once bubbled...
has somebody actually died while wearing them?
Yes

Roak

[Boogie711]

For NewDiverAZ's benefit...

You will also see reference to 'suicide clips.' These are clips that don't require direct input to open - like a carabiner, or spring loaded boat hook, or a bolt snap that can open just by pushing something through the opening.

Yes, people have indeed died whilst diving suicide clips. That is why they are called suicide clips. The most famous example is when John Ormsby got caught on some cable on a shipwreck and drowned because he was entangled. They suspect he was floating past some dangling cables and just became ensnared. Obviously the same logic applies to fishing nets, line, kelp, cave line, etc.

That's why you always want clips that require your direct manipulation to open, preferably in stainless steel, so they won't rust closed.

[roakey]

One of the problems of talking about this stuff is trying to make folks understand that we're merely describing one small piece of the "Big Picture." Bondage wings don't kill people outright. Suicide clips don't kill people outright. The wrong gas doesn't kill people outright.

The big picture is to eliminate as many small failures as you can in order to assure that they don't become CONTRIBUTING factors in an accident. But we wallow in the small details like asking "Just how does a suicide clip kill someone?" Answer: Alone it doesn't. Look at the big picture, but solve the small problems. Kinda like the old car racing saw: If you want to reduce your car's weight by 100 pounds, find 1600 places to save an ounce.

Deaths are NEVER caused by a single failure, they're caused by a succession of compounding failures. Take this purely hypothetical accident: Diver penetrates a wreck at 150' on air (wrong gas). Narked, he swims too close to a cable and the carabineer on his SPG gets caught (wrong clip). While trying to free himself (doesn't go very well because of his wrong choice of gas) a nearby piece of sharp metal puts a small hole in the bottom of his bungee wings, which power deflate (wrong choice of wings). Finally freeing himself he gets outside the wreck only to plummet to the sand because he has no ditchable weight and he's diving negative because of his choice of diving heavy LP steels with a thin wet suit (wrong choice of cylinder to dive with a wet suit).

His body is recovered the next day.

Did the air kill him? No. Did the suicide clip kill him? No. Did the bondage wing kill him? No. Did the big steels kill him? No. The combination, the big picture killed him. Change any ONE of those factors and he surfaces safe. Trimix and he doesn't run into the cable. Bolt snap and he doesn't get hung up on the cable. Normal wing and he can orient himself so it still will hold air. AL80s and he has ditchable wight and/or can swim himself up.

Imagine the safety margin if you eliminate ALL of the contributing factors?

And that one sentence above is what DIR is all about, maximizing the margin of safety via skills, mental preparation, teamwork, equipment choice and equipment configuration.

Roak

[Boogie711]

Good explanation.

[jonnythan]

roakey once bubbled...

...
because of his choice of diving heavy LP steels with a thin wet suit (wrong choice of cylinder to dive with a wet suit).


What kind of wetsuit *isn't* thin at 150 feet? ;)

[tiswango]

[QUOTE]blackice once bubbled...

I find that a combination of cable tie and "O"ring works well. I have the "O" ring bent around the bold snap then feed a cable tie thru the two loops of the "O" ring and secure the cable tie to the first metal are on after the hose and before the regulator.
--------------

BlackIce, do you read Quest? G3 posted this week, "No breakaways on the rig".

Now for fun, lets see if I can explain why?

1. Why would you need a break way?
The long hose is clipped off when you are on the boat or breathing another reg (deco or stage). If there is an OOA, you donate the one in your mouth, not the long hose clipped off.

Scenerio: Team member is OOA while breathing a stage.

You donate stage reg out of mouth. Go to back up, blast clear, no gas? Check your left post for roll off, still no gas or won't breath.

As I posted before, you should be able to take a hit off the long hose while clipped off, or unclip it and breath it.

If you can't reach to breath the long hose and can't unclip it, then go to the knife and cut the cave line. By this point I would have buddy breathed the working stage or taken a breath off my inflator hose.

2. You explained how Breakaways are likely to fail. There is no need for the maintanence. But if you still like them, enjoy, they are not going to kill you. The will just cost you a few SS bolt snaps. :boom:

[cast55]

On the subject of breakaways, I thought I would share the method I use:

On connected items where a breakaway would traditionally have been used (SPG, long hose), I use a 90 durometer tank neck o-ring, bent around the bolt snap eye and looped over the hose itself (no cave line). This is a pretty durable connection which requires a pull so strong to break it that you can't really consider it as a "break-away", but it does have a couple of advantages:

If a buddy attempts to grab your long hose reg while it is clipped off, the o-ring will "walk" up the hose, allowing a foot or so of slack (enough for a panicking buddy to breathe from the reg) and allowing you to then unclip it. A straight cave line connection can bind (like a prusik) on the hose, preventing it from feeding through when tugged at.

On the SPG hose, the o-ring is tight enough to keep the bolt snap over the hose and not the connection (so it doesn't get abraded as the SPG swivels), and acts as a bit of a shock absorber to reduce stress on the hose at that location as the SPG is manipulated.

In either case, you will never lose bolt snaps (these are clipped off to your d-rings anyway). If one of them should break, I keep in my pocket a few inner tube loops (like the backup light retainers) that I can jury rig the bolt snap on with in exactly the same fashion.

-Sean

[newdiverAZ]

so if i dove the bwod with the right gas, in the right exposure suit and the right tanks I'd still live? Correct? So doesn't make them the bwod, but the dtpod. dumb thought process of death. The gear ain't gonna kill ya. Doing stupid things kills ya!

[AquaBob]

Well said.

I think you've managed to convince us ALL that you were right all along.

I think you should run, not walk, to your LDS and buy the kewl wings.

Let us know if you find any kewl salvage under the bridge.