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

I'm trying to figure out hose routing w/o having to wrap the primary LP hose around my body. I'm assuming that I cannot tuck the primary LP huse under my arm and comfortably be able to use it. I really like the idea of a secondary 2nd stage around my neck and readily available but am I creating issues by not wanting to wrap a hose around me? Is it even possible to do this?

Thanks
Dave

Which reg will you give to your OOA buddy and how long will its hose be?

Short answer: yes it's possible

But the benefit of having a long hose/primary donate rig is that you get more flexibility in terms of positioning the diver that you are air sharing with. If you use a short hose you won't get the full advantage in this scenario... if you use a medium-length hose it'll bow out and potentially catch on things

So the question is Why don't you want to wrap the hose?

I just don't feel it'll be comfortable to me and I really just don't want to deal w/ wrapping a hose around me predive. I also feel as a very basic rec diver it is extreme overkill. I realize that defeats the purpose of DIR but in reality I am not going to be doing anything where myself and my buddy cannot go up side by side. We do no penetration diving nor any tight confine dives where my buddy would be required to be behind me while OOA. I would give the OOA buddy my primary and I'd breath off my necklace secondary. I'm unsure of the length of hose I'd want for the primary that I would give the OOA buddy but I was thinking 40ish inches.

Problem is that I assume that that would have to go over my shoulder so I'd have quite a loop of excess LP hose. And I don't feel that I can feed that 40" or so secondary LP hose under my armpit and up into my mouth at any angle that would be comfortable.

Perhaps I'm making a mountain of a molehill and I'd be fine w/ a 7' hose. Perhaps a shorter hose for someone diving a single tank and only a 3 mil exposure suit is a compromise? Or would a 7' hose in that situation still be ok?

Dave

/shrug Some people use swivel or right-angle adaptors on the second stage. Braided hoses might help too. But 40" is still going to be an in-between length, and a compromise... Honestly my advice would be to get a ~5' hose and wrap it, takes 5 seconds. It's not a big deal, easy to get used to with a little practice deploying, doesn't restrict or constrict you, and is a good length for non-overhead/penetration dives... just makes air sharing a lot more comfortable for both people, giving you plenty of room to deploy a DSMB for example - especially if one or the other is a bit stressed which can happen in OOG situations

I think you are right. the reg package I'm buying will come w/ a 7' hose. Do you feel that is too long for someone diving single tank and a thin exposure suit (3mm)?

IMO yes. Unless you're diving overhead/restrictions there's no practical reason to use a 7' hose. You'll need to tuck it into or under something like your waist harness, a pocket or a knife sheath, otherwise it will float about. This means the deployment is slightly more complex, since you need to untuck it to extend it fully

I would suggest you ask the shop if they will swap it for a 5' hose, and try it first if you can

I dive a 7ft on my recreational rig as well as my tech rig. I prefer it to a 5 ft hose. A quick tuck in the waist band is easy to complete and after a while you will not notice the length.

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

TT_Vert:

I think you are right. the reg package I'm buying will come w/ a 7' hose. Do you feel that is too long for someone diving single tank and a thin exposure suit (3mm)?

Click to expand...

You're lucky. Mine came with a short hose and now I have to buy the 7' for about $22. (and the 22" for the bungeed octo for just a bit less).