Routing Both Hoses Under Your Right Arm

I read way to much about different styles of diving and one thing I recently noticed is that some people, with a single tank configuration, will use a short 40" hose for the primary and run it under the right arm attached to a 90 degree elbow and then the second stage. There backup is then bungee'd under the chin as normal. I was wondering are there any flaws with running a 7' primary hose and then running your backup in the manner described above? Curious as to others thoughts because pictured in my head it seems pretty good.

Hi,
Not sure if I am following you or not.
You can run the primary with a 40" under the right arm ,up your chest and use a 90 deg elbow so the reg sits in your mouth properly.
You would then be able to run the octo using a 22" hose and have it mounted under your chin. This hose would not go under the right arm, it would be over the right shoulder.
You can also run a 7' primary under the right arm, across the chest, around the back of your head and into your mouth.
In either case you would be donating your primary reg in an air share.

Note that a 7' hose will be quite long , and will need to be tucked in to keep the hose in place.

I run a 6' long hose and a 22" short hose, and it works fine for me.

Hope this helps, Jim Breslin

Some feel that the elbow creates a more comfortable and streamlined configuration, others see it as an additional failure point. As they say, "You pays your money and takes your chances."

i think what he's talking about is running the octo with a 40" hose under the elbow and up to a 90* adapter and leave it on the suicide strap as normal while running a long hose. This might work in a singles setup, but would make it harder in doubles. With doubles it's still easiest to run it traditionally or with a 120* adapter to relieve some of the stress. One other way is if you have lefty regs you can run it under the left shoulder. I tend to do this if I'm diving doubles and sidemount without much time to switch regs around. I don't recommend this for singles because it gets awfully cluttered on the left side and you may not have enough LP ports on that side to do it properly.

Yes, I'm strictly speaking of a single tank set up. When I get into doubles, I would run the short hose as normal. Sax, you got what I was talking about. I've never seen anyone do that and wondered if it was unwise. I'm sure the GUE/DIR divers would be against this, but if you run the octo under the arm and up to the 90* adapter, it would make it more comfortable in the event you had to donate the long hose and switch regs. I only see this working with a 7' or longer hose because you are able to tuck that into the waist strap or under a light. I would not run it on the left because it would interfere with my drysuit hose.

You'd have to be quite careful to make sure you kept the hoses straight, so that the 40" hose didn't trap the longer hose.

But I'm not sure what you intend to accomplish by using this rather complicated and cumbersome setup. When you adopt the long hose, your plan is to donate from your mouth. The backup reg is only for YOUR use, and doesn't need to be on a longer hose than what allows it to rest comfortably in your mouth. It sounds as though you are trying to set things up so you can donate either regulator. I don't think that's necessary and it's going to make your setup harder to keep tidy. I manage to get all kinds of things wound around one another, even with the gear I use . . . I'd hate to make give it any more opportunities to create knots and tangles!

xdrjones5:

I was wondering are there any flaws with running a 7' primary hose and then running your backup in the manner described above? Curious as to others thoughts because pictured in my head it seems pretty good.

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You can do it. As several have indicated, I don't know WHY you would want to do it. If you happen to have a 40" hose that you want to use, and don't want to buy the (usual) shorter hose used with the bungeed necklace reg, it might make sense. But, the cost of adding the elbow more than offsets any savings of using a hose you already have. If you are thinking that it would give you an option to donate either the long hose or the shorter hose alternate, I don't see the point. It is already bungeed and you would have to lift it over your head to donate it.

Maybe, we are missing an important part of your reasoning, and would benefit from a better understanding of why you think it seems to be a pretty good idea. I am not criticizing the idea, I would just like to better understand your thinking. The title of your post comments on 'running both hoses under you right arm', which confuses me. I don't think of my long hose as running under my right arm, although I guess that technically it may well be doing that. Rather, it runs down my side, then under an object on my waist strap (hard-backed pouch, reel, canister light) or under the waist strap itself, then up across my chest.

xdrjones5:

it would make it more comfortable in the event you had to donate the long hose and switch regs.

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This is a part I don't understand. If you mean breathing off a second stage attached to a hose routed under your right arm is more comfortable than breathing off a second stage attached to a hose that is routed over your right shoulder and around the right side of your neck, I would disagree. There is essentially nothing uncomfortable about the latter (providing you have a proper length hose).

xdrjones5:

I would not run it on the left because it would interfere with my drysuit hose.

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Although the drysuit hose is frequently routed under the left arm and across the chest to the DS inflator valve, and there is some potential for conflict if you ran your alternate hose under the same arm, I am not sure this isn't manageable if the hoses are set up correctly.

All I was trying to get at is would it be more comfortable breathing from your backup if you donated the long hose. Having the octo running up your chest and connected to the 90* adapter, seemed to me that it would give you more range of motion of your head. I got the idea from sidemount diving.

Well, having your backup on a normal length short hose is really not much different from having your primary that way, which is the way the majority of the world dives. I've never had the short hose limit the range of motion of my head.

Me, neither. I have full range of motion from my bungied backup reg on a short(ish) hose.

This just sounds like a PITA "solution" to a problem that doesn't exist.


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