hose routing?

[bamabay1]

Im just getting back into diving and have invested in new gear. I have the Halcyon Pioneer and Apeks atx 200. I havent picked up a new octo yet but will get an Apex. How long should the primary, octo and guage hoses be? Should I go long and tuck them in? Ill be doing mostly sport diving.
Dave

[OE2X]

Many of us that mainly do rec diving do so with a long hose configuration. Get a 7' for your primary and keep the standard 24" for your bungied secondary. Tuck the excess 7' hose into your waistbelt.

[Rick Inman]

Im just getting back into diving and have invested in new gear. I have the Halcyon Pioneer and Apeks atx 200. I havent picked up a new octo yet but will get an Apex. How long should the primary, octo and guage hoses be? Should I go long and tuck them in? Ill be doing mostly sport diving.
Dave

WELCOME TO SCUBABOARD, bamabay1!! If you're getting back into diving, you'll find all the information (and MORE) that you need here. I know I did, and still do!!

I agree with the wise advice above. Do a SEARCH on long hose.

See ya!

Rick

[mossym]

just switched to the long hose and i like it already..give it a try, it works very well

Note: I'm not DIR, nor did i stay at a holiday inn last night

[PhillyWreckDiver]

Im just getting back into diving and have invested in new gear. I have the Halcyon Pioneer and Apeks atx 200. I havent picked up a new octo yet but will get an Apex. How long should the primary, octo and guage hoses be? Should I go long and tuck them in? Ill be doing mostly sport diving.
Dave

I don't have much to add here. The 7' hose is definitely the way to go. You really don't the freaking out ooa diver 6 inches from your face. Even the recipient isn't pannicked, sharing air is much more comfortable for both. I would advise wearing your back-up on a necklace with the standard length hose (24" I think). Don your backup before you route your long hose so it doesn't get in the way of deploying the long hose.

I've never been a fan of an octo on my primary reg. I've always favored a fully independent system, on either an H-valvle or a pony, whatever meets you needs. The shops in my area have always required a pony for single tank divers so I'm partial to that set up. The hose routing will be the same either way. What this does for you is it allows you to have all of your hoses to be mounted on one side of the reg. When you mount the 1st stage on the tank you turn it so that all of the hoses point straight down. This will make routing the 7' hose and your hp hose easier.

HP hoses are available in a variety of lengths. Choose a length that allows it to reach your left hip D-Ring without much left over. The legth you need will depend on how high or low you mount your bp and wing on your tank (Go with a plain old brass guage on the end). The same goes for your lp inflator hose.

The apeks atx200 has 1 hp and 2 lp ports on opposites sides of the reg. With 3 lp hoses ( 7' primary, bc, and octo) you are forced have the hoses pointing straight out to either side leaving them somewhat exposed. It's also not optimal for routing the long hose.

As for routing the long hose, personally, I don't like to stuff it. If you don't have a canister light to route it under, a knife with a sheath that mounts on 2" webbing also works well. The UK Blue Tang sheath works perfectly for this, you just have to nip the divider between the upper slots so the webbing will go through. A D-Ring on the right hip helps to keep it from sliding to far back. As you might have guessed I'm not strictly DIR, I just go with what works for me.

Hope this helps,
Owen
Dive Safe