i currently use an aqua lung legend lx supreme regulator and a legend octopus. the regulator has a 29 inch hose and the octopus has a 39 inch. IMO the octo hose for me is too long and i hate folding it up into one of the d rings as it has come out a few times. im looking to shorten the hose to a 22 inch and using it with a bungee necklace. what are your thoughts on this? i get the idea behind the long hose for the octo but if im in an out of air situation with a buddy i dont see them searching for my octo but rather pulling my primary out of my mouth. if that happened i could quickly pull the octo off my necklace. i could also lengthen my primary house to 33-36 inches and route it underneath my shoulder. i got the idea from watching this video
1. I fully endorse your thinking on the mechanics of an OOA situation. I am not a big fan of the traditional 'octo in the triangle' configuration, although that is arguably the most commonly encountered recreational diving configuration (and, it is the configuration our shop routinely uses for OW training). I often refer to this as the 'Bermuda Triangle', with the octo being lost in that area, not unlike some planes and ships in the past.
2. As a matter of semantics, and to avoid even the appearance of skirting agency standards, one can reasonably consider the mouth to be at the top of the triangle, anyway. So, having the octo in the mouth is entirely consistent, from my perspective, with the 'octo in the triangle' concept.
3. The beauty / functionality of a bungeed necklace, is that you will donate (or have snatched from you) what is in your mouth, NOT what is on the necklace. The whole point is to donate a second stage that you know is working at the time you donate it, not one that may or may not work. But, you will NOT then 'pull the octo off my necklace' to use yourself rather you simply pull the second stage up a bit and put it in your mouth, with the bungee still around the mouthpiece.
4. A 22" hose on the necklace reg will
probably work for you. BUT, it may be a bit short. I find a 24" to work better for me. So, since shorter hoses are sometime special order items, you might try to find someone with a 22" (or 24") hose on their reg, and borrow it to try it before buying. Not a big deal, just a thought.
5. If you are changing your hose lengths anyway, do NOT go with a 33" primary. It is frankly too short to efficiently donate in an OOA situation. It will work, but what's the point? If you are buying new hoses anyway, go with a 5' or 7' hose for your primary.
6. One simple alternative approach that you can easily try before making a decision on new hoses - and, which allows you to use the hoses that you already have: put your (shorter hose) primary on a bungee necklace, and breath from your (longer hose) alternate / octo as your primary. Several university scuba programs have adopted this as their standard. It works pretty well. The longer hose (~40") bows out a bit more when you route it over your right shoulder, and I find routing it under my arm and up to my mouth is a bit more streamlined. While not optimally efficient, even that is better than the 'octo in the triangle'. I even tell my OW students that, after certification, when they buy their own gear, if they decide to start with 'standard' hose lengths, that this is a better approach that the 'octo in the triangle'. In an OOA, they can donate a working reg, on a 40" hose, and they will know exactly where their back-up is - right under their chin.
also any ideas on how to attach your dive light? i plan on getting a pistol grip light and may get a retractor for it, that way i can clip it to my bc on one of the d rings.
I agree with DevonDiver about pistol grip lights ('neanderthal' being a kind term). Holding a heavy pistol grip light in your hand for an extended period is tiring to your hand. Clipping some big, bulky light off to your BCD is not a great idea, either. Current technology allows you to get a smaller, flashlight style LED primary light, and wear it on the back of your hand with a separate Goodman glove (
Lights - Goodman Handles and Light Accessories - Northeast Scuba Supply Store) / light sock (
Raider III -IV Light Sock - Northeast Scuba Supply Store). (The links are not an attempt to necessarily get you to use Northeast Scuba Supply, rather the NESS site happens to have some good pictures.) You can also go 'whole hog' and get a canister light. (I tell divers that my two single most valuable investments in dive gear are a. my drysuit, and b. my can light.) Either way, you keep both hands free. A third option - not as attractive but still functional: I tie bolt snaps to the butt ends of my backup lights (all flashlight style), and clip the snap of whatever light I am using to my right chest D-ring. The light head is held down with a loop of inner tube or bungee. On those occasions when I don't use the can light, or a primary on a Goodman glove, and I only have the back-up light clipped to my harness, I slip the light head out of the loop, and turn the light on, but keep it clipped to the D-ring. The light is long enough (~ 6") that I can actually move the head around enough to illuminate whatever I want to look at, without unclipping it. When I am done, I turn it off, slip the light head back under the bungee / inner tube, and it is restored.
The bottom line, there are a number of better, more efficient alternatives to a pistol grip light.
