Swivel makes reg more awkward...is this normal?

[Jayfarmlaw]

My new BCD has an Air 2 on it so I took off my Octo. I had a short hose on my second stage so I used the old Octo hose on my second stage to give me a little more room in case I had to give it up to an out of air buddy. The benefit is the hose is long enough to route under my arm which is more comfortable while diving, but the regulator hose has a slight pull to it. Not bad, but slightly annoying. I purchased a regulator swivel thinking it would make it better...I was wrong. The hose can be routed better, but it is almost like the regulator want to twist in my mouth. Granted it was a cheap swivel off of Amazon, but it's not THAT heavy...

are all swivels like this?

thanks in advance
Jay

 

[tbone1004]

link to the swivel? May want to return it, some of them are better than others, the ones Edd sells at Cave Adventurers are the best bang for the buck, though I'd ditch the Air 2, but that's because I think they're pretty useless. FWIW most any time I'm in backmount, doubles or singles, I use a ball swivel coming up from under my shoulder and it's quite comfortable if the hose lengths are right.

Odds are your hose is too short. Most standard reg hoses are 32", and that is just too short for most sized divers to route under the arm. Knowing what first stage you are using is also helpful because there are some routing tricks that may help you out.

 

[diversteve]

How is it if you route it over your shoulder instead? Does it still pull? I have an Atomic with the swivel and it's very comfortable used that way. Standard 32" hose. As mentioned, a longer hose might be the solution.

 

[D_B]

I second tbone's comments about the quality of the swivel, and hose length

I have a 44" hose routed under my arm to a quality swivel on my regulator and it's nicely compact without any pull whatsoever

 

[halocline]

I would try a 60" hose, routed under your arm, across your chest, over your left shoulder and around behind your head. This is the modified hogarthian long hose routing. IMO it's much more comfortable than using an 'octo-length' hose under your right arm, with or without a swivel. It's also better for air sharing.

Since you are using an octo-inflator combo, you have the right idea about using a longer primary 2nd stage hose, I just don't think you've gone long enough. If you want to try the long hose without spending the money on a hose, get a hose coupler, they're only a few bucks. Then put together both your short and octo-length hose (probably 26" and 32") to get one long hose, ditch the swivel, and try routing in the way I described. I bet you'll never go back.

 

[snowdog61]

I've got 2 reg sets I use that are set up similar to what the OP has - Primary routed under the arm on a swivel and an Octo-Z on the inflator. Hose length for the primary - one is 32" and the other 36". Both work but the 36" is way more comfortable - the 32" wants to twist and does unless it's tucked tight up against my arm pit. Swivel pretty much stays around 90 degree bend. Get a 36" or a 40" hose and your problem will go away. In an OOA situation I'd be offering up my primary (it'll more than likely get taken from you anyways if things are desperate) - having some extra length (60") will allow you to keep some distance between you and a panicked diver. It will way more comfortable for both of you and easier than him being on your secondary.

 

[ams511]

Usually when doing an underarm route rather than using a swivel many people use a 70 or 90 degree elbow. Besides the hose length, the stiffness of the hose may be an issue. I noticed the hose of a Sherwood Maximus which is designed for underarm routing is softer and bends easier than a normal rubber hose. A more flexible hose may help. Another issue is the hose routing from the first stage. If you have a regulator with a port at the bottom then I would switch to that before trying anything else. If your first stage doesn't have a bottom port then rather mounting the first stage vertical with the hoses coming off right and left I would turn it 45 degrees so the hoses come out top and bottom. Your bottom hoses would be your primary and SPG and your top hose would be for the inflator. You may not even need to mount it 45 degrees. If it canted such that the primary hose is at a diagonal may be enough to relieve the tension in the hose. My recommendation is to play with the hose routing first before doing anything else because it is a no-cost solution.