I'm starting my OW classes this week. I'm putting together my rig and I'm contemplating starting with a 5' hose and bungied spare SP G250v or a "common" deployment using my spare reg and then changing hoses later.
Ultimately I will have a long hose as it makes the most sense to me. My daughter and I are doing the class together and we'll be our normal buddies.
My questions are these:
1.) will deploying the long hose be confusing for me as a new diver?
2.) if I wear a long hose, will the fact that my config is different from the instructor or other nearby divers likely be confusing to my daughter if she get into an OOG situaltion?
Thanks,
Jim
Hi Jim,
Well you certainly have had lots of input to your questions. I don't know how much more I can contribute to the conversation, but I'll try.
In the early days of diving, there were no additional 2nd stages to the regulator. Given that there were no submersible pressure guages to tell you how much air you had left and often a K-Valve was used so when you were out-of-air, you were out. Your Buddy was your lifeline. Students were taught to be within touching distance at all times.
As technology progressed, a second 2nd stage was added. The hose lengths were similar in length to the primary 2nd stage. In an out of air situation, or in the case of a regulator malfunction, this provided a means of more rapid movement out of the situation; Buddy facing Buddy.
The longer hose was introduced, as divers diving in caves and wrecks experiencing an emergency could benefit from a hose which allowed a "You lead, I'll follow" approach. This was especially beneficial in the confined spaces noted.
Preferences of hose length are dependent upon the type of diving you are doing. Some divers have an opinion based on how cool something looks, or decide not to have any extra bulk on them that may become entangled. Whatever that opinion is will dictate what equipment you decide to use. Either way, the opinion can be justified.
Personally I do not support new divers having anything other than what they need to safely complete the dive at hand. Some disagree with this minimalist approach and they are certainly entitled to there opinion.
As a wreck and cave diver I use an extended length hose. I have had to offer it an out-of-air diver, who was narced, frozen in place and hyperventilating my breathing gas. I felt that I was lassoed. At that point, I secretly wished that the hose length was shorter.
Whatever your decision, I hope you will never require the added safety that the device offers!