...it seems like a good idea to get people to explain what their reg hose lengths (and reg styles) for their sidemount rigs. So what lengths on what style regs are you using and why?
I use turret regs (Zeagle 50D) on both sides. For hoses:
6" SPG hose, both sides. I have tried Miflex SPG hoses, and do not care for them.
15" LP inflator hose, both sides. I haven't tried something as short as 9", but that sounds interesting. I particularly like the 15" on the left side. It arcs from the first stage and actually pushes my wing inflator into my chest, where I like it.
7' hose for the right side second stage. I slip it under two hose retainers on the tank. When I started SM, I tucked less hose under the bands, and routed the long hose across my chest, and behind my neck, the way I do with BM doubles. Now, I am on the fence as to which I prefer, and have more recently been simply tucking most of the hose. The second stage has a bolt snap, so it can be clipped to the right chest strap d-ring, when not in use. I have omni-swivels in place at the point of connection of the hoses to each second stage.
34" hose for the left side second stage, on a bungee necklace around my neck. I tried shorter lengths and they were a bit too short for me - pulled the second stage to the right. 36" is unecessarily long.
I am considering moving to a long hose (also 7') on the left side, or at least trying it out to see if I like it. The current rig reflects the fact I strated in BM, and simply adopted the same second stage hose configuration for SM.
Does your set-up change when using deco/stage bottles?
No.