2nd stage with air hose from below?

[drbill]

I'm an UW videographer and I find that second stages are often poorly designed for video (and probably still) work.

Does anyone know of a second stage that has the air hose entering the reg from below instead of from the side? I regularly poke my head into small "caves" and holes to video, and my hoses always rub on the walls. Of course continued wear like this could be hazardous to my health!

I would like to run the reg hose up from my chest instead of around my body to limit this rubbing.

Another feature that would be of interest is an "exhaust" on the second stage that would extend further out, thus preventing exhausted air from exiting under the housing and creating bubbles in the frame. Although this is not a frequent problem, in certain filming positions it can ruin a good sequence. I do have to breathe on occasion.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

Dr. Bill

 

[KrisB]

I've seen pictures of people with a swivel on their LP hose, allowing them to use a slightly longer hose and route it under their arm. Looks fairly streamlined... though it does add an additional point of failure (the swivel).

The other option would be to just get a 45 or 90 degree fitting and put it on. It might help if there was one where the hose met the first stage, but that probably isn't absolutely necessary.

 

[shrwdtech]

Give a look at the Sherwood Maximus regulator.

That has a unique under arm hose design that might do the trick for you!

 

[drbill]

KrisB- Thanks for yours. I had considered a swivel or 90 deg elbow but as you mentioned, it's another point for failure.

Dr. Bill

 

[KrisB]

drbill once bubbled...
KrisB- Thanks for yours. I had considered a swivel or 90 deg elbow but as you mentioned, it's another point for failure.

Well, I'm not sure that the elbow really is an extra point of failure -- there's no moving parts, so as long as it's attached correctly the first time, there shouldn't be an issue.

Personally, I get shivers when someone suggests that a moving part (like a swivel) is failure-proof. I'm sure that they're very safe (otherwise we would have heard about it here) but there is invariably some friction, which invariably will cause some breakdown of the sealing mechanisms over time. Ideally, this would not happen suddenly -- you'd start off with a slow leak that would gradually get faster.

If the option is tearing the hose on an outcropping or risking failure of a swivel, I think I'd pick the swivel... or changing my habits of sticking my head into small crevices.