Doffing/donning gear underwater with long hose

[FuzzyNutz]

I had myself a little pool session today and this was my first time practicing taking my kit off underwater with a long hose and bungeed octo. Taking everything off was easy, I just have to remember to take the necklace off in an emergency. It was somewhat easy putting it all back on, but I have to admit, I had some trouble sorting out the hoses... they were kind of a tangly cluster****. The long hose was coiling up, and the short hose was getting somewhat lost in the mix. I was practicing in mid-water so I couldn't use the floor as an aid, and while trying to maintain trim, I was able to sort out all the mess - it just took a while. I also found it easier to get back into my kit if I unclipped the SPG from the d-ring first (it was less confusing when putting my arm back through). I tried a few ways to make it easier with the long hose, but I wouldn't call any of them a real success. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with the hoses when donning the kit?

...Now that I think about it, I doffed and donned my kit like a jacket. Would it have been easier to flip it over my head?

Last thing: I was wearing an armful of gauges - depth, compass, bottom timer, and watch on left arm, and a computer on my right wrist. Sometimes it was very awkward (felt entangled) getting my arms through the harness, since the gauges would get caught on it. Are there any tricks to deal with this, too?

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I had myself a little pool session today and this was my first time practicing taking my kit off underwater with a long hose and bungeed octo. Taking everything off was easy, I just have to remember to take the necklace off in an emergency. It was somewhat easy putting it all back on, but I have to admit, I had some trouble sorting out the hoses... they were kind of a tangly cluster****. The long hose was coiling up, and the short hose was getting somewhat lost in the mix. I was practicing in mid-water so I couldn't use the floor as an aid, and while trying to maintain trim, I was able to sort out all the mess - it just took a while. I also found it easier to get back into my kit if I unclipped the SPG from the d-ring first (it was less confusing when putting my arm back through). I tried a few ways to make it easier with the long hose, but I wouldn't call any of them a real success. Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with the hoses when donning the kit?

...Now that I think about it, I doffed and donned my kit like a jacket. Would it have been easier to flip it over my head?

Last thing: I was wearing an armful of gauges - depth, compass, bottom timer, and watch on left arm, and a computer on my right wrist. Sometimes it was very awkward (felt entangled) getting my arms through the harness, since the gauges would get caught on it. Are there any tricks to deal with this, too?

If you put all those guages in the console, then your wrists are clean and free and allow you to do real work underwater....

 

[FuzzyNutz]

I really like having them all on my arm, usually my arms are right in front of me and it's like having a dashboard. The only problem thus far is getting in and out of my kit underwater, and I don't think I'll be doing that often - probably (hopefully) never. I guess in an emergency, I would probably not be so gentle trying to get my arm out, and just pull it through pretty hard.

 

[PfcAJ]

I take the necklace off and breath the long hose through the entire thing. Then its 'up and over' with the tank, and everything ends up in front. Reverse the process for putting it back on. I'm always sure to toss the longhose out to the side when putting on the waist strap, then I put the bungee on, followed by proper longhose routing and a double check to make sure its not trapped under the harness.

If you need to hand your kit up to a boat or something, coiling and clipping off the longhose works well for keeping everything somewhat manageable.

 

[FuzzyNutz]

I also breathed off the long hose the whole time. Next time I'm in the pool, I'll have to try the 'up and over' method. I was trying to put it back on with the hose kind of thrown off to the side (7' is a LOT of hose flopping around), then holding the hose together with the harness strap. I pretty much settled on just getting the bc on, then dealing with the hoses afterwards. I thought it was a PITA and took a while, but I got the job done in the end... maybe practice will make this easier. I think I lost my octo every time, too. I always had to reach back to the 1st stage and follow the hose. Usually it was nestled somewhere between me and the bp. That in itself wasn't bothersome, but it was a little hard to tell if anything got twisted up behind me.

 

[PfcAJ]

I wouldn't get too hung up on it. Its not really a practical skill, anyways. Unless you're doing some solo thing, which I will refrain from commenting on

 

[FuzzyNutz]

Honestly, I only did it for something to do. I just wanted to make sure my regs weren't crusted up, but I can't have my regs hooked up to a tank next to a pool and not jump in! haha! So after just swimming around for a while, I figured I'd do something useful and taking my gear off sounded like a good idea, lol. Then I was floating there with hoses all over the place and thought, "WTF"?! But I do have to do my open water potion of the rescue course soon, and I'm pretty sure taking my gear off is part of it. In the end though, I think it made me a little more confident/comfortable in my gear.

 

[TSandM]

If you dive as a team, this is a skill you won't have to use

I HAVE taken my gear off many times at the surface, but not put it back on again . . .

 

[BluewaterSail]

Rescue does require you to take off your gear, while doing lots of other stuff at the same time, but not to put it back on in the water.

I found that I kept forgetting about taking off my necklace during the Rescue scenarios until I started to feel like someone was strangling me.

 

[g1138]

Flip the BC over your head, it's a lot easier; works for Jacket, back-inflates, and Bp/W's. Wrap your hands around the first stage when doffing; around the tank or backplate/backing when donning. If you're using a hog harness you'll have to rest the backplate on your head until you slip your arms out/in.

Ditch all those redundant gauges. A reliable computer and compass is plenty; likewise a bottom timer, depth gauge, and compass will do too. There's no need to load yourself up with so much redundancy for open water diving. Clip off your redundant gauges in a pocket if you really want them with you. When doffing or donning gear, turn all your gauges so the face is on the inside of your wrist.

Tie a bolt snap to your long hose so you can clip it off when it's not in use. Coil the long hose (like you would a lasso or garden hose) as best you can and then clip it off when you go for a ditch and don (right shoulder D-ring). Clipping going up into your D-ring will be easier when the hose isn't around your neck (ie your boltsnap gate is facing out away from your backplate/BC backing)

When going for the ditch/don, breath off your backup. You should be able to flip the bungee necklace over your head even while breathing from your backup. If you're wearing a snorkel, be sure to tuck the mouthpiece into your necklace before you take it off, otherwise be prepared for a mask clear.
You should be able to flip your BC over your head without wrenching your backup from your mouth.

Here's the procedure for how I do it
- hover horizontal in midwater
- unbuckle
- back kick out of your BC slightly
- pull your arms out of the harness
- grab your BC and either flip it or roll it depending on how much hose you have to play with (I usually do a diagonal flip/roll)

Also, keep your SPG on a short hose and clipped to your waist D-ring and you shouldn't have a problem with it.