HOG rigs and tropical travel

[diverdoug1]

I am supprised at the people who fly with their jet fins (because they are so heavy). My u/w photo gear is so heavy that I have to save on weight where I can. I usually use cressi full foot fins when I travel (light, no stinky booties). Have any of you had any issues with long hoses when on a liveaboard?

 

[TSandM]

No issues with a long hose anywhere, except for the occasional strange look or remark. I HAVE been asked, "Aren't you going to strangle yourself with that long hose?"

But I have to confess that my real "liveaboards" have consisted of an invitational boat in SoCal with all DIR divers on it, and the MV Tala run by Red Sea Explorers (an absolutely incredible experience, BTW) which was originally part-owned by Andrew Georgitsis. So those aren't typical boats. But I have been to a number of resorts, and nobody has cared what gear we dove, although they have occasionally taken issue with how we used it.

 

[FireInMyBones]

...they have occasionally taken issue with how we used it.

How so?

 

[Peter_C]

nobody has cared what gear we dove, although they have occasionally taken issue with how we used it.

Could you better explain that one please? Just how are you using that people would have an issue?

I often get the "Are you some kind of ____ diver?", or "Overkill". Typically people are more inquisitive and want to know what I carry in my pockets

 

[parzdiver]

Depending on the trip - Full Dive Trip or vacation with some diving, I'll switch between my SS Backplate and a Zeagle Express Tech. The Zeagle packs small and light and lets me take "real" clothing for the vacation. If it is a full on dive trip, I'll take the SS BP/W, since clothing is limited to t-shirts and shorts. All my regs are configured with 7' primary hose and bungied secondary.

I do tend to have longer pre-dive conversations with insta-buddies, but I like it that way since I get to know them and form some expectations of how they will be in the water.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I am supprised at the people who fly with their jet fins (because they are so heavy). My u/w photo gear is so heavy that I have to save on weight where I can. I usually use cressi full foot fins when I travel (light, no stinky booties). Have any of you had any issues with long hoses when on a liveaboard?

No, but one of the funniest responses that my rig has produced was when I went to a resort in Lembeh Straits. The resort manager came out to greet us at the dock, took one look at my rig and asked "Do you know Lynne?"

Lynne had been to the same resort about a year and a half earlier. What made it so funny was that the manager had no idea that we were even from the same part of the USA. She just assumed that everybody who dived that way must know each other.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)