long hose-snap bolt

[down4fun]

[HIJACK] If your buddy "switched the o-ring at the surface" there is a possibility that salt water was thereafter blown through your regulator first stage when you pressurized it. Depending on how long it will be until your reg should be serviced, you may want to take it in and have that checked. Just a thought...[/HIJACK]

Thanks for the advice, I hadn't thought of that.

 

[SDAnderson]

:06: I have a dumb question so play nice with the new kid here.

How long is a long hose? :blush: And why would you use it for recreational diving? What are the benefits?

For penetration diving, the long hose should be long enough to allow you and your buddy to exit single file. The actual length will be determined in part by the need to be able to route and stow the hose neatly, for most divers this means behind the back, under the cannister, across the chest, around the neck and to the mouth. Typically, this hose ends up being about 7', but some divers may need as much as 8' to route this without pulling their heads.

For more conventional open water diving, the long hose should be long enough to allow you and your buddy to swim comfortably side-by-side. The actual length will again be determined in part by the need to be able to route and stow the hose neatly. Some divers opt to use a cave rig in all situations and go with the 7 - 8 foot hose, others will use a shorter hose that is routed more directly. This shorter hose hose ends up being about 5', sometimes a little longer.

Second stage snaps should be tied, not zipped, so that they can easily and quickly be cut away. I don't like the collar o-ring method because breaking it away can damage the regulator and they tend to fail unexpectedly, forcing yet another donation of a snap bolt to the deep. The tie belongs in a secure area as close to the second stage where it won't slip up the hose and where the stress caused by clipping it off won't damage the hose. Although the snap can get in the way of your mouth, if you've tied it with line in the metal grooved area, you will find that it rotates around the hose easily and can be repositioned without trouble.

Finally, as others have repeated, if a primary isn't in your mouth or your hand, it should be clipped off. Aside from the confusion factor that comes into play for decompression divers, the need to protect your regulator (and your gas) would seem self-evident.

Just my .02...

 

[Mandy3206]

I'll be switching very soon to the 5' setup, but now with my standard length hose, I got a clip in it, I don't like my primary next to a tank butt at the boat tank rack.

 

[PacNWdiver]

I use a long hose and have not used the snap bolt. For me, it's one of the beauties of the long hose rig. My primary hangs right on top of my chest. Even breathing off my deco bottle, I haven't had a need to clip off my primary. It just hangs neatly in front of me. Once I go to Trimix and have to worry about more than one bottle I will probably reconsider. But, right now, no problem.

 

[divegeek]

You might reconsider the bolt snap after someone steps on your reg.

 

[jonnythan]

I use a long hose and have not used the snap bolt. For me, it's one of the beauties of the long hose rig. My primary hangs right on top of my chest. Even breathing off my deco bottle, I haven't had a need to clip off my primary. It just hangs neatly in front of me. Once I go to Trimix and have to worry about more than one bottle I will probably reconsider. But, right now, no problem.

What do you do with the reg while your rig is not on you?

 

[jonnythan]

I'll be switching very soon to the 5' setup, but now with my standard length hose, I got a clip in it, I don't like my primary next to a tank butt at the boat tank rack.

I highly recommend the 7 footer. I had the 5 foot hose and it routed too tightly under my arm and interfered with both my backup reg and my right strap mounted backup light.

 

[Mandy3206]

I highly recommend the 7 footer. I had the 5 foot hose and it routed too tightly under my arm and interfered with both my backup reg and my right strap mounted backup light.

Ummm, I was thinking in the 5 footer 'cause I mainly do OW, and mild penetrations on prep wrecks, but may reconsider due to the interference factor of the 5' hose. 2 extra feet of hose won't hurt me and I can use the benefit of the longer one.

thanks
Mandy

 

[mempilot]

The 7' hose provides the length to provide an OOA diver with gas while swimming tandem. The standard octo requires pretty much face to face. The 5' is too short for the first example and too long for the latter. For light penetration in nonconfined areas, a standard octo is typically fine. If you plan to dive in the confines of an overhead environment where two divers will not fit side to side, then the 7' becomes a neccessity, along with the proper training to be there of course.