Octo on a necklace ... with a twist

[IDS_Bill]

I knew this DIR stuff was a snap!!!

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I knew this DIR stuff was a snap!!!

A long hose and bungeed backup isn't any more exclusive to DIR than a backplate and wing. I'm not DIR, never have been and never will be. But I've used a long hose, bungeed backup and bp/w since dive #6.

 

[IDS_Bill]

Sorry - the sarcasm was lost... The guy I was replying to had a subheading referring to DIR something or other...

 

[tridacna]

Sorry - the sarcasm was lost... The guy I was replying to had a subheading referring to DIR something or other...

Wait....I see a new Arizona Diving Online course for Advanced Octo use!

Or better yet: PADI is planning a new OCTO cert. Kaching kaching.

Now that's something to lose sleep over!

 

[IDS_Bill]

Yep, come on out and we'll tell ya where to put that octo.........

 

[Gombessa]

Eh, it may have taken me a couple of minutes to feel like I was comfortable with a long hose, but it took a LOT longer, with a number of hard-learned lessons, to become proficient with it.

Actually doing an S-drill underwater is a big part - the first time I did it, I didn't bring the loop over my head as I deployed. Also of paramount importance is knowing why to perform a mod-S before getting into the water. While some of the graybeard long-hosers may long ago have reached back-of-the-hand familiarity with it, as a new adopter, I can definitely say that the long hose introduces complexities that may not be apparent to "recreational" set-up users.

For one, you're gonna forget to don the necklack at least once. Hopefully you realize when you do and it doesn't happen again.

You're going to mix up the order of donning the long hose and the necklace, which may interfere with a clean over-the-head donation maneuver.

Having a reasonable length necklace may or may not be an issue, but I do know if it's a tad too short, it's a huge pain, getting in the way of looking down, accidentally triggering the purge, etc.

Routing of the long hose can be an issue, especially if you don't have a can light. Having a "tucked" hose under the harness can accidentally release the weight belt buckle if you're not careful with placement, not having the hose positioned correctly behind the wing can cause it to bulge out, not being careful while looping it over your head can make it catch the manifold or valve, making reg recovery difficult, etc.

Almost all of this can be solved by doing a mod-S drill before hitting the water, but you gotta to do it (and why it's important, so you keep doing it).

The long hose is certainly not rocket science, but there there's more to it than just giving TDL your credit card number.

 

[highflowdiver]

Eh, it may have taken me a couple of minutes to feel like I was comfortable with a long hose, but it took a LOT longer, with a number of hard-learned lessons, to become proficient with it.

Actually doing an S-drill underwater is a big part - the first time I did it, I didn't bring the loop over my head as I deployed. Also of paramount importance is knowing why to perform a mod-S before getting into the water. While some of the graybeard long-hosers may long ago have reached back-of-the-hand familiarity with it, as a new adopter, I can definitely say that the long hose introduces complexities that may not be apparent to "recreational" set-up users.

For one, you're gonna forget to don the necklack at least once. Hopefully you realize when you do and it doesn't happen again.

You're going to mix up the order of donning the long hose and the necklace, which may interfere with a clean over-the-head donation maneuver.

Having a reasonable length necklace may or may not be an issue, but I do know if it's a tad too short, it's a huge pain, getting in the way of looking down, accidentally triggering the purge, etc.

Routing of the long hose can be an issue, especially if you don't have a can light. Having a "tucked" hose under the harness can accidentally release the weight belt buckle if you're not careful with placement, not having the hose positioned correctly behind the wing can cause it to bulge out, not being careful while looping it over your head can make it catch the manifold or valve, making reg recovery difficult, etc.

Almost all of this can be solved by doing a mod-S drill before hitting the water, but you gotta to do it (and why it's important, so you keep doing it).

The long hose is certainly not rocket science, but there there's more to it than just giving TDL your credit card number.

It is not your instructors responsibility to get you to practice. The 'issues' you cite are soo basic. Were you actually taught to do an S drill on the land before you go dive? A can light is more of a hinderance than a help. The hose 'routes' itself, then you tuck it, do it smoothly with as few moves as possible and then you won't be popping open buckles. Place it behind your neck, not the valves. The answer you seek is a simple process: practice a few dives and then you'll wonder why you fretted about such a simple thing. Don't over analyze. Go dive. Your avatar is awesome. What kind of shark is that? Bull? Now that scares me a lot more than rental gear or long hoses! Kal

 

[Gombessa]

It is not your instructors responsibility to get you to practice. The 'issues' you cite are soo basic.

Hi Kal,

You're absolutely right; these are basic issues, and practice is key. However, I do want to point you back to the topic of the original post:

Twice now I have seen a recreational diver jetting off to do a nice dive with their octo bungied around their necks. Which shouldn't be surprising. The setup is very well thought out and I believe is much safer than the conventional "now where did my buddy stick his octo this time" approach. The only thing with these two divers was ... they had no long hose!

I think it's safe to say that we are by definition talking about people who have not received any instruction at all about the use of a bungeed octo or long hose, or else this situation would probably not have been brought up, right?

Were you actually taught to do an S drill on the land before you go dive? A can light is more of a hinderance than a help. The hose 'routes' itself, then you tuck it, do it smoothly with as few moves as possible and then you won't be popping open buckles. Place it behind your neck, not the valves. The answer you seek is a simple process: practice a few dives and then you'll wonder why you fretted about such a simple thing. Don't over analyze. Go dive.

I was formally trained with use and deployment of a long hose, and proper drill techniques. Maybe I'm not the brightest bulb in the forest, but it still took me a few dives and few screw-ups to realize why some of the details are important and shouldn't be skipped. As much as I hate to admit it, all of these things have happened to me before, so I wouldn't be surprised if they might happen to someone who just saw a picture of a long-hose setup and decided to do it without any instruction.

Your avatar is awesome. What kind of shark is that? Bull? Now that scares me a lot more than rental gear or long hoses! Kal

I've been asked that a few times, and unfortunately I've told enough people the truth where I can't turn about and claim it was the 15ft bull I had to hold in a figure-4 leg lock to buy enough time for a family of indigent Romanian gypsy-divers to change a broken wagon wheel and escape. It's actually a white-tipped reef shark during a very closely supervised snorkeling trip.

Although now that so many people have ID'd it as a bull that I'm starting to wonder myself...do the big reef sharks commonly eat each other while waiting for the boat to drop fish scraps?

 

[highflowdiver]

Gombessa,
When I did the shark dive in Fiji they were all reef sharks, this bad boy doesn't look like them.
His head is so wide. I'm glad you held him off so that poor family could escape! You be the man!
Yeah, sometimes after 50 or so posts it gets hard to focus on the original question. Kal