Regulator Necklace/ Gear set up for a new diver

[EFX]

Hi all, I am a very new/ inexperienced diver who owns my own gear. Currently I am diving with a standard BCD & Octopus set up. I (based entirely only on photos/ reading) am entertaining the idea of putting my primary stage on a necklace. The perceived benefit being that it makes the 2nd stage more easily recoverable if it were to be somehow lost during a dive, as well as holding an octo in my mouth if, God forbid, I were to somehow lose consciousness. I have done several shore dives, and am now aware of how difficult it can be to recover a primary in the surf if the breakers knock your reg free... I'd like to make that as simple as possible.

I would not put your primary on a neckless as others posters have reasoned. Another option is to put your backup on a neckless with a shorter hose and attach a post clip on the hose next to your primary second stage (this idea borrows from DIR... stroketastic). Before negotiating the surf clip your primary to an upper D ring on your BC and use your backup reg. If it gets knocked out you can find it easily. When you get out of the surf, either on or under the surface, unclip your primary and switch to that reg for the rest of your dive.

 

[rhwestfall]

or.... with a clip in a adequate spot on a primary (long hose or not), you can, while entering the surf, still use it, and if lost, it is still right on the d-ring in a predictable location (remove clip from d-ring once clear of troubled waters).... however, drilling is still a "best solution" as nothing beats muscle memory/familiarity.

 

[undrwater]

Oh! ...and...roll tide!

 

[simonru]

We're not talking about having the October on the necklace? I wouldn't have the primary first stage on the necklace.... Anything I am planning to donate should be easily accessible. In this case I assumed you would be donating what's in your mouth.

 

[Colliam7]

Hi all, I . . . am entertaining the idea of putting my primary stage on a necklace.

I will echo the comments that several have made. Do not put your 'primary' - that is, the second stage from which you primarily breath during a dive - on a necklace. Rather, put your 'alternate' (better term than 'octo') on a necklace, A few caveats come with this recommendation.

The value of the necklace is most evident at the time that you donate the regulator that is in your mouth (primary) to a diver who is OOA. Then, all you have to do is put your alternate second stage - located immediately under your chin on the necklace - in your mouth and resume normal breathing, while helping the OOA diver calm down, and begin a normal ascent with you assisting as needed. Some divers even configure the necklace size so that they can put their alternate in their mouth without using their hands (as simonru mentioned).

You want to put the second stage with the shorter hose on the necklace. For many / most 'standard' regulator set-ups, that happens to be considered the primary, and a common (although not universal) 'primary' hose length is 28-30".

You want to breath from, as your 'primary', the second stage on the longer hose. For many / most 'standard' regulator set-ups, that happens to be considered the alternate second stage, and a common (although not universal) 'alternate' hose length is 40".

You are best served having two identical, or at least equivalent (in performance), second stages. That eliminates the (unfortunate and unnecessary) performance distinction between 'primary' and 'alternate', and properly emphasizes instead the functional distinction between the two - the 'primary' is what you normally breath from, and what you donate in an OOA, the 'alternate' is what you use as a back-up after you have donated your primary (or if you have a problem with your primary). They serve different functions, but they are equivalent in breathing performance.

In your post, you indicate that you are looking for a way to secure your primary second under certain conditions - e.g. a surf entry. Putting the primary on a necklace is not the best solution. Rather, putting a bolt snap on the primary hose (I put mine at the junction between the hose and the second stage), and clipping that primary / hose to your BCD, while breathing from your necklace alternate, during entry is a better solution, as several have suggested..