Regulator Swivels, good or bad??

[EdC]

Are they colorful? That's a top priority.

They do have PVC in several festive colors.

 

[Boarderguy]

They do have PVC in several festive colors.

DGX has many festive colors in their flex hose. It bends well and holds up to my abuses. They're only $22 so along with their 70/110 swivel it is a consumable that I'm not very concerned about. I may order a few backups here in the near future so my kit can stay properly color coordinated when I need to swap or replace it. All my current spares are black rubber.

 

[TOMWIEDEMAN]

I experienced the same issues with the original regulator hose and mouth piece. To correct the problem I switched to a 90 degree swivel, a 40” miflex hose and a moulded mouth piece. This setup allows for either over the shoulder or under arm routings. Underarm is particularly good in tight places or in close proximity to other divers. For several years and many dives in various conditions and environments it has been comfortable and without problem. Depending on regulator type, some special fittings may be necessary.

 

[Wibble]

Inline swivel adapters do break and catastrophically. Have personally seen two of them randomly and unprovoked just burst apart. Have also heard the same from many other people.

Would not have a swivel anywhere near my kit. And definitely not on a single-cylinder rig where you cannot turn the gas off and have no reserve.

The elbow adapters are fine; they're reliable and work well.


A comment about feeding the hose up the front to the regulator... What happens if it's knocked out of your mouth? Is it bungeed (no)? Then you're left scrabbling around to find the bloody thing which is not a nice state of affairs underwater and especially if climbing on a boat/whatever.

There's a reason the hose goes around your neck; when the reg falls out of your mouth it sits on your shoulder. There's a reason that the backup regulator has a bungee necklace: it doesn't move from under your chin.

 

[happy-diver]

I'm a sensitive type guy and have zero issues with rubber hoses of a comfortable length and comfobites

 

[Boarderguy]

Then you're left scrabbling around to find the bloody thing which is not a nice state of affairs underwater and especially if climbing on a boat/whatever.

That's what your octo is for. Grab that and then find your primary... don't be silly, not many are out there diving a single 2nd. Those that are know how to sweep and be in control of their response when that happens. 40" under the arm and octo also under the arm to your right shoulder d-ring for rec diving is a near perfect setup. In my case my pony goes in place of the octo line and my octo is a SP air2. Works great.

 

[Wibble]

That's what your octo is for. Grab that and then find your primary... don't be silly, not many are out there diving a single 2nd. Those that are know how to sweep and be in control of their response when that happens. 40" under the arm and octo also under the arm to your right shoulder d-ring for rec diving is a near perfect setup. In my case my pony goes in place of the octo line and my octo is a SP air2. Works great.

Everyone is just a few short seconds from panicking underwater, admittedly some more than others. Not being able to breathe underwater isn't pleasant so you should be mitigating loosing your regulators and gas. Panicking means you're no longer in control of your actions and are extremely likely to hurt yourself.

OK, to come clean here, I simply cannot understand why the "standard" recreational regulator setup means you need to be able to sweep to find your dangling regulator AND the octopus is frequently jammed out of the way. With a (shortish) longhose routed behind the head and a necklaced backup means you always know where your backup is.

But back to the OP's point and some of the recommendations to route the hose up the front where the regulator is guaranteed to drop down and behind, meaning you should do the sweep technique to find the thing, then, when you cannot find it as it's tangled somewhere and you're running out of breath, you need to change technique to finding and deploying the octopus.

 

[lexvil]

Perhaps golf for those in constant fear of a failure point, just watch the weather before swinging the grounding rod around.

 

[Dan G]

There was no recommendation for primary donate...it was just referenced as the usual reason folks (including myself) tend to migrate to the underarm reg hose routing.

This discussion thread is about how to relieve the issue the OP is experiencing. Further recommendations/discussions regarding "primary donate" should be made to the OP in direct message (DM) or discussed in a thread of its own.

-Z

I did not recommend primary donate. OP asked about jaw fatigue. I explained my experience, which included using a swivel and an elbow. I explained why I chose the gear I chose which was influenced by the fact that I would donate my primary. It is not a separate conversation, because one gear choice can impact other gear choices.

Does the mention of possible challenges of donating a custom molded mouthpiece also warrant a separate thread? If someone asked about getting a backplate and wing for the first time, would mentioning the need to consider how they plan to weight themselves require a different thread, as well?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

How did people dive back when they only used one second stage. Holy cow, there must have been fatalities every other day!