How do you setup your primary and secondary regulators/hoses for recreational?

[Patoux01]

There is more than one way to dive and some for very good reasons.

What very good reason is there not to use primary donate from a long hose all the time?

 

[Storker]

As for me, I tell students that it does not matter what they are trained to do or what they believe in--when someone goes OOA, that person is going to initiate the action and thereby dictate the method to be used. As the donor, it is better to adapt to whatever that person is doing than to try to force a panicked OOA diver to do it your way. You do not want to get into a fight with such a person. If that person grabs at your primary, open your mouth and take your alternate for yourself. If that person gives the OOA signal and stares at you, donate whichever one you want. If that person reaches for your alternate, get your arm out of the way to clear the path.

Totally agree (as if I would disagree with a competent instructor ). Besides, what you're describing is basically "do what works best", which inherently is a very sound principle.

I've told the story before, but I think it bears repeating. A few years ago I got a new BCD, a back inflate. Since it was different from my then current jacket BCD, we drove down to our training site to do a shakedown dive. At the safety stop, we decided to do an OOG drill. We give the "drill" sign, my buddy slashes his hand across his throat, and I reach for my octo (I hadn't switched to a LH/BO setup then). And it's not there. I reach again, and it persists in not being where I expect it to. I think "heck, I've got about a minute, he wouldn't have if this were a real situation", take a breath from my primary and donate it. That gives me time to fumble up along the right side of my chest and locate the octo, which is hanging somewhat higher than it used to do when I was wearing my jacket BCD. I locate it and have it in my mouth in noticeably less than thirty seconds. Now, this was a drill, and we were pretty shallow, so we could have surfaced any time. I still believe, however, that my reaction there and then would have been the correct one even in a real situation.

 

[Doby45]

So what will happen in real life? A lot of people say the most likely is the person will grab at your primary. That may indeed happen a lot, but that is not my experience. I was only near one OOA emergency, and in that case, the OOA diver did not signal but instead reached for and took her buddy's alternate. I surveyed all 12 of the instructors working in the shop with me, and everyone who had any knowledge of a specific OOA emergency--every single one--said that in the cases they knew of, the OOA diver reached for and took the alternate, with or without signalling first.

All the more reason to dive a "streamlined" recreational configuration. In that config you dictate how things work, not by your physical actions but by what is available. You will either donate the reg you are breathing off of or it will be taken, but either way that is the reg that is going. No one is going to grab a reg that is tucked under your chin on a bungee necklace (unless you have a hose that is too long on the bungeed second and it is also on one of those bungees that you could wear as a belt). There is no fumbling around with where a reg might be or if the reg works or blah blah blah.

My 10yr old daughter will be taught in the "streamlined" rec hose configuration. The only difference is she will be using the yellow reg and hose as her primary (cause she likes the color) and in THAT configuration it would also be classified as the "goto" reg for OOA.

 

[halocline]

Well.... that's not my experience. In the photo I posted I had been fidding with the reg for a couple of days. In order to keep the longhose from floating up over my head I could only find two solutions:

1) stuff the hose under the weightbelt to keep it pinned down
or
2) route it straight down the tank and hook it under a weight, which involved turning the reg to one side. This, in turn, had the result the the LP hoses for the inflator was up higher than I would have like it. Ultimately what you see in the picture is the result.

R..

You must be talking about a 7 ft hose. The 5ft hose goes under the right arm, directly across the chest, over the left shoulder, behind the head and around. There's no way you could stuff a 5ft hose in your weightbelt unless you're a midget.

 

[Doby45]

You must be talking about a 7 ft hose. The 5ft hose goes under the right arm, directly across the chest, over the left shoulder, behind the head and around. There's no way you could stuff a 5ft hose in your weightbelt unless you're a midget.

And a short midget at that..

 

[halocline]

5' hose sucks, IMO. Too short to tuck so it doesn't say close to your body and consequently it will want to ride up under your arm and the wrap on the back of your neck ends up on top of your head. You'll spend most of your dive fighting that stupid hose.

I've been using one for years and what you are describing absolutely does not happen to me.

 

[tbone1004]

@Diver0001 I got it now. Sorry it's a first stage orientation issue. That makes much more sense. I dive Poseidon Jetstreams so have similar hose routing to the AL legend without the port at the bottom, but with my long hose I just let it go out then down when it wants to. Doesn't route quite along the tank, but isn't an issue for me since it stays tucked in where I put it. Keeps everything in a pretty happy place. That is also the reason that I recommend the regulators with the bottom port to everyone that asks because they give you the best flexibility in how to route everything.

 

[CuzzA]

I've been using one for years and what you are describing absolutely does not happen to me.

Activity and diver height probably play a role too. I didn't like it, but just my opinion.

 

[jseyfert3]

What is the difference between streamlined and long hose setups? I guess I understand long hose well enough, but I had seen it associated with streamlined so I had thought they were the same.

IMHO, as a beginner, you should rig your gear the way you were trained. After you dive for a bit, look around you and see how others you are diving with rig their gear. Have a conversation with them and see if it makes sense. There is usually a good reason for how to rig your gear given the environment you're diving in and the locals probably know. That's a good place to start. YMMV.

So does that mean I should buy a jacket BCD as my first BCD, even though after reading here I'm pretty sure I want a BP/W? Then sell it after some indeterminate time and buy a BP/W? Or when buying my first regs, I could get them configured however I want, for no additional cost, though I admit a couple hoses and changing them out isn't a big deal, but it's still an extra cost.

 

[boulderjohn]

All the more reason to dive a "streamlined" recreational configuration. In that config you dictate how things work, not by your physical actions but by what is available. You will either donate the reg you are breathing off of or it will be taken, but either way that is the reg that is going. No one is going to grab a reg that is tucked under your chin on a bungee necklace (unless you have a hose that is too long on the bungeed second and it is also on one of those bungees that you could wear as a belt). There is no fumbling around with where a reg might be or if the reg works or blah blah blah.

My 10yr old daughter will be taught in the "streamlined" rec hose configuration. The only difference is she will be using the yellow reg and hose as her primary (cause she likes the color) and in THAT configuration it would also be classified as the "goto" reg for OOA.

All of this is partly why I use a long hose and a bungeed alternate.

However, the vast majority of divers I certified then went out and rented equipment when they dived, and when you rent, that is NOT what you get.