22" or 24" primary regulator hose?

[oldschoolto]

I have both a 22 and a 24 on different sets... I swim much slower with the drag from the longer hose....

Jim....

 

[flybigjet]

I have both a 22 and a 24 on different sets... I swim much slower with the drag from the longer hose....

Jim....

It's not the "draggyness", but the "catchiness" that irks me with the longer hose.

After thinking about it for the evening, I might try the "streamlined open water" setup shown in the pics and the vid above. I've tried under the arm before and didn't like it much, but I also wasn't using a great swivel. Having the full-range swivel might make a difference on it.

So, for the octo, it's either 22 or 24"; do you find that you have full range of motion with a 22" hose? i.e. can you turn your head full left with the reg on such a short line?

Thanks!

R.

 

[halocline]

Try the 5' primary hose routed under your arm, across your chest, and around your head.

 

[flybigjet]

Try the 5' primary hose routed under your arm, across your chest, and around your head.

The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to think this tec setup might be overkill for the "usual" diving I do with m y wife. I think that the "streamlined open water" might be a reasonable compromise-- 5' of hose seems a bit much for the typical non-overhead environments that we dive (Roatan, Turks, Raja, etc). I can always swap out a longer hose when we go back to Truk in a few years. As well, that makes the rig more portable as well-- and considering that anywhere I dive has airplanes involved, that's a good thing.

R.

 

[Caveeagle]

I think the idea of wrapping the longer 5' hose around your neck sounds like it would be an odd setup until you try it. I know exactly how you feel when you turn your head to the left and it feels the 2nd stage is getting pulled out of your mouth. It may sound odd but adding a 90* ( a swivel) and routing the hose around your neck gives better flexibility and the hose stays neat and out of the way.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Thanks to @CuzzA and @guruboy for linking me (and remembering what I post)

So yes, I run 40" hoses on both my primary and secondary. Both hoses are braided (not miflex) Previously I had 30" hoses, they had to go over the shoulder - I used to find them okay, but occasionally felt the range of movement was slightly restricted.

My Primary has a ball swivel on it and runs under my right arm. With a shorter hose the ball swivel did have some pull on the mouth piece, but I don't get that on the 40"

My secondary runs under the left arm and lives under my neck on a rubber necklace. The necklace keeps it closer to the neck than the one pictured but is slightly longer than the usual DIR I have a 90 degree elbow on this one.

My rational for the above is as follows.

Having them from either side does prevent hose tangles with 40"

I dive with people who have mixed experience and training, thus I prefer being able to donate the reg they are used to (Primary or secondary) I want my rig to fit into my buddies comfort zone (with less experienced divers)

I can hand either reg off and it will be comfortable for the receiver, they have enough room to maneuver but are not too distant.

For some of my sites and conditions a direct ascent isn't ideal, in that you may wish to seek shelter from a current. I don't dive overheads such as wrecks of caves, so see no need for a longer hose.

I have (on training dives) competed ascents from 20m plus, with the receiver on my primary (me using my secondary), the receiver on my secondary, and both of us sharing my primary. All felt comfortable and we were able to maintain control. On the other hand, whilst sharing on a 24" it felt very constricted, and to me at least added extra pressure.

In current (and this is significant current where you are hooked on), the hoses under arm are shielded from the current, I no longer get big vibrations as the water flows across exposed hoses.

The disadvantages of the longer hose is that you certainly require clips so that you can clip them off if switching to a pony or deco (with a shorter hose I would typically leave it hung over my shoulder and it was fine. Also on the deck (or shore) you have to deal with the extra length.


So that's the way my rig is configured. I haven't seen any negatives and saw it as a big improvement over the standard config. However my rig is configured for to sort of diving I do (blue water with likely hood of big currents) and more and more, with less experienced divers having just completed training (on less demanding sites)

It is my opinion that it's worth experimenting to see what works best for and is more comfortable to you and the type of divign and environment you typically dive in

 

[KenGordon]

The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to think this tec setup might be overkill for the "usual" diving I do with m y wife. I think that the "streamlined open water" might be a reasonable compromise-- 5' of hose seems a bit much for the typical non-overhead environments that we dive (Roatan, Turks, Raja, etc). I can always swap out a longer hose when we go back to Truk in a few years. As well, that makes the rig more portable as well-- and considering that anywhere I dive has airplanes involved, that's a good thing.

R.

The long hose gives extra options even in open water. It allows the two divers to move much more independently. This is an advantage if the divers are not useless and needing reassurance, and especially at stops. It makes the oog ascent rather less fraught.

You can chose to store a long hose in several ways. The current fashion is the 'hog loop' (google 'hogarthian setup'). That brings with it the need for primary donate. You probably didn't get taught that way or you'd not be asking this question. It is worth getting some training on how that system works. One of the google hits is a DAN piece about how stuff can go wrong.

I don't think anyone can offer statistics that show one system is better than another, but whatever you use make sure you properly understand it.

 

[divezonescuba]

A lot of full face mask setups particularly those for public safety use 90 degree swivels. The hose goes under the arm to avoid entanglement.

Unfortunately, both with this type of setup and with side mount setups with 90 degree swivels, it seems like there are a lot of o ring issues in the swivel. Be prepared to bring some orings and lube with you. I have replaced these with either nothing in the case of longer hoses or with ball swivels which don't seem to have the same issues.

Since taking some tec classes, I have not gone back to a rec octo setup. The primary donate and necklace reg just make so much sense.

I think I will begin practicing getting the necklace rig in my mouth with no hands.

 

[Diving Dubai]

with 90 degree swivels, it seems like there are a lot of o ring issues in the swivel.

I don't dispute your experience.

Mine however is different. I have over 300 dives using elbows (and ball swivels) and never had a leak. I admit to having my regs serviced yearly because living in Dubai the heat and the UV is hard on kit, and so the O rings may be changed during that service.

Again just my personal experience

 

[tbone1004]

@flybigjet if you tried under the arm without any sort of swivel or elbow, then you definitely aren't going to like it and it will be utterly miserable. If you want to avoid the swivel/elbow and still want to primary donate, then going straight to a long hose is the only way. It may seem overkill, but it is actually quite streamlined. This yellow hose is a 7' hose btw, and is my preference. I really don't like 5' hoses

regarding the short hose. 22" is MORE than enough. 22" is actually one of the standards for use on doubles, and when on singles looks too long like what you see in the red hose above. With doubles the hose attachment is moved about 5" towards the left shoulder. On singles you can actually get away with going down to about 16" before you start to restrict the ability to look hard left.