I brought my reg with a transmitter attached directly to the first stage to Fiji a few years ago, and the dive shop cleaned our gear after each day's diving. After the third day, my transmitter stopped working (turns out it had cracked all the way through after a DM mistakenly slammed it against a rock). In any case, ever since that time, I carry my reg on/off the boat, and take it with me after diving to avoid any potential a DM would break it again. I like the idea of the short hose, but feel it's not a problem given how I have my reg under my control at all times. Only once have I been asked by the DMs to hand up my gear to them on the boat after a dive, and once I mentioned the transmitter to them, they made sure not to grab it as a handle. I may consider the 4-inch hose as an option to switch to though (bring it with me) if a future dive trip is setup where your rig is passed up to the boat after the dive.