5ft or 7ft hose for DIR setup

[eelnoraa]

I am planning to take UTD essential, need to convert current reg setup into long hose. I went to LDS, they said 5ft is usually good for single tank, 7ft usually used for people with double. Is this true? I am 5'6". Should I go for 5ft for 7ft?

 

[Rainer]

While either is fine for your current purposes, I'd personally get the 7' hose. I like how it routes and it lets you stay consistent in case you decide to pursue overhead training.

 

[kathydee]

It could be helpful to chat with your Essentials Instructor about the topic in relation to your current equipment. If you're taking the class with our local instructor, Don -- here's his contact.

[url=http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/members/ae3753.html]ScubaBoard - View Profile: ae3753[/URL]

Good luck with your class .

 

[mikemill]

I am planning to take UTD essential, need to convert current reg setup into long hose. I went to LDS, they said 5ft is usually good for single tank, 7ft usually used for people with double. Is this true? I am 5'6". Should I go for 5ft for 7ft?

I used the 7ft hose for both (but I'm a big guy) and it seems that for singles it was actually a little tighter than with the doubles.

 

[RJP]

I am planning to take UTD essential, need to convert current reg setup into long hose. I went to LDS, they said 5ft is usually good for single tank, 7ft usually used for people with double. Is this true? I am 5'6". Should I go for 5ft for 7ft?

As kathydee suggests, talk to your instructor. He/she has the only answer that matters.

 

[ae3753]

Course standards allows for either a 5' or 7'. As Rainer notes, both are suitable for your current pursuits but 7' is recommended for consistency.

There have been a couple of occasions that I have recommended a 5' long hose. If you think that you might benefit from a 5' instead of a 7', then we can have a more detailed discussion.

 

[ajduplessis]

7ft !!!! The 7 feet long hose provides you with a good safety margin for reaching the other diver if they are in a small confined space, and once in the open, your control and swimming are not hampered by constantly bumping in to the other diver who is pulled too close by a short hose (e.g. in a current or during decompression)

 

[Tortuga68]

I don't agree with getting a 7' hose for your purpose

The idea of the 7' hose is that it allows you to air share in restricted spaces, as ajduplessis mentioned

The reason for the 5' singles/7' doubles preference is that if you're doing cave or wreck, you're more likely to be on doubles - or in other words, if you're in OW, there's likely no need for a 7' hose and 5' accomplishes the goal of giving you sufficient space to air share comfortably without the disadvantage of having uneeded hose length flapping around

I don't see any point to the 'consistency' argument of always using a 7' hose, the routing is the same, the deployment is the same, the skill is the same, you just have 2' more that you don't need if you're not doing overhead where someone may need to follow you in single file

If you start on singles and later progress to doubles it's likely you'll wind up with two rigs so not sure there's any efficiency there

Lastly the 7' hose, in DIR rig, is routed under the can light on the right hip - so if you don't have a can light, or a stage to tuck it under, it can bow out and be annoying, unstreamlined & a potential snag

So IMHO, I would (and do) use 5' for singles and 7' for doubles, especially if you're slim/short

Personally I like the miFlex hoses for 5' due to the extra flexibility, but prefer rubber for the 7' as it hugs curves better without twisting and is also easier to restow compared to the 7' miFLex

Having said all that, as others stated, you should seek advice from your instructor

PS mikemill the reason it feels tighter on a single tank is that your first stage is in the middle, whereas on doubles you're running your primary from the right post, so you have ~6" more to play with

 

[halocline]

I agree with Tortuga. I have both, I use the 5 ft hose in OW and the 7 ft for overhead. It's very easy to switch them out if you're using the same reg set.

 

[dl348]

If you don't have a can light on your right hip area, a lot of people tuck the long hose under either a knife or bellows pocket that is slid onto the harness. Both Halcyon and Dive Rite make one.