5ft or 7ft hose for DIR setup

[Sas]

You wind up with the hose under the can light cord or vice versa - not good when you deply and even worse if you use a Goodman handle

I didn't think it mattered where you kept the light cord (over or under) as long as you know how to deal with it. And the way my 5' hose sits, this would not be relevant.

 

[kathydee]

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by 'extra tuck'? What exactly are you referring to?

When I dive with the 7' hose routed under my light can there is still extra slack in the hose. Some people choose to take an additional loop of the hose (after routing one loop under the can) and tuck it into their waist belt to eliminate this slack. Personally I don't really like the "extra tuck".

I guess I should let Kathy speak for herself. My assumption is that most DIR divers would prefer to dive the standard 7ft hose in any OW environment (and I imagine some don't), but not having a can light makes the routing enough of a pain to where a 5ft is a fine substitute.

Thanks Kenn,

I stepped back and reworded the first post for clarification.

 

[Sas]

When I dive with the 7' hose routed under my light can there is still extra slack in the hose. Some people choose to take an additional loop of the hose (after routing one loop under the can) and tuck it into their waist belt to take up this slack. Personally I don't really like the "extra tuck".

Got it, thanks. Yea I don't do an extra tuck either.

I guess that depends on your perspective. I too believe that a 5ft is just fine, lengthwise, in open water. However, I highly prefer the benefits of a 7ft--my buddies and I will frequently set aside a few minutes to practice (s-drills, air-share ascents, etc.) and having the 7ft actually makes a big difference in terms of being able to maintain your distance and team contact. I'd imagine in a real situation, once the emergency has been averted, that extra length would be appreciated for the same benefits. As far as getting gas to an OOG diver during that real emergency and managing an ascent, I'm sure anything "standard octo-length" or longer will allow you to effectively donate and manage.

Yes I do practice too in OW, some times with 7' and sometimes with 5'. I don't particularly find much difference between the two so I guess YMMV. In the real life OOAs I have experienced where I have had to donate air, there was quite a difference though, between a standard length occy and my 5' hose The first OOA basically lead to me adopting a 5' hose as a minimum.

 

[TSandM]

I really don't think this is that big of a deal. The key is to put the slack in the hose somewhere where it doesn't cause issues. For me, that's behind me. I don't want it loose on my torso, because that hangs down to catch on things. I REALLY don't want a big loop behind my neck. So, after I route the hose when I'm gearing up, I put the reg in my mouth and pull down on the hose just in front of the can light, until I've got the slack out of it but can still turn my head. Then I just shove the excess behind the can light. I end up with a little bit of a slack loop behind me (you can sometimes see it in photographs) but it's not a big entanglement hazard, and I don't do overhead environments in a single tank, anyway.

In doubles, this is not an issue at all, as far as I can tell, although it ought to be, given that the hose is effectively longer. I think that might be a function of the larger wing.

You wind up with the hose under the can light cord or vice versa - not good when you deploy and even worse if you use a Goodman handle

It really isn't possible to route a 5' hose underneath a canister. A 5' hose routes directly across the chest, as already described. ANY time you have a wrapped hose, in the Hogarthian fashion, you have to deal with the issues of the light cord. If the hose is under the cord, you have to reroute to deploy the full length (which takes little time). If it's over the light cord, you have to pass the light under the hose to clip it off for stage drops, etc. It doesn't matter which strategy you adopt, so long as you understand what you have done and you know how to manage it.

Where the Goodman handle would come into this is beyond me. I can do darned near anything I CAN do underwater, with a Goodman handle.

 

[Tortuga68]

It really isn't possible to route a 5' hose underneath a canister.

Agreed - I was postulating why it might be better to use a 7' hose when diving with a can light

I can do darned near anything I CAN do underwater, with a Goodman handle

I don't doubt it. What I meant is that if your long hose is 'trapped' in the triangle between your arm, torso and can light lead, and you want to get it out, then you'll have to break the triangle by temporarily removing the Goodman handle from your hand

 

[Sas]

Agreed - I was postulating why it might be better to use a 7' hose when diving with a can light

Yea I got that, but I didn't think the can light cord would get in the way of donating the 5' hose, given the hose sits completely above it, you can donate it unobstructed. Well that was what I found when I was diving a 5' hose with a can light.

I don't doubt it. What I meant is that if your long hose is 'trapped' in the triangle between your arm, torso and can light lead, and you want to get it out, then you'll have to break the triangle by temporarily removing the Goodman handle from your hand

Yes you may have to do that but I don't see this as an issue? You give the gas, make sure they are ok then sort out the light cord and deploy fully.

 

[Tortuga68]

Again, I was trying to think of advantages of using a 7' hose with a can light

 

[Sas]

Again, I was trying to think of advantages of using a 7' hose with a can light

I'm sorry but I don't see how that is an advantage? Wouldn't it be a disadvantage? Confused Especially as with a 5' hose light cord issues aren't a problem (well not for me anyway)?

 

[Ben_ca]

Agreed - I was postulating why it might be better to use a 7' hose when diving with a can light



I don't doubt it. What I meant is that if your long hose is 'trapped' in the triangle between your arm, torso and can light lead, and you want to get it out, then you'll have to break the triangle by temporarily removing the Goodman handle from your hand

This is totally a non-issue. The goodman handle is not permanently on your hand... many many times will you thumb or top hold it to the opposite hand to keep passive communication while checking your SPG ect.

 

[Tortuga68]

Thanks, I'm starting to regret I mentioned it already