9 Foot Hose for Extra Tall Diver?

[cfenton]

Your height really shouldn't affect the hose length as the distance from the reg to the waist belt is going to be the same if you're using a standard sized plate (and I think you are based on your earlier post). If anything, your waist belt just sits higher on your waist than on a shorter person which is a set of issues unto it's self with respect to trim.

I had to think about that one, because it seems to make sense. In my experience it doesn't work out that way. I'm 6'3" 250lbs and my girlfriend is 10" shorter and a helleva lot lighter. We have the exact same gear and she has way more slack in the 7' hose.

 

[ScubaTerp]

I'm also a fair bit wider than most people.

 

[cfenton]

I'm 6'9" and currently when I use my 7' hose it ends up going underneath my armpit instead of around my belt where a canister light would be.

Is it safe to assume you are not diving with a can light? How are you securing the hose? My gut instinct is that you should be able to dive the 7' hose. You may find that when you dive a can light (again assuming) the hose routing issue is alleviated. Before I had a can light I used to secure the hose under my knife and it was always a pain. Personally I don't think that a a longer hose would create a huge safety issue. Having said that, 7' is a fair bit of hose to manage in an OOG situation so you might want to avoid it if you can.

 

[rjack321]

I had to think about that one, because it seems to make sense. In my experience it doesn't work out that way. I'm 6'3" 250lbs and my girlfriend is 10" shorter and a helleva lot lighter. We have the exact same gear and she has way more slack in the 7' hose.

Yah my Frau needs to hook a 7ft hose under both her can light and her knife to keep it tight against her, esp. cave diving. She's about 5'5" and lighter than me too.

And she wears a standard sized plate (which we bought long before anyone was making them in xs, m, xl sizes).

 

[ScubaTerp]

Is it safe to assume you are not diving with a can light? How are you securing the hose? My gut instinct is that you should be able to dive the 7' hose. You may find that when you dive a can light (again assuming) the hose routing issue is alleviated. Before I had a can light I used to secure the hose under my knife and it was always a pain. Personally I don't think that a a longer hose would create a huge safety issue. Having said that, 7' is a fair bit of hose to manage in an OOG situation so you might want to avoid it if you can.

This is correct. I don't have a canister light just yet.

I think it's safe to say that the consensus is to stick with the 7 foot hose, and accommodate it as required. Right now it just naturally goes underneath my arm and around my neck.

 

[b1gcountry]

The height doesn't seem to affect things too much. I'm 6'6" but skinny, and I have about 6" of slack in my hose when routed properly.

Tom

 

[laurin]

There are a couple of things you could check that haven't been mentioned yet...

-the hose itself; first, there are '7ft' and 7ft hoses, measure the length...

-also, there are differences in flexibility of the hose; when I switched rubber hose to Miflex all the slack freed from tighter bends resulted in a bit bigger loop behind my head

-do you route the hose behind the wing? routing in front might also free some slack...

//LN

 

[RJP]

-also, there are differences in flexibility of the hose; when I switched rubber hose to Miflex all the slack freed from tighter bends resulted in a bit bigger loop behind my head

+1 on the Miflex suggestion. I wish I had thought to post that idea earlier. I've gotten so used to diving them that I forget that there's still people that don't!

I'll almost guarantee a Miflex hose will help eliminate the OP's issue/concern.

You can read my mini-review of Miflex hoses at the bottom of this page:

Miflex Hoses at www.DiveSeekers.com

 

[ScubaTerp]

That's a fantastic.

Also what length hose is used for the short hose?

 

[RJP]

That's a fantastic.

Also what length hose is used for the short hose?

I use a 22" Miflex for the short hose in both single and doubles configurations. Some prefer the 24" version.