Alec Pierce Scuba - Long Hose Good or Bad

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Yeah, I used to use a "scum-ball" octo-holder and thought that it was a solution, until I tried to put back the octo w thick gloves - almost impossible. I imagine the mouthpiece design holder is just as bad.

Again, I am about as non-elitist a diver there is, I'll dive any gear that works, but I am a firm believer that all octo holders suck, and its best not to rely on them.

The necklaces are good, and not too difficult to reinsert with thick gloves as you can stretch them to be bigger. Takes some practice though, best done on dry land with one's eyes closed.

 

[Divectionist]

That is why the purge cover on my primary is now yellow. And when my long hose needs replacing I will be replacing it with an orange hose.

(...)

I do the same, when I can, but my pony has the regulator off, so it would be a rush to turn it on never they breath down the hose (which is likely a breath or two with a hose that short).

I think the yellow cap on primary makes good sense for primary donate in rec settings. Not so much needed if diving with equally trained tech divers. But in some low visibility panic, the splash of yellow may be exactly what the brain needs to make the right decision. Nevertheless, 90% of rec divers will quizzingly look at you why you are diving with that octo thing they personally never used.

As for your pony reg, why do you shut it off? Provided you have a second stage with venturi on it, the 'pre-dive' setting will generally not decide to free flow. Haven't thought about any cold water situations but I'd rather shut it down if something happens rather than having to turn it on in an OOA situation or risk flooding something if the small amount of pressure escapes.

Before the pony, still with short primary, I used one of those silicone necklaces as my octo holder. It held the octo nice and visible on my chest, easy to pull out for buddies, and easy to reach for myself without taking it out of the necklace. Still in the 'triangle' and without having it dangle with some crappy octo holder on one of the bp/w D-rings, who have better things to do. I thought it was a great solution, but the hybrid nature of it offended some who thought necklaces only belong with primary donate long hoses.

 

[FreeFlyFreak]

Nevertheless, 90% of rec divers will quizzingly look at you why you are diving with that octo thing they personally never used.

I actually had a divemaster ask me after a dive if I had a problem with my regulator because I was always using my "octo".

S600 yellow hose, yellow cover
R195 on necklace black hose, cover blacked out.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Nevertheless, 90% of rec divers will quizzingly look at you why you are diving with that octo thing they personally never used.

They also go into coral and sea caves that the DM says is safe but I'm setting there at the back of the conga line thinking "This is dangerous, as we are outside of the daylight zone."

As for your pony reg, why do you shut it off? Provided you have a second stage with venturi on it, the 'pre-dive' setting will generally not decide to free flow. Haven't thought about any cold water situations but I'd rather shut it down if something happens rather than having to turn it on in an OOA situation or risk flooding something if the small amount of pressure escapes.

The bailout reg that I use on it is a used one, doesn't have a set able venturi. It works for me, TBH I rarely dive with a buddy in open water. I trust my pony more than I trust anyone else.

 

[rhwestfall]

There are times I dive a rig with a yellow 7' long hose....

 

[Bob DBF]

The issue is that stowing the octo some place that is not bungeed around the neck lends itself to so many more errors and mistakes that are not diver error. During a dive, items become unclipped or slip out, things can shift/move around--things that don't accurately fall to the level of "poorly trained diver", just stuff happens in the real world.

A poorly trained diver would not check his gear to insure proper operation and correct the issue during the dive, and if necessary find a permanent solution over the long run.

Even when used properly (octo hose not trapped/ stuffed somewhere), the 2nd stage has to be held by somthing that is secure but also easily releasable.

Add in cold water divers with thick gloves and thus little dexterity, if it comes off, how easy is it to put back on?

It's kind of a pain in gloves but doable.

We have restricted fields of view from our mask. If the octo is not at the top of the triangle, we won't notice that it is loose unless we check for it.

It would seem a check would be in order, or choose another spot.

When I got my first alternate second, I just stuffed it in my SeaTec BC pocket, and figured on primary donate, same as when I only had one second. I had an Air2 clone on my next BC, then later hung the alternate in the "triangle" on my BP/W. During all this time, I have never used a yellow reg or hose.


I currently dive a 40" hose and bungeed backup, however I have dived a number of other configurations without issue. I'm not that special that crap won't happen to me if it can happen. I haven't seen a lot of other divers having these problems, but I don't have recent warm water experience.


Is the bungeed backup a better way to hang your alternate, regardless of hose length on your primary second stage? I would say yes. Would any other configuration work successfully? I would also say yes. I would also say the outcome of an air share is dependant more on the the training and practice of air shares, than the configurations being used.



Bob

 

[wfgross]

I didn’t read all of this thread, but what about the Air2? Seems that this is a bigger issue for rec divers than a long hose...

 

[BlueTrin]

I didn’t read all of this thread, but what about the Air2? Seems that this is a bigger issue for rec divers than a long hose...

It was mentioned already