All about the backup regulator necklace

[Rick Murchison]

I use a little different setup... surgical tubing attached to a piece of bicycle innertube to form a "breakaway," or, an old speargun rubber ziptied to either side of the mouthpiece. Either provides adequate strength to keep from accidentally coming loose but can be pulled completely free with a good solid tug... just in case I ever want to.
-- oops -- just noticed which forum this is in...
**WARNING** My methods are not necessarily approved by the DIR folk, so if you adopt 'em you could get harrassed.
Rick

 

[SDAnderson]

I prefer the shock cord. The surgical tubing isn't as comfortable on my neck and tends to roll up in my hair when I'm taking it off - and I don't have the hair to spare! The surgical tubing also doesn't usually last more than a season, probably due to UV degradation and elastic fatigue issues. To each his own.

I'd recommend that first-timers pop for the extra $ and buy the Halcyon version. That way they can see a good demonstration of what one is supposed to look like - how thick, how stretchy, how long, how it's tied, etc. After the first one, save some money and buy the shock cord wherever you can find it cheapest.

As for making the switch to a long hose, recreational divers normally don't need the 7' hose - that's for single file through restrictions and it's just too long. Most rec-types should start with a 5' hose, although bigger guys may find that to be too short.

All this rigging looks kind of strange, but it's comfortable and more effective than the old mungholder contraptions. Learning to donate the primary takes about 0 minutes but should be practiced, it's a standard "every dive" drill for most technical divers.

 

[JPBECK]

I have most of my basic students wearing 7 foot hoses wi thier back up around thier neck! We train the S drills every time we descend--- Is that wrong- No the farther away you have a paniced diver the better, aleast until they calm down. Its not just for Cave divers. Teach them right the first time they think that's the way it's done!
Which is true in my classes!

 

[MarcHall]

As for making the switch to a long hose, recreational divers normally don't need the 7' hose - that's for single file through restrictions and it's just too long. Most rec-types should start with a 5' hose, although bigger guys may find that to be too short.

For the necklace, I use bungie cord with a knot at each end held on by a wire tie. For those in So. California, Downwind
Marine in San Diego always seems to have black bungie in stock.

I used to use the knotted version similiar to what Halcyon sells but found that it popped off the mouthpiece much to frequently.

I also always recommend the 7' hose. The 5' hose will work for some people but if its long there is no way to adjust it. The 7' hose can be run under the light canister of if no canister can be looped and run under the waist strap where the canister would normally be. Both ways allow for the adjustment of the amount of hose that is running across your chest, behind your neck and to your mouth. If this loop is to long, the loop ends up floating above your head, is a potiential entanglement problem and breaks Rule #6.

Marc Hall
www.enjoythedive.com

 

[Yerba Mate]

If you're in Canada, MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-Op) has shock cord in various different diameters. I just picked up 3/16" cord for $0.75/meter or about 25 cents a foot (Canadian $). This cord is cheap and extremely high quality.

 

[cyklon_300]

the 5' hose...my informal, non-scientific survey shows that 99% of the divers that try a 5' find it to be too short. Just go with the 7'...it's no harder to manage and you avoid buying a hose you'll likely end up not using.

I used my 5' about a dozen times before I tossed it...it imparted a really annoying pull on the second stage.

 

[Bob3]

... I think about EVERYTHING that could go wrong. ...

I ran a couple of tests on different attachment methods & was able to strip the mouthpiece off the reg when the bungee was zip tied & knotted.
Just a little more for ya to think about.

 

[JPBECK]

The 5 foot hose is nice for your sling bottles and that's about it. I am 5'8" and there is no way that I can use a 5' hose as my primary reg. My wife is 5'4" and she cant use a 5' hose for her primary.

 

[Soggy]

The 5 foot hose is nice for your sling bottles and that's about it. I am 5'8" and there is no way that I can use a 5' hose as my primary reg. My wife is 5'4" and she cant use a 5' hose for her primary.

Why do you say you there is no way you can use it? For purely recreational diving, there is nothing wrong with a 5' hose and anyone of pretty much any size should be able to use one.

 

[JPBECK]

There is no way that I can route a 5' hose so that it does not pull the rig out of my mouth! Unless I just let it loop way out - This would cause a entaglement issue in the type of diving I do! That is what I mean.