Attn: Early Adopters! How's your MIFLEX holding up?

[scubafanatic]

...so OK, the LP MIFLEX hoses have been out a couple of years now, and the HP ones have been out for a bit anyway.......anyone having/had any long tern 'issues' with these hoses to date? (over this winter I've converted 6 reg sets over to LP MIFLEX...no HP yet.....so I'm wondering how they are lasting/wearing as the miles pile up?

 

[Bazooka Joe]

I prob got 60 dives on mine and they look brand new. I have 2 LP and a HP. My wife as 2 LP's, they all look brand new.

 

[Sas]

I have two LP hoses for my regs that have done over 200 dives, no issues with them so far, still in good condition.

I bought a HP hose not long ago and it blew up after about 50 dives or so. Had been attached to my regs and pressurised for 5-10mins, went bang as I hit the water after jumping off a boat! Wasn't real happy about this but Miflex replaced the hose for free (got it the day after I rung the store I bought it from) and I also got a free LP hose as well (got an inflator one this time). So even though the problem with the hose was *really* annoying, I was impressed with the customer service I got after this problem.

 

[scubafanatic]

...thanks for the responses so far......I've been working on some of my gear over this winter, and figured MIFLEX has been out long enough to be 'debugged' so amongst my winter projects I bought/installed enough MIFLEX to bring 6 regs sets up to speed...they certainly look nice, but haven't dove them yet. I've heard about issues with the HP ones......so far I haven't bought any HP ones as my AI hosed computers have a proprietary QD factory hose...and my Poseidon SPG's have an OEM 'thin' KEVLAR HP hose already....but in future I might have a need for the HP MIFLEX ones so I'm certainly following how those are holding up as well.

 

[TGreene]

I've heard about issues with the HP ones......

Same here, which is why I plan to carry a spare in my gear bag.

 

[RJP]

I have about 200 dives on my Miflex hoses at this point, most of which are wreck penetration dives. Doubles rig, stage bottles, deco bottles - all hoses are still in perfect condition. (You can read my Miflex mini-review here: Miflex Hoses at www.DiveSeekers.com)

I do have a Miflex HP hose...but the jury is still out on that one. All the benefits that make Miflex great for an LP hose (thinner, more supple, slicker, flexible, etc) seem to actually make for a sub-optimal HP hose. If you don't clip off your gauge/console it will flop all over the place - even when pressurized - allowing it to damage environment, making it hard to find, and even creating more of an entanglement hazard. If you clip off gauge/console the hose can still get caught up in itself, other stuff, etc. It's so thin that with gloves on it's hard to distinguish the hose by feel from a d-ring, cord from a stage rigging kit, a clipped off goodie bag, etc. I've actually mistakenly clipped stage/deco bottles to the HP Miflex hose - its that thin that I couldn't feel difference vs d-ring and the snap on the stage rigging easily clipped on to it. (You can imagine the Charlie Foxtrot that would ensue doing a gas switch if you were clipped off thusly!)

For my HP hose I like standard rubber HP hose that "stands proud" when pressurized - easier to clip-off/un-clip, if not clipped it still sort of stays in one place/direction, etc.

 

[scubafanatic]

I have about 200 dives on my Miflex hoses at this point, most of which are wreck penetration dives. Doubles rig, stage bottles, deco bottles - all hoses are still in perfect condition. (You can read my Miflex mini-review here: Miflex Hoses at www.DiveSeekers.com)

I do have a Miflex HP hose...but the jury is still out on that one. All the benefits that make Miflex great for an LP hose (thinner, more supple, slicker, flexible, etc) seem to actually make for a sub-optimal HP hose. If you don't clip off your gauge/console it will flop all over the place - even when pressurized - allowing it to damage environment, making it hard to find, and even creating more of an entanglement hazard. If you clip off gauge/console the hose can still get caught up in itself, other stuff, etc. It's so thin that with gloves on it's hard to distinguish the hose by feel from a d-ring, cord from a stage rigging kit, a clipped off goodie bag, etc. I've actually mistakenly clipped stage/deco bottles to the HP Miflex hose - its that thin that I couldn't feel difference vs d-ring and the snap on the stage rigging easily clipped on to it. (You can imagine the Charlie Foxtrot that would ensue doing a gas switch if you were clipped off thusly!)

For my HP hose I like standard rubber HP hose that "stands proud" when pressurized - easier to clip-off/un-clip, if not clipped it still sort of stays in one place/direction, etc.

...kinda interesting about the 'stand proud' comment......on all (6) of the regs I'm working on, I've stayed 'conventional' with respect to the primary 2nd-stage hose and am using Atomic swivel hoses......as I've heard the LP MIFLEX hoses are so light/floaty that they tend to vibrate/resonate in stiff currents....also, the conventional LP hoses make reg recovery a lot easier...again, less chance of the 2nd-stage floating/drifting away/behind the diver.......also, and this is a purely cosmetic detail, the Atomic swivel hoses have a very finished/professional look to them where they mate/join/connect to the 2nd-stages.......

....so, thus far, I've only converted all my octo hoses and all my LP inflator hoses over to MIFLEX........(3) regs dedicated to single tank, dual bladder diving...(3) other regs dedicated to single tank, single wing diving........so I've deployed a grand total of (6) octo and (9) LP inflator hoses across all (6) of those regs.

 

[Mayor]

I have been using the MIFLEX 7ft hose and the 22in for my backup. Have about 70 dives with out any issues. As for the HP I like the rubber and have not made the switch.

I do have some friends that use a BP/W that have AI computer with out an SPG. I talked to them about getting the MIFLEX with an SPG as a back up. Thinking it would be a slick set up for single tank with AI.

 

[TGreene]

I have 2 complete Hogarthian rigs setup, with 1 being all Miflex and and 1 all Traditional hoses... I'm ultimately wanting both rigs to be identical, but I figured before I went one way or the other that I would try to put equal mileage on them, then decide from there.

From a purely routing perspective, the Miflex take top honors hands down. I have a manifold on the way and will be converting to doubles this next week, and I'm actually expecting to see even greater improvements with them in that regard, but only time will tell.

As I mentioned a couple of posts back, due to reading about a couple of blown Miflex HP's, I'll be carrying a spare!

-Tim

 

[scubafanatic]

I have been using the MIFLEX 7ft hose and the 22in for my backup. Have about 70 dives with out any issues. As for the HP I like the rubber and have not made the switch.

I do have some friends that use a BP/W that have AI computer with out an SPG. I talked to them about getting the MIFLEX with an SPG as a back up. Thinking it would be a slick set up for single tank with AI.

...I can say from personal experience that having an AI computer with a back up SPG IS pretty slick...... I can't imagine getting in the water without at least (2) sources of gas pressure. Of the (6) regs mentioned they are rigged as follows:

Atomic T2 / Atomic M1 / Apex XTX200 (2) : Cochran Gemini AI wireless/intelligent wrist unit......hosed AI Oceanic Datamax Pro Plus II...Poseidon analog SPG. (so these units have 3 gas pressure sources)

Aqualung Titan LX / Mares Ruby : hosed AI Oceanic Datamax Pro Plus II...Poseidon analog SPG. (these units 'only' have 2 gas pressure sources)