Ditch the 7 ft. hose

[RJP]

There was a guy spotted at the local quarry last weekend that had his 7-foot hose coming off his first stage and then simply wrapped around his neck about four times.

Guess to him DIR = Do It Ridiculously

 

[Vayu]

Well... there are several other ways of diving which include a long hose but are not DIR. Any overhead training class worth its salt will make use of a long hose (even if its routed different than the way we do it).

As far as buckling the hose though I guess I'm just not picturing it. I always buckle up before tucking the hose in and as others have mentioned make it a routine to do a full deployment in the water as a pre-dive check. It takes all of 10 seconds. Plus if there is a problem and you don't catch it your buddy should. I realize this is often said more than done, but i'm glad everyone with longhose tucking problems were able to resolve the issue before it became a safety hazard. Like any hose it has to be managed properly and this is not a good argument against tucking or against longhoses in general.

 

[Life-Is-Good-Diver]

Go with the 5 ft. hose. I use a 5 foot as an Instructor and DM. It has all of the advantages of the 7 in a recreational setting without the problems you are experiencing. Unless you are in really dark waters I think a canester light is overkill. A scout on the chest d-ring is enough to look under the ledges and crannies.

Do get a pockets if you dont have them.

I just ordered the Single Tank Hose Kit:

Primary hose: 5'
Secondary hose: 22"
SPG hose: 24"

For rec diving, and am not going to use my 7' anymore either for open water , as I find the 5' wraps around nice with the single tank.

I use this BP and harness set up :

Halcyon Eclipse 40 lb wing, Halcyon BP, the whole set up, and switched my current configuration over to " DIR " myself.

 

[Meng_Tze]

7ft all the way: wet, dry, open water, cave, wrecks, doubles....... it is not that difficult guys. Twist it and tuck it in the waist belt (if no can light) and pull tight across the chest while you turn your head to the left. It is a matter of practise. Why have several hoses for different dives? DIR gear was set up to be universal within different environments.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I use the 7' hose all the time. I just like the idea that I won't have to buy another hose--one for OW and one for overhead.

 

[RTodd]

I use the 7' hose all the time. I just like the idea that I won't have to buy another hose--one for OW and one for overhead.

Ha ha. If you truly move into overhead, come back and review this statement about saving $25 on not having two 7' hoses. I probably have a dozen of them at any one time. BTW, I agree on using 7' all the time, but very few people who actually dive singles and doubles regularly dont' eventually dedicate seperate regs to open water and doubles. Heck, I have back gas reg sets for cave, ocean, big cave dives, spares etc.

 

[SparticleBrane]

At the moment I have one reg set--in the future I'll definitely have dedicated regs for different stuff (especially whenever I move into overhead training). For the moment though, my one 7ft hose will have to suffice.

 

[WaterDawg]

7ft all the way: wet, dry, open water, cave, wrecks, doubles....... it is not that difficult guys. Twist it and tuck it in the waist belt (if no can light) and pull tight across the chest while you turn your head to the left. It is a matter of practise. Why have several hoses for different dives? DIR gear was set up to be universal within different environments.

Exactly what he said!