Gear acquisition in stages

[PfcAJ]

I never suggested a 5ft hose won't work with a bp/w. But since we're in the DIR forum, and none of the DIR agencies teach anything with a 5' hose, I thought it best to keep it within the guidelines of the forum. Hogarthian is a little lower on the tech diving specialties list, if that's that you're driving at. A 7' hose isn't clean in a jacket, cummerbunds are usually not tight enough to keep it in place and they put the hose in a place that is quite a bit different than the standard on the right side under the light. I do no advocate getting in the habit of routing the hose under a knife or anything that changes the angle of the hose coming across the body.

Getting the bp/w right takes a lot of time for a lot of folks, and its a very personalized item. If you're doing it in stages, the change to a bp/w is the most dramatic, most expensive, and has the most options (weight pockets, al/steel, wing manufacturer, yadda yadda). The hose is cheap and can be added afterwards without dealing with intermediates like a 5 footer or shoving it into the cummerbund.

 

[corvettejoe]

And where do you put your long hose with a jacket BC?

The same way it does for a BP/Wing? I don't see what the difference is. It just loops around your body once and hangs around the neck. It works on any BC style.

---------- Post added August 6th, 2013 at 01:16 PM ----------

You can currently find good deals on HOG D1 reg packages, likely due to the new model coming out. For example: Hogarthian Configuration Regulator Packages - Dive Gear Express. Single-tank package is currently $289 and includes:

• One HOG D1 First Stage (w/optional Coldwater Kit)
• Two HOG Classic Second Stages
• Cne {60 in | 1.5 m} or {84 in | 2.1 m} Reg Hose for the primary
• One { 22 in | 55.9 cm } Reg hose for the secondary
• DIN to Yoke spin-on adapter
• Necklace, S/S Bolt Snap, Delrin DIN Cap

That's the deal I was trying to find.. just forgot which store LOL

Killer deal.

 

[PfcAJ]

Nah bro. It bows out in a ridiculous manner if you don't tuck it in/under something.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I never suggested a 5ft hose won't work with a bp/w. But since we're in the DIR forum, and none of the DIR agencies teach anything with a 5' hose, I thought it best to keep it within the guidelines of the forum. . . .

I was informed in GUE Primer that a 5' hose is now considered acceptable for recreational (non-overhead, etc.) diving.

 

[elan]

5 ft hose is ok if you plan to stick to it later for the whole your diving, otherwise why waste money on it? I thing for anyone but a small woman it is very uncomfortable if you dive it for anything but pure recreational single tank and do not plan to go further.
It interferes with the right D ring and can introduce hose trapping if you use a canister light, it does not allow you to scooter as you need to go single file in OOG scenarios. So you can do it but why waste money if you plan to transition to 7 ft later

 

[PfcAJ]

Gue primer is also a super short non certification class designed just to introduce the simplest of DIR concepts.

 

[BluewaterSail]

A hose is cheap to replace. There are more expensive purchases to spend time dwelling over to a more productive end.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Gue primer is also a super short non certification class designed just to introduce the simplest of DIR concepts.

I'm not sure if this was directed to my comment, but my comment was only in reply to your statement that a 5' hose is not DIR. One of the reasons I took the Primer class was to learn what gear I need to acquire so that I can get familiar with it and move on to Fundies, and the 5' hose is apparently increasingly common for people who have no ambition for the foreseeable future beyond cruising the coral reefs--no double tanks, no canister lights, no scooters or anything like that. A 6' hose would be okay, too, from what I was told.

I wanted to acquire the gear in stages not only because I didn't want to spend my entire bank account at once but also so I could familiarize myself with one new major item at a time. It's enough to learn to fumble with a long hose; I didn't want to have to get used to the long hose at the same time I was getting used to a BP/W. I know most people do learn that way, but since I had a perfectly good BC that I was comfortable with, I figured there was little reason to replace it immediately. It seemed to me that learning to donate a long hose primary to an OOA diver while switching to my secondary should take priority over me achieving good trim with a BP/W. Anyone can strap on a BP/W, but the donate-the-primary thing is something that needs to be learned.

And despite what you guys say, I am not convinced that a 7' hose would not work with at least some traditional BCs. Where there's a will, there's a way. It's no doubt easier to rig everything with a BP/W because it's so minimalist and modular, but I still believe it's possible to do "gear acquisition in stages" (per the OP's question) by buying a long-hose reg set first and then buying the BP/W later. The donate-the-primary approach just seems like such a major improvement to the traditional "octo-in-the-golden-triangle" approach that I think we will soon see many people using long(er) hoses with non-BP/W BCs.

 

[kmarks]

Scubapro A700 does not have a removable faceplate. It requires a tool to remove the 4 screws, and unfortunately, that makes it a no-go.

Can you explain what a "removable faceplate" is and why it's important to be able to remove it without a tool?

 

[PfcAJ]

Sure, no prob!

So most 2nd stage regs are of the same basic design. Theres a thin rubber diaphragm that depresses a lever when you inhale, and that level opens a little valve that lets air into the reg and your mouth. There's also a'mushroom' valve at the bottom of the 2nd stage, and this is where the air goes when you breath out.

^That pic shows the parts. The lever is right above the tube in the middle (air barrel), the mushroom valve is under the circle with a + on it, and the diaphragm is the blue thing. For all you reg gurus out there, I know this reg has a faceplate that is removable only with tools Its just a picture! Also, all the little bits are shown in that pic because the reg was disassembled past what I'm talking about in this post. For 'field stripping' of the reg, only needed disassembly is of the faceplate, washer, and diaphragm. 3 parts TOPS.

Some regs require tools to get the reg down to that level of disassembly. Some regs don't (like most scubapros, apeks, atomic, etc). The hard plastic cover just simply unscrews on those, giving access to the soft diaphragm and that little mushroom valve.

Sometimes sticks or shells get stuck in that little mushroom valve, or junk will get between that lever and the diaphragm and your reg will be either unbreathable or freeflow. DIR regs are able to be easily disassembled so that you can clear out the crap and enjoy your dive.

Imagine doing a rough shore entry, you just cross the surf zone, and a shell found its way into your reg making it freeflow. A removable faceplate is the difference between packing it up and going home or having an awesome dive.