A long hose may be difficult with a jacket BC, since the D-rings and so forth aren't always where you expect them to be. But I totally agree with you, halocline and LeadTurn. I started down the road to DIR by first adopting the long-hose configuration and attempting to dive with that for a while in my jacket BC as a sort of transitional phase. I soon made the leap to a BP/W. It's interesting that so many divers on SB are attracted by the BP/W discussions and decide to use a BP/W before they consider using the long-hose configuration. In my mind, the long-hose configuration is the more critical factor in my diving than the choice of BC type. I know this isn't the DIR forum, but I have become convinced that the all-or-nothing approach of the DIR system is beneficial. The BP/W, the long hose, the training to donate the long hose and switch to the bungeed backup and ascend while remaining stable and in trim, etc.--all go together in a symbiotic system. Picking and choosing from among the various options (e.g., hose lengths) may work if one wants to take the time to experiment, but simply adopting the whole DIR system worked well for me. I can't thank the cave divers enough for helping me make my recreational diving so easy and safe. Okay, I'll skulk back to the DIR forum now.
