Hose length thoughts, questions and confusions....

[tbone1004]

Yes, I used to dive with a 40" under the arm, but then I switched to 30" over the arm because it was easier to keep the reg from getting in the sand or bumping on the ground when changing tanks. With that extra 10", the reg seemed to end up too often where I didn't want it

that's why I have gone back to 7' hoses for all of my backmount diving

 

[tursiops]

Yes, I used to dive with a 40" under the arm, but then I switched to 30" over the arm because it was easier to keep the reg from getting in the sand or bumping on the ground when changing tanks. With that extra 10", the reg seemed to end up too often where I didn't want it

Which is why I have a small boltsnap on my primary, so when it is not in my mouth it is clipped to a shoulder d-ring.

 

[lowflyer]

Which is why I have a small boltsnap on my primary, so when it is not in my mouth it is clipped to a shoulder d-ring.

How are you attaching the bolt snap to the primary?

 

[tursiops]

How are you attaching the bolt snap to the primary?

At the 90-deg elbow, with a tie-wrap and a tank-neck o-ring, same way as I do with my sidemount regs.

 

[RayfromTX]

I have less experience than many here but my wife and I tried several setups and the one that is the most comfortable and that stays close to our body without ever thinking about it is the 7' primary looped under our knife(empty sheath actually) on the right waist band. It is not under our arm as it crosses around down at waist level. It is only a bit more trouble on the boat but in the water is what matters more to me and the inconvenience out of the water is at a level that I would be embarrassed to complain about. It works really well for us and I was just looking at this weekend's videos. It is by far the cleanest setup of all as compared to all the other people we were diving with. My wife resisted it at first but after the 1st or 2nd dive she loved it. Her resistance was thought based and not experience based. Each to their own but it is a very useful tool that solved her comfort issues with hose routing and reg comfort in her mouth during the dive.

 

[lowflyer]

At the 90-deg elbow, with a tie-wrap and a tank-neck o-ring, same way as I do with my sidemount regs.

OK, thanks

 

[stuartv]

I guess I'm going to have to reveal ignorance here, but why on earth does a recreational diver (no caves, tech, or serious overhead environment) need his primary on a 40" hose? If I need to donate my primary to an OOA diver, I will be holding on to him/her to make sure he/she doesn't bolt to the surface. So we are going to be close. 30" with a swivel on the primary reg is good enough for this in my practice scenarios, and 40" is just extra hose dragging in the water.

I don't know about your diving, but a lot of ordinary recreational divers that I have been on boats with still do swim throughs on wrecks. Many of those swim throughs that I have done have been through holes that are plenty big enough for a single diver, but would not be easy at all for 2 divers who are sharing air to go through, if they are stuck together by a short hose.

What would they do if one went OOA while they happened to be inside a room during a swim through and the shared reg was on a 30" hose? I don't know. Is a 40" hose enough longer to make a real difference in that scenario? I don't know.

What I do know is that 30" is not long enough to run under my arm. And having a 30" hose bowed out to my side would drive me crazy.

Like @tursiops, when my reg comes out of my mouth, it gets clipped to my right shoulder D-ring. I use the Small Bolt Snap and Dive Rite Hose Clip Retainer shown here:

Premium Stainless Steel Snaps | Dive Gear Express®

 

[lowflyer]

Thanks, @stuartv, but my original premise was that a primary on a 30" hose on a swivel over the shoulder is OK for a recreational diver. I excluded caves, tech, and overhead environments. Once the rec diver swims through a small hole into a wreck, IMO, he should have wreck training and a longer hose, not to mention other stuff.

Initially reading the thread, I was just thinking that the occasional, casual rec diver is getting sold on longer hoses by reading how tech divers do it. Think about the newly certified diver. In class he used rental gear with a short hose and was just fine with it. Maybe he goes on a trip and rents gear which is going to have a short hose. He then gets on ScubaBoard and reads threads like this one and thinks he has to look like a tech diver to do it right.

I'm not saying I think there is anything wrong with a rec diver using a 40" hose, but If I'm diving in warm water with a group (no wrecks or caves) or assisting a class, a 28-30" hose over the shoulder is just fine for me and adequate to donate. Doesn't pull on my mouth or get in the way of anything. Just my thoughts, YMMV

 

[stuartv]

Thanks, @stuartv, but my original premise was that a primary on a 30" hose on a swivel over the shoulder is OK for a recreational diver. I excluded caves, tech, and overhead environments. Once the rec diver swims through a small hole into a wreck, IMO, he should have wreck training and a longer hose, not to mention other stuff.

Initially reading the thread, I was just thinking that the occasional, casual rec diver is getting sold on longer hoses by reading how tech divers do it. Think about the newly certified diver. In class he used rental gear with a short hose and was just fine with it. Maybe he goes on a trip and rents gear which is going to have a short hose. He then gets on ScubaBoard and reads threads like this one and thinks he has to look like a tech diver to do it right.

I'm not saying I think there is anything wrong with a rec diver using a 40" hose, but If I'm diving in warm water with a group (no wrecks or caves) or assisting a class, a 28-30" hose over the shoulder is just fine for me and adequate to donate. Doesn't pull on my mouth or get in the way of anything. Just my thoughts, YMMV

I hear you. But, it seems like the reality is (at least, in my limited experience, of course) that rec divers do do swimthroughs without further training. I think I've even seen posts from a PADI instructor or two that PADI HQ might even deem it "okay" for certain types of swimthroughs. I am not actually sure what the official SDI position on that is.

Also, the "normal" rec hose config is a short hose to your mouth and a long hose (40" or so?) under your arm. The only difference we're really talking about is changing which reg you keep in your mouth, adding a swivel on the long hose, putting a bungee necklace on the short hose reg, and MAYBE changing the short hose to an even shorter hose. I am not positive, but I THINK the short hose reg on the reg sets my shop uses to teach with are shorter than 28". But, I definitely could be wrong about that.

When I dive single tank for fun, I use a 40" hose under my arm and to my mouth, and a 22" hose to a reg on a bungee necklace. When I'm working with an OW class, the only thing I change is to remove the bungee necklace and add a silicone octo keeper to my right chest D-ring, and then change which reg I keep in my mouth. Hoses are all the same (and all black).

I think if people are going to be renting reg sets, then they should stick to doing things how they were taught in OW. If you buy regs, then I fully support learning, practicing, and adopting the process of "primary donate" and getting the right hose lengths and swivel to support that. It's not to "look like a tech diver." It's because I think primary donate is better/safer.

 

[lowflyer]

@stuartv, I hear you, and for the record I have the secondary on a short hose on a necklace, and the primary, whether 30" or 40", is to donate.