Hose Routing Decision

[w3dge]

I'm confused by your response?? is it meant to read "There's little advantage to you being able to breath from your short hose while your buddy is OOG"

No, you seemed to suggest that it wasn't a problem clipping your long hose reg off as you could easily pull it to your face if you needed to in an emergency. Your long hose needs to go to your buddies face in an emergency, not yours.

 

[Landlocked123]

I also dive a modified long hose. Meaning not the full 7 feet. I believe mine is a 5 foot hose. Instead of going under the light canister on the belt it goes under my armpit further up and then over and around my neck so in ends up SUPER streamlined. I dive a pony back mounted (also BP/w) on a short hose to a bungee around neck. All Mi flex hoses.. I have been diving this way for 2 years now and will never go back. I feel the 7 foot hose is not necessary for general diving. This gives a more streamlined hose routing without the excess hose to have to contend with as mentioned by others. There is literally nothing sticking out and both regs are right where you need them. See attached pic if that helps. More than enough hose length to easily hand off and quickly switch to pony/alternate. I do have swivels added on both second stages and I highly recommend them. I tried the full 7 foot hose and I see absolutely no need for it unless you are cave diving. etc. To me the slightly shorter long hose has the same benefits on a hand off with the reduced risk of entanglement etc. Very manageable out of the water also. Depending on your size you will need to experiment with the exact length of hose if this is the route you go. Measure twice order once ! Mi Flex all the way !

 

[Landlocked123]

Oh yeah and practice the so called "S" drills. Look it up. Do it until your arms drop off. If you have access to a pool get some pool time in and make sure you are squared off. You will not have to deal with the Canister piece. So it's really a modified "S" drill. You will see how easy it is to donate air and hop onto your secondary this way. Practice going back and forth ...There is nothing to clear. Your modified long hose has nothing to clear..it just goes out.. I truly believe this is the safest and best way to go for general OW diving.

 

[Lizard Leg]

I dive the modified long hose - primary on a 90º swivel with hose coming up under my right arm to reg with a bungee'd second. For me, benefits of a long hose (no loops hanging out, streamlined as hell, etc.) without the 7' hose wrapped all around me. Open water, no cave diving, so for me not much need for a true long hose. My wife dives the same setup.

Dive Rite has a video - they call it the Advanced Open Water setup.
No matter which setup you choose, if you are diving with an insta-buddy, make sure they understand the setup.

 

[Landlocked123]

Yes i had looked at this type of setup back when but here is what I don't like about it. Look at how far her primary hose sticks out. That to me is not ideal. It's definitely an entanglement risk in my humble opinion. Stress humble. The modified long hose around the neck approach, if sized correctly leaves absolutely no hose exposed. It actually becomes one of the most streamlined and protected pieces of the rig as it snuggly adheres to the torso under the right arm and around the chest. I understand it's clipped off now but even when in use i think it would still have a bend in it that sticks out. I guess you could shorten it as well but I still think that something that is routed under your arm and around still is way more streamlined. If you end up shortening this below approach you really no longer have a "long hose". All in my humble opinion..

 

[Lizard Leg]

The above picture shows it with the first stage clipped off and they really should have shorter hoses in my opinion. Here is a pic of me with my setup - same as above but with hoses measured exact. Only difference is on photo dives, I run my SPG under my left arm and over the chest strap. At that point, all I have to do is look down to see.

 

[Lizard Leg]

One of the great things about dive gear is that there is such a varied and large selection and even methods for configuring.

For me and my wife (my 99.9% of the time dive buddy) a true long hose just isn't a requirement and I doubt it would be a convenience. However, the modified setup we dive right now means no loops ion the water stream, everything clips off and is easy to access, doesn't interfere with d-rings, camera or other gear and just clicked when we set everything up this way - for us. For someone else, they may hate it.

 

[Doby45]

 

[Landlocked123]

Yes agreed and one more thing I will be addressing. My kit is a work in progress and has been for over 2 years as I continue to improve it. Always looking for safer. But keep in mind. Entanglement in front of you where it can be easily addressed and corrected is just slightly different than entanglement behind your back or side where you cannot access the entanglement( without removing rig).. But thank you for pointing out

 

[Landlocked123]

Lizard Leg that looks good to me.. definitely out of the way for sure... as I said measure twice order once ! looks like you did it right.. I have yet to take my photography habit under water .... maybe in a few years..