Long hose - first impressions

[Grajan]

Janaki and I did our first dive with the long hose configuration at Twin Lakes last weekend so I thought I would share my first impressions. I am sure these will evolve as we become more practiced.

CONFIGURATION

Standard 7' / 22" setup on Seaquest Balance/Libra routing the hose under the Balance pocket containing the SMB and reel.

IN THE WATER

1. The first impression is of a lot of clutter under the chin and there is a tendency for the primary reg to catch on the backup reg when you look down. This seems to improve with time and moving the backup slightly to one side helps.

2. It is MUCH more comfortable. There is no side load on the reg at all. This is a big deal to me as I really had a problem with this.

3. Hose routing is much cleaner (with the exeption of the issue below) - no more fanned out hose loops to deal with is great.

4. Janaki (who has a shorter BC than me) had a bit of a problem with the neck loop of the primary coming over her head during the dive. routing it lower made it come out from under the pocket. We are going to see if a 6' hose deals with this.

5. A free flow on the bungeed backup can be a bit scary at first as the bubbles envelope your face if you look up. After the scare we did some free-flow drills and found that the key was to look down. This routed the bubbles around the neck and allowed visibility to sort the problem out.

6. OOA response is much easier and less stressful. not having to hunt for the octo and having plenty of space really makes a big difference.

7. OOA ascents were SO much easier it was unbelievable. Being able to control one's own bouyancy rather than trying to manage a close-coupled system was much easier and much safer. Loved this aspect.

ON THE SURFACE

A major PTA. It is very easy to drop test your primary reg - yuk. This is going to take some getting used to. Keeping it clipped off is fine but dis-assembling the gear is trickier. Hanging it up to dry is a pain. This needs work. My reg appears to have survived the learning curve so far........

OVERALL

A little more familiarization is needed but I think this is a substantial improvement over a conventional rig and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[plsdiver4377]

What he said, I agree now if I can convince my wife.

Grajan once bubbled...
Janaki and I did our first dive with the long hose configuration at Twin Lakes last weekend so I thought I would share my first impressions. I am sure these will evolve as we become more practiced.

CONFIGURATION

Standard 7' / 22" setup on Seaquest Balance/Libra routing the hose under the Balance pocket containing the SMB and reel.

IN THE WATER

1. The first impression is of a lot of clutter under the chin and there is a tendency for the primary reg to catch on the backup reg when you look down. This seems to improve with time and moving the backup slightly to one side helps.

2. It is MUCH more comfortable. There is no side load on the reg at all. This is a big deal to me as I really had a problem with this.

3. Hose routing is much cleaner (with the exeption of the issue below) - no more fanned out hose loops to deal with is great.

4. Janaki (who has a shorter BC than me) had a bit of a problem with the neck loop of the primary coming over her head during the dive. routing it lower made it come out from under the pocket. We are going to see if a 6' hose deals with this.

5. A free flow on the bungeed backup can be a bit scary at first as the bubbles envelope your face if you look up. After the sacer we did some free-flow drills and found that the key was to look down. This routed the bubbles around the neck and allowed visibility to sort the problem out.

6. OOA response is much easier and less stressful. not having to hunt for the octo and having plenty of space really makes a big difference.

7. OOA ascents were SO much easier it was unbelievable. Being able to control one's own bouyancy rather than trying to manage a close-coupled system was much easier and much safer. Loved this aspect.

ON THE SURFACE

A major PTA. It is very easy to drop test your primary reg - yuk. this is going to take some getting used to. Keeping it clipped off is fine but dis-assembling the gear is trickier. Hanging it up to dry is a pain. This needs work. My reg appears to have survived the learning curve so far........

OVERALL

A little more familiarization is needed but I think this is a substantial improvement over a conventional rig and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

This takes time...

I too found I had to train myself into clipping off the long hose after taking it out of my mouth otherwise I was dragging my primary all over the ground. To be sure the long hose was for me, I did an experiment and did a dive with standard length hoses - and I HATED it! I had to hunt for the octo - not sure where is was exactly, etc. I immediately stuck with my long hose rig and never looked back. Your right that drills are even easier with the long hose - just hand the receipient the reg in your mouth and your set. Takes mere seconds...

I like the backup under my chin - I can find it with my eyes closed, if need be, in a silt out, in the dark, etc. just by feel. Its out of the way and I don't have to worry about:

a) My buddy FINDING my octo SOMEWHERE'S on my body

b) It coming undone and dragging in the mud, silt, rocks

c) It being mounted with come complicated over-secure doo-dad that either holds it too tight or too loose.

I found I needed the 6 ft hose as 5 ft was too short and was binding too much and the 7 ft was too long. So the 6 ft is perfect for me - but then, I weight only 155#. Bigger folks find the 7 ft hose ideal.

Once you get used to it - you won't even feel the backup under your chin. Perhaps your bungee necklace is too snug up by your neck? Mine hangs down just a tad.

If you have a reg with a adjustable vane or venturi on it you can stop it from freeflowing - otherwise you may need to slightly detune the backup.

PS This system works ever better when your buddy has the same configuration as well!

Good luck!

 

[Grajan]

We do have adjustable regs - ATX40's. You just have to remember to push the lever the right way....:idea: ...

Our necklaces are pretty tight - I might try loosening it a bit.

Our rigs are absolutely identical. We just have different fin colors so that we know we are looking at the other one.....:goofy:.....

 

[plsdiver4377]

I just can't seem to convince my wife that it is much more comfortable in the water than the traditional configuration. I never did notice the bungeed second hitting me at all. The 22in hose seems to be to short but I believe that is the result of the hose protector effectively shortening the hose a bit, so it's going.

She does have swivel on her primary second so she says it doesn't pull. I'm sure her hesitation is because of me cussing the long hose till I started getting used to dealing with it while getting in and out of my rig.

I'm currently diving the SP MK25TA S600/R380 and the venturi adjustment on the R380 has enabled me to stop all inadvertant freeflows so far.

 

[Grajan]

Janaki (my wife / dive buddy) hates change and was quite happy with her rig.

What I did was negotiate a deal:

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Try it out - with ABSOLUTELY no pressure to 'conform'- on at least two practice dives. During those dives do a full series of drills mask / freeflow / OOA / OOA Ascent.

If you still don't like it after two dives revert to your original configuration and, just once, do the drills again.

Happy with that? Then stay with the original rig and I will use the long hoses as spares.

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We don't need the second dive. She is convinced already (after a few 'trying' moments in the lake....)

The key is to not force it. It really must be an individual choice.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

I had to switch from a 22" hose to the 24" hose as the 22" seemed to 'pull' my backup to the right of my neck. The 24" is perfect.

When I went back to the normal hose config and we did some drills it was like we were not sure if the needer was going to take my octo or the reg in my mouth! Add to the mix not being sure of where all your buddy even KEEPS his octo and if you can find it when he's horizontal and you can see the confusion we had going!

My agency, SSI, taught you donate your primary reg and use your Scubapro AIR2 as your backup reg. In some ways that wasn't much different than the long hose config. Either way you wind up donating the reg in your mouth to your buddy.

It gets too time consuming, and trickier when you add into the mix having to figure out WHERE your buddy's octo IS, undo it, etc. Like a panic-stricken OOA diver is going to be thiking clearly "OK, I have to find my buddy's octo, undo it, clear it, etc." Yea, ok...

With the long hose config you don't have that problem - just grab the reg in MY mouth and you've got air NOW!

 

[Cave Diver]

Grajan once bubbled...

ON THE SURFACE

A major PTA. It is very easy to drop test your primary reg - yuk. This is going to take some getting used to. Keeping it clipped off is fine but dis-assembling the gear is trickier. Hanging it up to dry is a pain. This needs work. My reg appears to have survived the learning curve so far........

Here's a suggestion you might try. I keep my long hose coiled up like you would a rope. I make a loop out of it, then thread it back through itself several times. That keeps it from uncoiling and nailing the ground when you move your gear, and it's easy to undo and access once you are all geared up.

After I coil it, I usually clip it off to a shoulder D-ring, but even if I don't it stays in place pretty well.