Long Hose on Primary or Octo?
- Thread starter Dr. Jay
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I have to disagree with you somewhat here Nick. IMHO, in certain situations the long hose is a great benefit in the open water enviornment. After diving here in South Florida and experiencing the strong currents that are common here I switched to breathing the long hose instead of using a standard setup. My thinking on this was that if I had to do OOA ascent from, lets say, 80 feet in a 2 knot current all the way up the anchor line, and make a safty stop at 15 ft, it sure would be alot easyer to do if I had a 7 ft hose on my primary and gave it to the OOA diver. There would be far less chance of pulling the regulator out of their mouth and causing them to panic as well as being alot easyer for both of us to make the ascent side by side instead of face to face as you would have to do on a standard length hose.
Not every location has such strong currents but here in Florida it's not uncommon to be hanging horizontaly on the line doing a safty/deco stop and have your bubbles pass your feet before they even start to rise.
Just my 2 cents on the subject.
Scott
I breathe the long hose as my primary. In an OOA situation, I would donate my primary reg on the long hose and switch the the backup necklaced around my neck.
Initially, this setup felt a bit akward (the necklace), but after a couple of dives with it, I wouldnt want it setup any other way.
If you give this method a try, keep in mind it may take some experimenting with the necklace before it feels 'right', but once you get it how you like it it becomes an almost transparent part of your gear until needed.
I also use this same setup no matter what type of diving I am doing. That way there is minimal changes to my gear and you gain an intimate familiarity with the postition of ALL of your equipment ALL of the time.
Initially, this setup felt a bit akward (the necklace), but after a couple of dives with it, I wouldnt want it setup any other way.
If you give this method a try, keep in mind it may take some experimenting with the necklace before it feels 'right', but once you get it how you like it it becomes an almost transparent part of your gear until needed.
I also use this same setup no matter what type of diving I am doing. That way there is minimal changes to my gear and you gain an intimate familiarity with the postition of ALL of your equipment ALL of the time.
OP
Dr. Jay
Contributor
I've been thinking of going the necklace route. I guess it doesn't really get in the way if you hang it close. Almost seems like it would swing in your face in the swimming position, but I'm probably wrong about that.
Plus it's a good way of always knowing where your octo is.
Thanks again to all for the helpful info.
:yeah:
nickjb
Contributor
Actually I agree. The long hose is definitely useful in open water too. I was only trying to make the point that it isn't essential.
I use my long hose set-up on all dives.
During Wreckmania as we did our flag imitations on the down line during our deep stops, one of the participants was way low on gas. Not wanting them to do the final approach with zilch for gas, I handed them my long hose as we inched our way up. It worked great and I do love the ability to spread out if needed.
I do almost all my open water dives with the long primary, bungeed secondary set-up. It has worked well in every situation. While not all of the reasons I have ever heard for using it hold water, I am satisfied with the results and the freedom. I do believe in personal contact when the other diver has gone OOA. It has a calming effect that can not be dismissed. Luckily that has never happened with me, mostly 'cause I check my buddy's gas too!!!
I do almost all my open water dives with the long primary, bungeed secondary set-up. It has worked well in every situation. While not all of the reasons I have ever heard for using it hold water, I am satisfied with the results and the freedom. I do believe in personal contact when the other diver has gone OOA. It has a calming effect that can not be dismissed. Luckily that has never happened with me, mostly 'cause I check my buddy's gas too!!!
I pretty much had the same concerns. A little trial and error with the necklace length and materials soon resulted in a very comfortable fit. I can *almost* duck my head while swimming and take a breath from it without ever touching it with my hands. IMO it is worth experimenting with, after all, it DOES give you an excuse to do a few dives, strictly for training of course
No worries Nick, I too use the long hose on all dives.
I first learned of this configuration from a couple of cave divers that I met and although I don't cave dive I thought it was a great idea for open water diving, as well as some of the other DIR ideas, and changed my configuration soon after. I've been diving with this configuration for nearly 5 years now and if you ask me it's the best way to spread the news about the advantages of some of the DIR ways of thinking because so many people ask me why the H**L I have such a long hose on my primary regulator. All I have to do is unwrap it from around my neck and hand it to them as if they were out of air and they seem to get the idea.
Scott
I first learned of this configuration from a couple of cave divers that I met and although I don't cave dive I thought it was a great idea for open water diving, as well as some of the other DIR ideas, and changed my configuration soon after. I've been diving with this configuration for nearly 5 years now and if you ask me it's the best way to spread the news about the advantages of some of the DIR ways of thinking because so many people ask me why the H**L I have such a long hose on my primary regulator. All I have to do is unwrap it from around my neck and hand it to them as if they were out of air and they seem to get the idea.
Scott
long hose is my primary but ...
do remember to brief your dive buddy if he/she is not familiar with the set-up (or do it anyways even if they say they know). and practice sharing air with the long hose, preferably off the bottom.
this past saturday i donated air to an OW student diver
[edited - rest of story moved to create a new thread]
anyways, back to the orig point - brief your buddy, and practice donating air.
do remember to brief your dive buddy if he/she is not familiar with the set-up (or do it anyways even if they say they know). and practice sharing air with the long hose, preferably off the bottom.
this past saturday i donated air to an OW student diver
[edited - rest of story moved to create a new thread]
anyways, back to the orig point - brief your buddy, and practice donating air.
DocRCH
Guest
If an OOA diver comes up to you, he (or she) may not adequately signal and just rip the reg out of your mouth. If this were the short hose, you may be face-to-face. It would be best if it were the 7' hose. As far as regs go, I would recommed that both the primary and secondary be balanced 1st and 2nd stages. They don't have to be identical, but of high quality and performance. My 2cents.
Robert:doctor:
Robert:doctor:
Similar threads
