Longhose routing and handling (pre-dive)

[elgoog]

Hi all -

My wife and I spent the better part of a week diving in Baja and I ran into an issue with my longhose rig. This was the first time I've dove with a longhose in warm water, wearing only a LavaCore (usually, we dive in drysuits with thick undies).

On the first dive, I routed it normally, not realizing how much slack I had due to the much thinner suit, and backrolled off the boat. After the roll in the water, I realized the hose had come completely off from around my neck and I now had a 5ft long loop in front of me (reg stayed in my mouth). It was pretty easy to put back into place but was a little unexpected that it happened. This happened on a couple of other dives where we were backrolling before I started using my left hand to just hold the hose close to my body. This didn't happen when we did a giant stride.
My usual MO for routing at home is to pull the longhose under my canister reasonably snug and then loop it around my neck - due to the thickness of the drysuit+undies, the length just happens to be perfectly right this way. While doing this with a LavaCore layer I had way too much slack in front of me and If I kept a comfortable amount of hose in front of me, there was a fairly large loop behind me. What I ended up doing was pulling it snug behind me and also looping it under my knife sheath before going over my left shoulder - this worked pretty well. I tried primary donation a couple of times and the extra looping didn't seem to cause any issues.

So, here's the questions I have based on the above.
1. For thin suits, how do you manage a 7ft hose? Do you see slack the way I have described? I'm 5'11", 170lb.
2. Pre-dive, do you properly adjust the longhose while on land/boat or just put it in approximately? I just kinda put it in place without adjusting the correct amount of slack and then "finalize" overall routing at the beginning of the dive when I first manage to get in decent trim (usually at around 10-15ft or so).

Thanks in advance,
elgoog

 

[kathydee]

Since I'm just 5'4", a 7 ft hose does have some slack.

Not to worry, if the light can is buckled somewhat snugly against the backplate (not so tightly it's hard to reach the on/off switch), it will hold the hose in place.

Just gently pull the extra hose back behind the light and then stow the cord under your can. There is a bit extra hose between the light can and your 1st stage reg so that your primary reg comfortable fits comfortably in your mouth without a lot of extra hose in front of the can (even with neck rotation to see right and left).

I automatically adjust my hose length before ever entering the water whenever I re-stow my hose (after the pre-dive long hose check).

Or you can just tuck the extra under your knife on the waist belt after stowing under the light can.

Hope this helps

Have fun!!

 

[Centrals]

I tug the excess length under the waist harness.

 

[Kevrumbo]

For BP/W, same solution of routing & tucking under canister light and knife sheath; I'm only 5'7" 160lbs and can properly fix the 7' long hose in place pre-dive before splashing in. The only "finalizing" placement I do in the water is after checking long hose deployment if I have stage/deco bottles attached.

An alternative method I use with Sidemount (UTD Z-System) is to initially route 7' long hose length around neck, then loop excess slack length & place it between my back & Z-harness/Wing.

 

[KDAD]

I don't dive a canister so I tuck it into my waist strap. I snug it up before I splash and then readjust it after splashing. I also check the it is snug periodically throughout the dive. It runs tight down my back loops under the waist strap and then across my chest and around my neck. I leave enough slack at the secondary so it is not pulling when I turn my head but all of the slack is taken up in the waist loop. This way works regardless of what suit I am wearing.

 

[PaloPinto]

I tug the excess length under the waist harness.

this is what I do too, when you need to donate an extra tug and thats all that is required!

 

[elgoog]

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

There is a bit extra hose between the light can and your 1st stage reg so that your primary reg comfortable fits comfortably in your mouth without a lot of extra hose in front of the can (even with neck rotation to see right and left).

This was exactly the part of the hose I thought would be bowing and sticking out way too much (after adjusting for comfort and range of motion for my primary 2nd stage). Maybe this is not as bad as I think it is - I'll ask my wife to take a look at this specifically this weekend.

I tug the excess length under the waist harness.

I have not tried this yet but saw it in an older 5thDX video. I will on the next dive - my concern is that it might not be as comfortable in a bulky drysuit as it would be in a wetsuit.

For BP/W, same solution of routing & tucking under canister light and knife sheath

Or you can just tuck the extra under your knife on the waist belt after stowing under the light can.

Cool, I think I will stick with this for future dives in thin suits.

 

[DevonDiver]

I route under canister or belt sheathed knife. Otherwise, stuff a loop under your waist belt.

 

[Searcaigh]

+1 for putting the loop in through the waist belt

 

[Ouvea]

elgoog:

Route it under your waist strap. I usually shift it backwards toward the plate, right where the canister would sit. It is not uncomfortable at at all. This is how I had my hose routed, when I passed Fundamentals. Surprised that your instructor did not cover this (BTW, we have the same instructor).

O.