Octo Routing Questions

[OE2X]

I was recently diving in NH and forgot to bring a din to yolk converter. So I had to rent a reg setup from the LDS.

The shop seemed to know what was going on, but what I found interesting was that they routed the Octo over the left shoulder. I checked all their rentals and they were all done the same way. When I got back to my regs, I changed out everything and just used their first stage. I did reconfigure the gear exactly as I found it when I returned it.

So what gives? Is this some new style that I'm not aware of.

 

[Scottri]

I've always routed the octo under my right arm. I've never set one up on the left side.

Scott

 

[mossym]

when i dove on maui with ed robinsons they had it done that way too on their rental gear..though it was a bit strange..only place i've seen it

 

[hdavid66]

I have all my regs setup with the octo on the left. I have found it the best way for three reasons.

1 - All your other hoses are away from the Primary Second Stage. Makes it easier to find the primary reg.

2 - Allows you to keep your octo hose tight to your body. By running the hose from the left and clipping it on the right side of the BC. (Its hard to do this in reverse because of the BC power inflator)

3 - Makes sharing air w/ a dive buddy easier (the primary reason to have an octo to begin with) as the octo mouth piece faces "out". And it in a more natural poition for a buddy to breath from. (This is somewhat difficult to describe in words, when you see it, it makes more sence.)

 

[TCB]

Having the octo run around the left side and clipped to the right side of the BC is the way my OW instructor taught us. Reason #3 cited by hdavid66 was the explanation we were given, and it certainly makes sense. When I set up my own gear, I decided to have the octo run off the right side for a few different reasons. First, I just didn't like having the hose run across my chest. The second reason is that we often hear that the first sign of an OOA diver is when they rip the primary reg from your mouth. With the octo on the right, its positioned properly for ME to use it. Donating the octo to your buddy when its run off the right side does mean that it will have to be twisted around a bit, but it works without any problems.

 

[Rick Inman]

When I got back to my regs, I changed out everything and just used their first stage.

Hee hee... It'll be the last time you rent from them if they read this thread.

 

[Divin-D]

Having the octo run around the left side and clipped to the right side of the BC is the way my OW instructor taught us.

My OW instructor taught me the same way. Every other diver I've known thinks it's crazy to have it on the left. When I bought my gear I decided to have it on the right so that my gear would conform to the same configuration as my dive buddy.

 

[OE2X]

I have all my regs setup with the octo on the left. I have found it the best way for three reasons.

1 - All your other hoses are away from the Primary Second Stage. Makes it easier to find the primary reg.

2 - Allows you to keep your octo hose tight to your body. By running the hose from the left and clipping it on the right side of the BC. (Its hard to do this in reverse because of the BC power inflator)

3 - Makes sharing air w/ a dive buddy easier (the primary reason to have an octo to begin with) as the octo mouth piece faces "out". And it in a more natural poition for a buddy to breath from. (This is somewhat difficult to describe in words, when you see it, it makes more sence.)

Thanks. You've made sense out something that I couldn't figure out. Personally I'll stick with the 7' primary and bungied secondary.
The problem I see with this system though is where the diver is clipping off their guage or spg to their left shoulder d-ring. If you clip the guage console to a shoulder d-ring, it will likely be routed over the octo hose since generally we look at pressure and depth more frequently than deploy an octo during a dive. To deploy, you have to unclip your console. If you are using AI or letting your console swim behind you then this becomes mute.

While this may be good for a recreational environment, if you start slinging a bottle(s) this system will quickly become a dangerous cluster.

Call me old school, but I'm of the opinion that I want my lifesupport hoses routed in such a way that nothing can become entangled with their deployment. While I see the advantage of having the mouthpiece in the correct direction, this doesn't outway the other factors.

 

[mossym]

Call me old school, but I'm of the opinion that I want my lifesupport hoses routed in such a way that nothing can become entangled with their deployment. While I see the advantage of having the mouthpiece in the correct direction, this doesn't outway the other factors.

you're old school...

just kidding

i get the arguements for the left side, but you're right, you have too many hoses on the other side already...i can imagine the scenario...sorry i know you're out of air, and if i could just get my octo free i'd let you have it...sorry, it'll just be a minute...nearly there...hang on...