beanojones
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OP you have skipped an option: Alternate inflator reg (Air 2), and underarm hose on the primary (Or a five foot hose on the primary)
I really tried to dive with the bungie necklace reg but as an instructor/guide it confuses too many people who might need help. Octopus holders always fail at the worst times, when conditions suck and someone needs to share. And what happens when you stop sharing at the safety stop and ascend with the low on air diver to the boat? You have to either take your eyes off the person in need of help to reattach your octo to your octopus holder, or risk it catching on something (Hang bar, Boat ladder, Tag line, another diver's hoses, etc.)
Rescuing people who have hung their console or octo in a crack, (or in between the boat and the ladder, or etc etc) is the reason the rental gear I provide is alternate inflator regs, and gauges tied down to the shoulder strap, routed over the shoulder. It's the diver who is not squared away who gets in trouble. Forcing someone (yourself included) to keep track of attaching things to themselves means that when need it they will not be able to find it. Because the people who get in trouble are the people task too task loaded to remember to square things away in the first place. Make it so your gear starts squared away.
It's nice to hope that perfect conditions will always exist and in the middle of massive surge you will be able to free both hands from whatever to reattach your octo to your octo holder, after you and the low-on air-diver swim back to the surge zone. But it is also just hoping things will work out instead of trying to make sure they do.
The DIR people have it right, with bolted down gauges and a backup reg that requires no hands to use, because out of air divers tend to hug you into immobility anyway. Someday we will all use their setup. Until then an Inflator reg and a long primary hose gets you closest.
(For people who might argue against Alternate inflator regs reliability, remember at least some rebreather guys use them for backup to rebreather failure. Don't get the inside of the any reg wet or it will not work well, alternate inflator regs or regular second stages. People tend to take the LP hose off their Air 2 when they wash it, and all kinds of crap gets in there. It's not a design flaw that people are rinsing the inside of their regs.)
I really tried to dive with the bungie necklace reg but as an instructor/guide it confuses too many people who might need help. Octopus holders always fail at the worst times, when conditions suck and someone needs to share. And what happens when you stop sharing at the safety stop and ascend with the low on air diver to the boat? You have to either take your eyes off the person in need of help to reattach your octo to your octopus holder, or risk it catching on something (Hang bar, Boat ladder, Tag line, another diver's hoses, etc.)
Rescuing people who have hung their console or octo in a crack, (or in between the boat and the ladder, or etc etc) is the reason the rental gear I provide is alternate inflator regs, and gauges tied down to the shoulder strap, routed over the shoulder. It's the diver who is not squared away who gets in trouble. Forcing someone (yourself included) to keep track of attaching things to themselves means that when need it they will not be able to find it. Because the people who get in trouble are the people task too task loaded to remember to square things away in the first place. Make it so your gear starts squared away.
It's nice to hope that perfect conditions will always exist and in the middle of massive surge you will be able to free both hands from whatever to reattach your octo to your octo holder, after you and the low-on air-diver swim back to the surge zone. But it is also just hoping things will work out instead of trying to make sure they do.
The DIR people have it right, with bolted down gauges and a backup reg that requires no hands to use, because out of air divers tend to hug you into immobility anyway. Someday we will all use their setup. Until then an Inflator reg and a long primary hose gets you closest.
(For people who might argue against Alternate inflator regs reliability, remember at least some rebreather guys use them for backup to rebreather failure. Don't get the inside of the any reg wet or it will not work well, alternate inflator regs or regular second stages. People tend to take the LP hose off their Air 2 when they wash it, and all kinds of crap gets in there. It's not a design flaw that people are rinsing the inside of their regs.)
