OMG whats up with the Flex hoses???
- Thread starter Max02
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Ignoring the Rubber vs Braided hose boring debate
I use braided hoses - Personal preference. I live and dive in the Middle East, so intense summer heat and high humidity. The perfect conditions to degrade braided hoses (Rubber hoses also suffer from the intense UV)
It takes literally 5 mins to remove the second stage and tap the hose over a white sheet of paper every so often, to see if any debris come out and to inspect the crimps etc.
I consider it basic preventative maintenance. The hoses that have degraded to the point of failure have been ignored for ages along with teh rest of the divers kit. Often because they're too lazy and cheap to get things regularly service and inspected and don't make basic pre-use checks of their own gear
I change my hoses every 2 years anyway
I use braided hoses - Personal preference. I live and dive in the Middle East, so intense summer heat and high humidity. The perfect conditions to degrade braided hoses (Rubber hoses also suffer from the intense UV)
It takes literally 5 mins to remove the second stage and tap the hose over a white sheet of paper every so often, to see if any debris come out and to inspect the crimps etc.
I consider it basic preventative maintenance. The hoses that have degraded to the point of failure have been ignored for ages along with teh rest of the divers kit. Often because they're too lazy and cheap to get things regularly service and inspected and don't make basic pre-use checks of their own gear
I change my hoses every 2 years anyway
I might be a DGX fanboy, but I found there flex hoses incredible so far. Compare them with Miflex, the surface is much smoother I guess due to them being double braided. Been using them for 2-3 years and still no broken little nylon sticking out but I will wait for another year or two and see again. Got one HP hose leaking on the metal-hose side after 2 years though so had to discard that one. other than that I do not have any problem, non of those scratches.
Mike Walker
Contributor
I've been fiddling with hoses lately and did buy one of the Miflex 'Tech' hoses as an experiment. Hated it. Seems the worst of both worlds - it only holds shape in a shape you don't want (i.e. that of the packaging it came in) and doesn't have any grip on the outside so it slides around everywhere. When in 'storage' between dives it just springs out everywhere to catch on things and get in the way.
(I'm fairly happy with the regular Miflex thus far, particularly the short ones.)
(I'm fairly happy with the regular Miflex thus far, particularly the short ones.)
Ayisha
Contributor
They usually are coiled loosely or not coiled at all. I was taught to coil them loosely when packed or to keep them uncoiled.
I was responding to divad's experiment. I could have coiled them tighter if I wanted to, but it's not necessary. Flex hoses, all things being equal, will take less space and will be lighter, as mentioned by several people.
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I've tried braided hoses in various applications/brands over the years (high-end name brands and generics), and keep going back to rubber. I've experienced a much higher failure rate overall in braided hoses vs rubber hoses. I also learned early on that I don't like them rubbing along the back of my neck, so I stopped buying them for second stage regs years ago. Just replaced a braided HP hose that failed at the 1st Stage fitting last night. I have a few of these left, both HP and LP reg/inflator hoses in my numerous reg sets, and will replace them with rubber hoses through attrition or at next service. Not saying they're dangerous or evil, and I've never had one fail during a dive (always when checking my gear before or between dives). They just don't work well for me, and the extra flexibility and weight advantage just isn't enough to keep buying them.
Call me thick-headed or snobbish but I think if we’re worrying about the weight of hoses, perhaps we should take up an activity that requires less muscular strength.
Also, I must have purchased the wrong MiFlex hoses because I found them to be stubborn and unruly on an S drill whereas the rubber ones deploy and return to regular swim configuration nicely.
Also, I must have purchased the wrong MiFlex hoses because I found them to be stubborn and unruly on an S drill whereas the rubber ones deploy and return to regular swim configuration nicely.
I think the weight issue is mainly regarding weight when traveling. Especially if flying on a small plane where max baggage weights are extremely limited.
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