Out of gas - what happens next?

[Kevo88]

Would you route the 40" hose under the arm and behind the neck the same way you'd route a 5' or 7'? I'm wondering if that would be a little tight on me.

 

[stuartv]

I would not bother with a swivel if you are using a 5ft hose. It's really not necessary. For the 40" hose I suspect it's an improvement over the 90 degree elbow.

I use my right hand (mostly thumb and 5th finger) to grasp the alternate, bring it up to my mouth, and use the other fingers to get a hold of the longhose, and kind of switch them out in one movement. This is so you don't end up blinding yourself or the other diver with the can light in your left hand. It took a half hour or so of practice, but it's not difficult.

I like that one-handed switch idea. I will practice that.

As for the swivel, I really like it even on my 7' hose. With no swivel, the hose sticks straight out to the side of the reg before it bends around my head. With the swivel, the hose comes straight back past my ear. The net difference is about an extra 6" of slack ( rough guess) in the hose. My chest is "big" (fat?) enough that without that extra slack the 7' hose is not quite long enough for me. I don't have a can light, so I tuck the hose in behind my waist belt. Without the swivel, the hose will tuck into my belt but not very deeply and it often ends up popping out and I have to re-tuck it several times during the dive. With the swivel, the hose is long enough that it usually stays put in my belt.

 

[stuartv]

Would you route the 40" hose under the arm and behind the neck the same way you'd route a 5' or 7'? I'm wondering if that would be a little tight on me.

No way. 40" is just under the arm and straight to the mouth.

That's why a 5' hose has some appeal to me. It would go across the chest and around the neck (aka Hog loop).

The problem I have with my 40" hose for primary is that if I spit my reg out it drops all the way to the end of the hose. If I have just climbed back onto a boat and I'm holding onto railings with both hands, that could mean my reg bouncing off benches or whatever. If I'm in the water, on the surface, trying to talk to someone, I have to hold the reg in my hand.

With a Hog loop (5' or 7'), I can spit out my reg and it will just hang right there on my chest where it's easy to find and no risk of bouncing off stuff.

 

[RainPilot]

You know, just when I thought I was set to not spend any money on scuba gear next week, you guys start talking about all this long hose stuff. Now I'm going to be stuck buying and fiddling with a bunch of rubber. I hope you're all happy about this.

You know you were going to be doing that anyway.

At least now it's Scuba stuff.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I use my right hand (mostly thumb and 5th finger) to grasp the alternate, bring it up to my mouth, and use the other fingers to get a hold of the longhose, and kind of switch them out in one movement. This is so you don't end up blinding yourself or the other diver with the can light in your left hand. It took a half hour or so of practice, but it's not difficult.

The thing I most had to work on was making it smooth and automatic to use my left hand to put the alternate in my mouth at the same time I was ducking my head and extending my right arm with the primary in my right hand. A little pool practice and you'll have it.

I like that one-handed switch idea. I will practice that.

One-Handed Deployment S-Drill:

 

[Kevo88]

No way. 40" is just under the arm and straight to the mouth.

That's why a 5' hose has some appeal to me. It would go across the chest and around the neck (aka Hog loop).

The problem I have with my 40" hose for primary is that if I spit my reg out it drops all the way to the end of the hose. If I have just climbed back onto a boat and I'm holding onto railings with both hands, that could mean my reg bouncing off benches or whatever. If I'm in the water, on the surface, trying to talk to someone, I have to hold the reg in my hand.

With a Hog loop (5' or 7'), I can spit out my reg and it will just hang right there on my chest where it's easy to find and no risk of bouncing off stuff.

Ok that makes sense. I'll probably keep a snap swivel on there so I can clip off the primary when it's not in use.

 

[Kevo88]

You know you were going to be doing that anyway.

At least now it's Scuba stuff.

Busted

 

[uncfnp]

No way. 40" is just under the arm and straight to the mouth.

That's why a 5' hose has some appeal to me. It would go across the chest and around the neck (aka Hog loop).

The problem I have with my 40" hose for primary is that if I spit my reg out it drops all the way to the end of the hose. If I have just climbed back onto a boat and I'm holding onto railings with both hands, that could mean my reg bouncing off benches or whatever. If I'm in the water, on the surface, trying to talk to someone, I have to hold the reg in my hand.

With a Hog loop (5' or 7'), I can spit out my reg and it will just hang right there on my chest where it's easy to find and no risk of bouncing off stuff.

Good point. I have been know to get distracted from ladder to seat and lose track of it. Depending on the circumstances I keep it in my mouth until ready to clip off. If needed you can clip and temporarily switch to the bungee backup. I've done that too.

 

[stuartv]

One-Handed Deployment S-Drill:

Thanks.

Totally OT: Why don't people run the can light cord across the chest and maybe even under the left shoulder strap or through some kind of keeper, so that it is never tangled with the long hose?? Or use the light on the right hand? Or even up and across behind the neck to run down the left arm? I do not understand adopting a system where you KNOW you will end up with tangled hoses during an emergency.

 

[stuartv]

Ok that makes sense. I'll probably keep a snap swivel on there so I can clip off the primary when it's not in use.

Definitely! It's only an issue when both hands are busy - like holding onto railings on a pitching boat.