Primary or Octo on the long hose

[Grit]

I'm just getting back to diving after several years of being inactive and have noticed a number of divers using their first stage on their long hose as their primary.

Is this just a coincidence, or has there been a conceptual change regarding safety instruction since I 've been away?

Thanks

 

[Wendy]

I have my primary on my long hose, but I don't have an octo. I donate my primary to an OOA diver and then I switch to my back-up reg which is on a bungee necklace under my chin.

Since you said you have been inactive, I have a question...When you refer to a long hose are you referring to a 5' or 7' hose, or just the hose that is longer than the other one that the 'octo' is on?

 

[Grit]

Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the reply. I don't know the actual lengths of my hoses, so just the hose the octo is on.

Thanks

 

[jonnythan]

Well, agencies still teach primary on a regular hose and an octo on a slightly longer 39 inch hose.

A large number of people, including me, are doing something completely different though.

I have my primary on a 5 foot hose, which goes under my arm, around my neck, and to my mouth. My backup is on a 29 inch hose and it sits on a bungee around my neck.

The idea is that when your buddy has an OOA emergency, they immediately get the regulator you're already breathing from. You both know it works and it has air, since someone was just breathing from it. The stressed diver will probably be pulling the doner's primary anyway, so you might as well train for it that way The donor then grabs the backup regulator, which is conveniently and safely located about two inches from his chin, instead of hanging down off your BC where it could be filling with muck. You also get the advantage of having the stressed diver on a long, much more comfortable hose that allows him much more flexibility.

This hose config also eliminates the primary hose from sticking way out like a loop as it is on most OW rigs.

I also find that the long hose gives my head more flexibility. On the "regular" hose configs, the reg gets pushed out of my mouth when I turn my head to the right, and can get pulled out when i turn it far to the left.

AFAIK, the long hose config comes from DIR. You can find more info about DIR at

http://www.dirquest.com/about_dir.shtml
http://www.gue.com/equipment/equip-anatomy.shtml

 

[Uncle Pug]

The long hosed primary came from cave diving and is becoming more popular in recreational diving because of the information exchange made possible by the internet.

While certainly not mainstream yet there are good reasons for it.

Whether the long hose is the 7' of the cavers or the 5~6' of the OW divers or the 40" it is this working regulator that is passed off in the event of an OOA air sharing scenario.

The donating diver then switches to his backup second stage which is located under his/her chin on a bungee necklace. This backup is situtated so that it can actually be deployed hands free if necessary.

There are many good reasons for this arraingement though there is also a lot of debate. One often overlooked advantage is that the long hose... wrapped as it is across the divers chest and around the back of the neck is laying flat against the body and produces minimal drag and posses far less chance of being snagged.