Reg setup and gear progression

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Remember that your integrated air2 is going to be on a very, very short hose. You won't be able to look to your right very well. Very awkward if you're in an air share situ, in my opinion.
 
I use the Airsource 3 on my Rogue BCD. I've logged 95% of my 00s of dives exclusively with the same person, and she knows my set up. She has logged 00s more dives than I have, and her reg setup is different than mine and I know it well also. We're both PADI Rescue certified, and we've had to use that training. We've been with each other at depths not seen on modern PADI tables, we've been together when a hose blew (hers) and *both* our computers failed. We have full - and earned - mutual trust underwater.

If I had a new dive buddy besides her assigned to me on a trip for any reason I would walk into the dive shop and rent a standard reg setup with an bright yellow octo or I would not dive w my "new buddy".

Diving w an Airsource type inflator is something that your buddy gets a vote (veto) on because their life depends on your sh!t being squared away, and vice versa. I'm not going to have my weird setup cost a stranger their life, or have them panic because of my setup and cost me mine.
Why would your setup cause any issue. Before you drop make sure you cover gear with your buddy. Go over hand signals, the dive plan and emergency air situations (take my primary out of my mouth and I'll be fine). The buddy can thumb a dive at any time, why would you thumb a dive because you can't effectively brief your own setup? I dive this weekend with 2 different buddies. 1 I dive with last month and the other is a new buddy to me. It's an easy part of the pre-dive check. "I use primary donate. If you need my air take the one I'm breathing on, I'll grab my air2 and turn the charged pony on. We're going up at that time to our stop(s) and heading to shore or the boat." If they can't comprehend how to use that setup for a 1 in 1000 scenario after a clear briefing then they probably shouldn't be diving.
 
Remember that your integrated air2 is going to be on a very, very short hose. You won't be able to look to your right very well. Very awkward if you're in an air share situ, in my opinion.
Get a longer corrugated hose and replace your pull dump line (if you have one) with one to match your now longer inflation hose.
 
Here's how I usually dive, for better or for worse. It's a set up I like and works for me.

My primary regulator is set up on a ~50" hose. with a 360 swivel on it. It goes under my right arm so the hose isn't out in the wild. My intent, that I communicate to anyone I buddy with, is that it is what will get donated should the need arise.

I use an atomic ss1 as my inflator, without the pull dump.

I carry a 13-17 cu ft pony clipped off with a bungee, just like I'm side mounting it.

This gives me the flexibility to primary donate in an emergency with both the ss1 and the pony available for me. If need be, I can easily unclip and hand off the pony.
 
40" red primary with a 110° swivel, air 2 with pull dump, back mounted upside down pony with 110° swivel reg clipped to right chest charged and off. I tell them grab the one on my mouth and let's get it figured out.
 

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I want to run a primary donate with safe secondary / integrated inflator system
OK
1. Is there any reason not to go with the octo on the longer hose as my primary reg?
Forget the term "octo". You have two regs that have to be equally good.
Nobody really wants the inferior option in a case of emergency.

You will donate your primary reg (as it is provably working) and you will want that to have the longer hose: It is good to keep some distance to a near paniced diver.
2. If I go to a redundant air source, would I hook the safe secondary to that and use it to fill my BCD? I realize that is using bailout air for buoyancy, but so long as it gets filled before each dive, it doesn't seem like the volume involved would significantly deplete the tank.
You are neutrally buoyant while you dive. Commencing ascent is only a matter of a few kicks. No BCD is needed, ever. Once you swim towards the surface, air in your BCD and/or drysuit will expand and it will add to your buoyancy.
 
Get a longer corrugated hose and replace your pull dump line (if you have one) with one to match your now longer inflation hose.
Then what's the point of the inflator octo? Now you've got two hoses floppin' around.

I tried one. I got a longer corrugated hose. It flopped.
 
Then what's the point of the inflator octo? Now you've got two hoses floppin' around.

I tried one. I got a longer corrugated hose. It flopped.
I'll measure mine when I get home. Add 2 inches and it makes a world of difference compared to stock length. The inflator hose is hanging out regardless unless you've bungeed it to your rig.

There is no octo hose since you only have 1 lp going to your primary, 1 lp going to air2, maybe 1 lp for dry suit and possibly 1 hp going to your console DC. What's flopping around?
 
The OP is not qualified to dive solo on either experience or certifcation. There are at least two solo certs, one from PADI called the Independent Diver and a true solo course from SDI which provides an Advanced Diver Solo certification (which I have).

Per the SDI Solo manual there are various solo capable configurations discussed and among them (and there are others):

1. Single tank with aux bottle (pony) slung or back mounted
2. Independent doubles
3. Isolation manifolded dobles

The solo diver will generally not be using a primary donate or octopus donate rigged regulator becuase the solo diver is, uh, solo! This means the solo diver does not have a buddy to be responsible for or to donate to but only himself/herself to be responsible for. I am not going to address CF unorganized "buddy" diving as that is neither solo or buddy diving and instead a recipe for disaster.

In the case of a single tank solo rig with auxillary bottle the main cylinder will have a single first stage and a single second stage and that cylinder will run the BC. The auxillary (pony) bottle will also have a complete regulator with first and second stage (and usually an SPG). The solo diver will not have an octopus or secondary and will not need a long hose as he/she will not be donating, therefore a standard over the shoulder hose of 24 to 28 inches or under the arm of 36 to 40 inches suffices (for a more streamlined rig). If you do want to have a longer hose it would be stowed on the pony bottle reg (should some stranger from a Marvel multi-verse swim by OOA). An Air II or similar is not redundancy and is not recommended as it is a failure point and not needed and therefore a complication as would be an octopus or secondary on the primary cylinder first stage. An octopus second or secondary second stage or Air II is not redundancy, in this case the auxiliary bottle represents the solo divers redundancy. Again, an octopus or secondary is redundancy for a buddy when buddy diving, the solo diver does not have a buddy and does not need that additional failure points.

Is it a great sin for the solo diver to have an octopus or secondary second stage? Well, no, but it is a piece of equipment that serves no purpose and as a Minimalist diver it does not come along with me. But, not everybody has multiple rigs and is doing good to have one and in such case, yes, sure, bring it along, if you must. It would get tiring removing and installing and that could cause more problems than just leaving the octopus/secondary be.

James
 
In the end I decided to go full redundant with a 40AL pony and two regs. I'm going to run the same rig whether solo or partnered and so will go with a 5' hose on my primary second stage.
 

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