regulator leash

[Wheatondiver]

I am a recreation diver and noticed some tech divers using a surgical tube leash to hold their regulator around their next. I believe it is their primary regulator and not their octo. I am curious. What is the purpose? Is this something might benefit a rec diver? Are the leashes easy to make? Are there any sold ready to go?

 

[David P]

It is the backup 2nd stage (try not to call it an octo...) not the primary. Yes it can benefit a rec diver! You don't have to buy the gadety fluorescent colored plastic doo-dads that are supposed to hold your backup(octo) somewhere in the magic triangle... its a simple piece of bungee (or surgical tubing though it doesn't last as long) zip tied by the mouthpiece. Your backup is protected under your chin from dragging in the sand or flailing somewhere behind you. You put the backup on a short hose ~22' and have your primary on the longer hose (40" normal octo hose is minimum) and donate primary in out of air scenario. HTH

 

[Ron Brandt]

40" is pretty short and uncompfortable. Do it right or not at all. 5 foot minimum for a single tank rig. Personally I use a true 7foot hose while a buddy of mine likes his 6ft on his single tank rig. We use bungee for the "necklace".

Yes, the new member has the makings of a dir diver...now if only I can convince him to buy the full wing and back plate system so he never has to look back again.They are really GREAT for recreational divers.


Ron

 

[Spratman]

Use bungee cord or surgical tubing. Don't bother with the Manta reg necklaces. I lost mine on the second dive. They don't stay around the mouthpiece.

 

[Luis H]

It is kind of interesting that over 35 years ago you could find many mouthpieces with built in rubber taps and snaps for an around the neck rubber leach. It worked the same as the modern bungee (it put the regulator in the same position), but it had the advantage that if you pulled hard the snap was supposed to let go so it wouldn’t strangle you.

Everyone that I knew that had one of those mouthpiece in the regulator would cut of the rubber tabs. Many didn’t considered it safe (or comfortable) to have something wrapped around your neck. It is interesting how attitudes and opinions change, but a lot of the equipment stays the same (just minor repackaging).

 

[bolantej]

you should cut the necklace so you can reach the mouthpiece with no hands.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Luis

So correct...

A reinventing of the wheel..

sdm

 

[TSandM]

Wheatondiver, you have good eyes.

The theory behind the regulator on a necklace is the philosophy of "donate the primary". This means that, in the event that you need to provide air to someone else, you give them the regulator YOU are breathing. You know it's working, and working fine, and you know what kind of gas is coming through it, because you were just breathing it. There's no risk that it's been dragged through sand or coral, or isn't working because nobody's checked it in a while. The out of air diver gets a working reg. And you? You gave yours up -- But you have a backup regulator just beneath your chin. No fumbling for it, no trying to get it out of a securing device. Just pop it in your mouth, and you're good to go.

Of course, if you're going to donate that primary regulator, it's nice to have a little longer hose on it than the 24 or so inches that is standard. (Unless you love staring your dive buddy in the eyes ) A 36 or 40 inch hose will work -- the 40" is nice because you can route it under your right arm and then up to your mouth (although that may require a swivel to sit comfortably). Then you don't have a huge loop of unnecessary hose floating around your head. The 40" hose is just about standard octo length, and allows you to air-share and still have a little freedom of movement.

Even better is a 5' hose, which routes under your right arm, across your chest, around the back of your neck from left to right, and then to your mouth. This is nice because it's very quick to donate -- grasp the hose next to the regulator, and duck your head, and slip the hose over your hood and present the regulator to your buddy. Now, you can do a direct ascent, if that's the best strategy, or you can swim to an upline or exit, if you're in a place where a direct ascent might be awkward (eg. far from an anchored boat, or in a shipping lane).

A lot of technical divers use a 7' hose to allow air-sharing through a place where you have to proceed single file. But that works better with a technical rig, with a canister light or something to catch the hose at your right hip.

But the "donate the primary" strategy is, at least to me, a very good one, and I can tell you from personal experience that I have been glad on more than one occasion that my backup regulator was sitting under my chin where I didn't have to do a "sweep" to find it.

 

[Jimmer]

2 weekends ago I had to share air at 120 feet with a panicky diver, and I can tell you that having your backup on the leash was the best idea I've adopted yet. Just gave him the one in my mouth, grabbed his BC shoulder strap, kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn't going to do something crazy, and I didn't even have to look for my backup. Just popped it in my mouth and got everything under control. In theory it's a smart idea, in practice it's a brilliant idea.

 

[almitywife]

nice TS! a simple and thorough post that i wish existed a year ago when i started getting curious!