Regulator Necklace on Primary

[ATJ]

I use a necklace bungee on my primary second stage and would donate my secondary.

When I dive with two tanks, I set them up independently and have two sets of regs. The regs on the second tank only have one second stage but I have this on a necklace bungee also. The necklace is a little longer so it hangs a little lower when not in use. It takes a bit of getting used to, especially when switching regs but I have it down pat now.

 

[dmcutter]

I have a 30" Miflex on my primary and a 40ish yellow Miflex on my octo, which is on a bungee necklace. Both have the pivot connections.

 

[FinnMom]

I think it will one day be the standard setup, or one of the most common setups.

Our club discussed this years ago before our yearly OW course because instructors and assistants should use configurations like those of the OW students and most of us had bungeed backups even on our single-tank regs. The clincher for us was how students seemed to be a little less stressed/more confident knowing their backup reg was so easy to find. A bit less stress is a great thing in a training situation. We decided to solve the dissimilar rigs problem by adding bungees to the backup regs on all the student gear sets. I’m really glad we were allowed the freedom to do do this. Our students ever since have learned this configuration & I think it’s a distinct improvement.

 

[AfterDark]

I use a necklace bungee on my primary second stage and would donate my secondary.

When I dive with two tanks, I set them up independently and have two sets of regs. The regs on the second tank only have one second stage but I have this on a necklace bungee also. The necklace is a little longer so it hangs a little lower when not in use. It takes a bit of getting used to, especially when switching regs but I have it down pat now.

Sounds a lot like my setup, except I use a clip on the secondary reg when using ID's. I found both necklaced took too much getting use to but, you evidently have conquered that. I also remove the octo reg on my primary when using the doubles as I'm usually solo diving with the ID's. The secondary reg hose is long enough for donating in OW use so I really don't need the 3rd second stage. Bit of bother but one gets used to the switching over the years,decades.

 

[Jcp2]

The bungee necklace is great except that it can tangle with a snorkel while donning or doffing gear/mask.

 

[MikadoWu]

The bungee necklace is great except that it can tangle with a snorkel while donning or doffing gear/mask.

What's a snorkel? Oh is that the rolled up piece of plastic that sits on my pocket? I think the last time I used was was maybe the 90's.

 

[Divrtim]

I think it will one day be the standard setup, or one of the most common setups.

Our club discussed this years ago before our yearly OW course because instructors and assistants should use configurations like those of the OW students and most of us had bungeed backups even on our single-tank regs. The clincher for us was how students seemed to be a little less stressed/more confident knowing their backup reg was so easy to find. A bit less stress is a great thing in a training situation. We decided to solve the dissimilar rigs problem by adding bungees to the backup regs on all the student gear sets. I’m really glad we were allowed the freedom to do do this. Our students ever since have learned this configuration & I think it’s a distinct improvement.

Great idea and solid training. Congrats.

 

[Jcp2]

What's a snorkel? Oh is that the rolled up piece of plastic that sits on my pocket? I think the last time I used was was maybe the 90's.

I was just pointing out that most regular OW training requires a real snorkel which then makes bungee necklace another thing for a new diver to manage.

 

[AfterDark]

The bungee necklace is great except that it can tangle with a snorkel while donning or doffing gear/mask.

I would disagree. I have a snorkel on my mask, it lives there, actually use velcro to keep it there. I don my necklace long before my mask and using a flex snorkel with no gadgets on the ends it just hangs near my collar bone out of the way until I use it.

 

[SlugLife]

(I haven't read the replied yet, just responding to the original)

There are a number of different configurations for hose-routing, and ways of securing your regulators.

The absolute FIRST thing you must determine is primary or secondary donate.

• With primary donate, you always know where the regulator is, and can assist the diver in an emergency faster. I believe this is the main reason primary-donate is taught.
• With secondary donate, your can secure your primary in ways it's nearly impossible to lose. You can also stow your excess hose using bungee or other means. If the reg is kicked out of your mouth, it's just right under your chin.

Once you determine primary or secondary donate, your donate-regulator ideally is...

• ...breakaway. When your buddy is OOA, there's no time to waste. Your regulator should come free with a tug. Your buddy may even yank the regulator, causing additional trouble, if it's not breakaway. There are a number of ways of doing this, from breakaway bolt-snaps, to commercial or DIY necklaces.
• ...consistently findable. For your own benefit, both of your regulators should be retained in a way you always know where both are.
• ...brightly colored. Your buddy will more likely (but not always) reach for whichever one is brightly colored. I wrap my donate-hose in a bright neon color.
• ...long enough. That is long enough for your buddy to use, while you use your other regulator, and swim to the surface.
• ..discussed with your dive-buddy. Make sure your dive-buddy knows which regulator is your donate-regulator before a dive.

As far as retainer options, there are many out there. Hose clips, magnets, necklaces, loops which go over the mouthpiece and more. Just search a site like ebay for "scuba regulator retainer." There are also DIY options as well, such as a breakaway made using a bolt-snap, zip-tie, and bolt-snap. A non-breakaway necklace option is just a piece of bungee under the zip-tie, with knots on both sides.

Personally, my primary is a non-breakaway bungee cord, which goes under the mouthpiece zip-tie. My secondary hose is covered in bright-neon-green wire-protector material. My secondary is also clipped to my right chest d-ring, using a breakaway bolt snap.

When I do side-mount, the setup is the same, though I am switching regulators (because I'm switching left/right tanks), technically it's not primary or secondary, but one regulator is NOT breakaway, and the other has a breakaway bolt-snap with a long-neon-hose, and always clipped to the right-chest-d-ring when not in use.