Should a non-DIR diver use a long hose?

[Zero]

Greetings,

Finally I was able to scrape together enough gear to purchase a BP/W and decent set of regs. During that time I became more and more convinced of the virtures of donating an OOA diver a working reg on a long hose from my mouth. My backup is bungied to my neck. After spending the weekend in the water finishing up a rescue diver course, I noticed that a 5' hose may be too small for my 6'1" frame. Another thing became clear, you should be able to quickly detach your octo from the bungie if you're required to buddy breathe with it. This was became clearly apparent after donating my primary to an OOA diver who had to buddy breathe with another diver, then I had to buddy breathe with two other divers with my bugied reg. Having the extra distance with the long hose may it easier for our group of three to share a reg.

Depending on your size, I would recommend a 7' hose. I don't owe a canister light, but it does lay uder your wing and arm quite nicely.

Have fun experimenting with various hose lengths.

 

[TSandM]

One thing I've learned in the last week . . . hoses don't cost much, and you can switch them yourself. So it appears to be quite possible to use different setups for different purposes, as long as you are familiar with each of them and facile with their use.

For me, the necklaced secondary and donating the primary will be a constant, because it makes sense to me and it's so easy to manage. The actual length of the hose may vary.

 

[rigdiver]

I really like the concept of the long hose. I'm not a DIR trained diver nor am I a technical diver by any stretch. Heck, Nitrox is about as technical as it gets for me. So my question is this: Is it OK for me to switch to a long hose or is it considered a faux pas by the DIR commuity for a rec diver to do so?

To make things really weird, to say the least, I also have an Air 2 and I'm happy with it. I don't intend to change back to a regular octopus unless I get involved with Tech diving.

Obviously nobody is going to stop me from going to a long hose. My question is specifically, would it be appropriate--socially speaking. Or will I get laughed overboard by the techies?

Yes...I have hose envy
I'm a woman, what else is knew

Do it. It will work just fine. I personally know a very good/well experienced DM that uses a 7' hose with the AIRII on the BC inflator. It works great. He can hand off the 7' hose to anybody that needs it and go straight to the AIR II. He tucks the long hose under the waist belt on the plate. You do not have to have a cannister light for stowing the long hose.
Cheers;
Bill

 

[yak]

I've enjoyed reading this thread, as well as the linked threads throughout the discussion.

I have to ask, why is there not a 6 foot option? Everyone seems to be using either a 5 or a 7.

 

[radinator]

Some people do use 6'.

 

[yak]

Some people do use 6'.

I was a bit confused, as one of the linked thread had a DIR webstore that only offered 5' or 7' .

 

[radinator]

Well, that means that one place only sells 5' and 7'. Other places sell 6'. While the 6' is probably rarer than the 5 (no can light) or 7 (with can light), it is not unheard of.

I'm guesing that if 5' is too short for someone, they just go to the 7'. Likewise the other way around. Going to 6' from either end doesn't gain you a lot, and is only ideal for someone if they were really close with one of the others.

That is probably also why you don't hear about 5'2" hoses, and 5'6", and the like.

I started with 5' but it was too short. I briefly considered the 6' before just going to the 7''. The 6' probably would have worked, but since I was planning to get a can light anyway, I just went to the 7 to accomodate it.

 

[markfm]

I went 5', hooked to a normal octo.
(I'm Regulator Man, now -- Sherwood Shadow+, Maximus primary, Minimus on 5', and an Aeris on pony. The 5'/Minimus is for working with people, Minimus mounted "backwards", the LP connection on the oppposite side of the octo from normal, to make an easier handoff)

 

[Soggy]

I use a 6' hose on my OW rig. It routes a bit better for me, as I'm pretty thin. When using my doubles, I obviously use a 7ft hose and have to tuck it a bit or route it under my scissors on my harness.

 

[scubamickey]

Just updating an old thread I started back in November to let you all know that I am getting ready to put my air2 for sale on EBay. Just as predicted.
My husband has been sweet talking me into getting the full long hose setup with bungee backup. So I went and bought the SP G250 from ScubaToys.

That slippery slope... I'm looking into buying a canister light.

My problem now is that I still have a SP Lady hawk and it's brand new. At least it's not a jacket, right? So the BP/W will have to wait and only get rented for the dry suit dives.

I already got a pair of SP Jetfins and will soon be getting the spring straps for them.

You guys and gals are a bad influence