Side slung pony bottle question

[jepuskar]

I have a question for all the cold water divers who use a side slung pony for whatever reasons. Deploying your hose to use is simple enough, but what about storing it again?

I had a hard time doing this with just my bare hands, with dry gloves, limited range/motion, drysuit etc... what do you do after it's deployed and you want to store your hose again?

Obviously in a real emergency if it's deployed, it's more than likely going to stay in your mouth..but what about during drills?

Should I just put a clip on it and clip it off to a D ring along with Fido the dog?

J

 

[ClayJar]

I have two bungee loops around my slung bottles for stowing the reg and hose. I used nice thick bungee, and I took both free ends and used a figure-eight knot to make the loop. (Would that be a figure-88 knot, since there are two strands together in it? :biggrin

Even with my bulky dry gloves, the large knot gives me ample purchase to pull the bungee and stuff the hose back under. (I've seen plastic balls, tabs, and other things for the same purpose, but a simple bulky knot works great for me... and it's probably easier to grab than the smooth plastic devices, anyway.) I've also moved my sling bottle regs to Miflex hoses, which are significantly more comfortable to me and which are much easier to "fold and jam" when stowing.

 

[icestac]

Obviously clip it off until you are ready to stow the reg and hose.

Dive Rite makes a hose retainer that has a handy little tab to get a grip on it to pull it away from the tank -- probably cheaper than new miflex hoses and easy enough to use even with bulky dry gloves (I use the blue ones).

~Jeff

 

[Rick Inman]

I reach down to the carrying handle (rubber hose) on the slung stage and pull it up a bit, and it lifts the hose bands away from the tank where you can easily slip a finger under the band to get a good grip on it. Then I just slip the bent hose under. Then repeat for the second band. If I have any struggle, I can always unclip the bottom clip and swing the stage out in front of me for easy access.

Image from DIR-diver.com - What's new

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I find that the hose retainers that Dive Rite Express sells help me quite a bit when wearing dry gloves. They have pull tabs that are thick and easy to grab.

Stage/Deco Bottle Accessories

 

[Dsix36]

Although I dive in warm Florida water, I also hate trying to stow away the BO hose after a drill. I would not do this drill during dives just because of it.

I now wear the BO reg on a necklace around my neck. My reg is below my chin and very easy to find, deploy, use, stow. I now do a BO drill on almost every dive.

I find it much easier and faster to go to OC BO this way.

Just my opinions, but it works for me.

 

[jepuskar]

I like the option of having a knot or something else to grab on to make it easier.

I also like Rick's idea of unclipping the tank. I didnt think about that.

I must open my mind and focus more.

 

[b1gcountry]

Un-clipping the tank isn't something I would prefer to do regularly, I have no problems with the bungee, and I always stow the regs before getting back on the boat.

Tom

edit: and yes, I am using heavy liners and smurf gloves.

 

[jepuskar]

I have the Dive-Rite stage kit and sure enough it has that little loop to pull on to stretch the hose retainer. I was able to do this with no issues during my class.

good stuff.

Thanks for the info peeps.

J

 

[Nitrox50]

Bungee do it for me. In Danish waters you always have cloves on, but a simple bungee-cord has never been a problem for me, even with drygloves or three-finger gloves.