Single tank DIR - 5' or 7' long hose

[DaleC]

Can someone point out a link showing where the 5' hose is no longer dir compliant for OW diving. I must have missed the memo.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

Can someone point out a link showing where the 5' hose is no longer dir compliant for OW diving.

AFAIK, it still is. Most of us who are recommending the 7 foot hose are doing so in spite of that.

 

[CompuDude]

AFAIK, it still is. Most of us who are recommending the 7 foot hose are doing so in spite of that.

There are still references to 5' hoses on the GUE equipment page:

Long hoses typically range from 5 to 7' (1.5- 2m). Shallow open water divers who do not use a long hose commonly use a standard 32 (12.6cm) hose. Overhead divers should use a 7' hose. Open water divers who use a long hose often use a 5 or 6' hose, depending on their size and the use of a hip-mounted canister.

... BUT I have yet to meet a GUE instructor who recommends using anything other than a 7' hose at this point... unless the diver is so tall s/he needs a longer one. Reasons cited are usually consistency among rigs, law of primacy for future overhead goals, etc.

 

[Gombessa]

unless the diver is so tall s/he needs a longer one.

How tall does one need to be to require a hose longer than 7ft? Maybe if your cave buddy was Shaq he'd pay for a 9ft hose for you to carry, but isn't the stowed routing of the hose more dependent on the positioning of the harness/backplate, which would still be relatively "high" on a tall diver?

I imagine it would be more common to find someone who needs a longer hose if they're "tall" girth-wise, but is even that the case?

 

[CompuDude]

How tall does one need to be to require a hose longer than 7ft? Maybe if your cave buddy was Shaq he'd pay for a 9ft hose for you to carry, but isn't the stowed routing of the hose more dependent on the positioning of the harness/backplate, which would still be relatively "high" on a tall diver?

I imagine it would be more common to find someone who needs a longer hose if they're "tall" girth-wise, but is even that the case?

I have a 6'8" buddy who, at nearly 300#, was advised to use an 8' hose instead of 7'.

The issue is the distance from the top of the tank to the tips of the fins, if you're going single file and the OOA diver needs to go first for whatever reason.

*shrug* True story, what can I say? I think 98% of us do just fine with 7' hoses, even shorter divers, although I can see how the length can be trickier to manage for particularly short divers.

One thing is clear, there's no longer any mention of the 40" hoses GI3 used to use for pure open water dives in any of the gear recommendation pages... there used to be, but no longer. The trend is definitely in pointing people to the 7' hose in virtually all cases.

 

[nadwidny]

One thing is clear, there's no longer any mention of the 40" hoses GI3 used to use for pure open water dives in any of the gear recommendation pages... there used to be, but no longer.

I remember that and tried it once or twice. It never made any sense.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

The true issue here is "not what works best for me" but "what works best for my buddy". The long hose is for your buddy, not for you, so you need to choose the length that makes the most sense for the type of diving that you are both doing.

For example, one of the guys in our local DIR club is over 6 feet tall. His wife is about 5 feet tall. "Logic" would dictate that as a smaller diver, she should use a shorter hose. However, if she has to share gas with her hubby, then she will need that extra couple of feet to make it work. So she usually just dives with a 7 foot hose.

For most people in most situations, a 7 foot hose will make everything smoother and easier about a gas share. And as someone pointed out above, it builds muscle memory and makes for a more consistent gear config across all the types of diving that you do. That is why most of us recommend it.

 

[Gombessa]

The issue is the distance from the top of the tank to the tips of the fins, if you're going single file and the OOA diver needs to go first for whatever reason.

I was talking more about routing when not deployed. Unless the backplate or the shoulder straps to the harness are *super* long, the hose routing seems like it would be more or less height-agnostic.

I have a 6'8" buddy who, at nearly 300#, was advised to use an 8' hose instead of 7'.

See, I would imagine a 5'8, 300# guy would have just as hard a time with long hose routing, whereas a 6'8" 150# guy would be just fine with 7'. But I'm just pulling that out of the air, I have no idea--it just seems like circumference would matter more than height.

 

[RTodd]

So, you guys are now worring about the situation where your buddy is over 6' tall, he is out of gas, and you have to pass through a restriction that is so small you have to be exactly single file and keep your legs perfectly straight to get through it. 8' hose is a solution in search of a problem.

I don't think there is any diver whose size requires something longer than 7'. Even shaqsquatch could probably just run 7' hose like a normal person would a 5'. In the reverse, 5' divers and even smaller kids do fine with a 7' hose. If you are having trouble keeping it in place, have someone show you how to do it or maybe diving isn't for you.

 

[CompuDude]

So, you guys are now worring about the situation where your buddy is over 6' tall, he is out of gas, and you have to pass through a restriction that is so small you have to be exactly single file and keep your legs perfectly straight to get through it. 8' hose is a solution in search of a problem.

I don't think there is any diver whose size requires something longer than 7'. Even shaqsquatch could probably just run 7' hose like a normal person would a 5'. In the reverse, 5' divers and even smaller kids do fine with a 7' hose. If you are having trouble keeping it in place, have someone show you how to do it or maybe diving isn't for you.

Who's worried?