Single tank DIR - 5' or 7' long hose

[TSandM]

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.

I just wish that 7 feet of hose would wrap more tightly around me -- I get irritated when I see loops of hose in photographs

 

[rjack321]

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

Essentially...

Bascially enough of us have tried 40" and 5ft (or our spouses or buddies have) that the groupthink is that 7ft works best across all configurations. If you are struggling with it there's a 99.99% chance that you need a bit of instruction, some tips, or just plain practice.

Personally I don't know a single person for whom 7ft would not work despite their best efforts (although sometimes it takes awhile).

 

[JeffG]

Now I feel bad for using a 5' for my warm water wimp rig.

 

[Gombessa]

Jeff, you just happen to be that 0.01% exception to the rule. You're also the impurity in Ivory Soap.

 

[Bob Sherwood]

Ok, I know many people have voiced opinion here, so I might as well add mine. <G> 5' or 7' both are acceptable. that said, the vast majority of divers I have trained over the last ten years are using 7' hoses. I personally have tried both and find the 5 to be less comfortable and is always floating around and I cant keep it close to my body. I'm sure it fits well on some and worse on others. The 7 can be tucked and even pushed back towards backplate where harness is tighter against the body to minimze the chances of it slipping out. this is what I prefer and reccommend to students without canister lights. but I would train them in either. I have not found in open water situations the lack of 2 feet of hose to be an issue, but for sure in overhead with restrictions it would be. best, bob

I just wish that 7 feet of hose would wrap more tightly around me -- I get irritated when I see loops of hose in photographs

 

[coldsmoke]

5' hoses are great. I have one for sale if you want.

 

[CompuDude]

5' hoses are great. I have one for sale if you want.

These aren't the hoses you're looking for...

 

[DaleC]

Hummm...
An interesting discussion as it has made me consider varying POV's.

I had access to a 7' and 5' hose. I could route the 7' but I could route the 5' just as easily. With the 7' I had to figure out what to do with the extra 2'. Stuff it in the waist band, add a pouch, add some shears... not a big deal in the scheme of things but I asked myself why I was doing that for hose I didn't need. Why would I carry 2' of hose there when I worry whether my B/U LP hose is 24" or 22"?

The arguments for team standardization and muscle memory are very convincing however and would put me in the 7' camp if I were heading down the tech road (or if it were ever an issue with a team) but, as it stands, I am just a diver who wants to rec dive but also wants the benefits of DIR gear config/procedures.

To my understanding, While it claims to provide a platform that can allow one to dive from the top down (risk/commiment/technical difficulty wise) the gear configuration is designed to have the highest optimacy at the extreme range of diving but that same configuration can become sub optimal in a strictly OW setting and loses its primacy if there is no flexability. Some gear like 7' hoses, can lights, no computers, manifolded doubles etc... while applicable just aren't as neccisary.

This is where I (and others I suspect) sometimes struggle with the DIR approach. For the purely rec diver, if they adhere to the strictest DIR proticol, will wind up diving most of the time somewhat sub optimally. Most divers who move from rec to tech to rec and back again accept this sub optimacy temporarily because the long term benefits of standardization outweigh the short term negatives (or they don't experience them as such).

I'm sure some old school DIR guys are rolling their eyes at all this but those are just my thoughts. It's 2am and I have to hit the sack. Those who know me know that I voice them with the best of intentions. If DIR stayed in the caves this discussion would never come up but as it moves into mainstream OW I'm sure these issues have/will surface time and again.

Cheers,
Dale.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

This is where I (and others I suspect) sometimes struggle with the DIR approach. For the purely rec diver, if they adhere to the strictest DIR proticol, will wind up diving most of the time somewhat sub optimally. Most divers who move from rec to tech to rec and back again accept this sub optimacy temporarily because the long term benefits of standardization outweigh the short term negatives (or they don't experience them as such).

I'm sure some old school DIR guys are rolling their eyes at all this but those are just my thoughts. It's 2am and I have to hit the sack. Those who know me know that I voice them with the best of intentions. If DIR stayed in the caves this discussion would never come up but as it moves into mainstream OW I'm sure these issues have/will surface time and again.

Be careful as it is a slippery slope as, by extension, that type of thinking and reasoning applies to things like jon lines and Jersey uplines in rough mid atlantic waters and potentially other minor changes or additions to basic DIR configuration for specific applications that while they can be done with the basic DIR rig, can be done more efficiently and with less risk if the configuration is tweaked a bit to optimize it for specific applications. That view is, to say the least, contorversial in the DIR forum, although much is usually learned from those discussions and more importantly those types of discussions and the reasoning behind them are what has traditionally driven the evolution of DIR.

 

[dbulmer]

DaleC,
I'm a purely recreational diver. I try to think of this in a slightly different way.

If I buy a piece of gear I think a) how does this gear help my buddies - does it cause any complications for them and for what reason have I bought the item? - does it actually solve a real problem ? or is it because I just want one?

If it is: I just want one then I haven't considered the people I dive with and I have a chat to see what they think about it.

If you think of your gear as something your buddies might want to use or borrow etc you might find it easier to follow some of the reasoning behind the gear choices. The other thing is that we all want to dive and have a bit of fun so if you do feel something is suboptimal there's always a buddy or two who can grin at your discomfort (because they've been there and had the same experience)