Ok, I FINALLY had a chance to get my new singles rig wet last night: Atomic regs with Miflex hoses all around (except the HP, of course). So I finally can weigh in with more than an academic review. Clanggedin, Mo2 was right that all of the positive things I have said about the hoses are based on dry observations, thus far... my regs on land, playing with them in the living room, flexibility checks, pressurized and not, packing ease, etc. I just haven't done much diving in singles recently, and my doubles rig has standard hoses.
Bear in mind that I have now used them on exactly ONE dive. But here are my initial impressions.
I liked them. Quite a bit.
Note: I don't own a $3k scooter like Mo2. I can see why he has an issue where, since the hose is lighter and more flexible, and the woven cover disturb the water flow a tad more, the hoses can essentially "flap in the breeze". So since the majority of his dives are on a high end scooter, I see why he may not like it as much. On those rare occasions that I hop aboard a borrowed one, I may be briefly annoyed by some flapping.
But since 99.9% of MY diving is likely to be scooter-less for the foreseeable future, I can definitely say I'm quite pleased with the hoses. Very light, SUPER easy to pack and store. Slick looking. ZERO pressure on my reg when moving my head... it's almost like the reg was in my mouth with no hose at all attached. It was just non-existent.
I'll have to make a few small adjustments. The long hose is so flexy that it ended up hanging lower on my chest when clipped off, simply because it pulls tighter around the neck curve. Not an actual issue, of course, I merely note it.
The secondary reg hose was great also. Hung straight down below my chin, just where I would want it to. The weight of the reg makes it hang directly down, as opposed to the hose pushing it/pulling it to one side or the other. Very nice.
The LP hose to my wing inflator was also splendid... there's often a little wonkiness where the hose reaches the end loop on the wing and curves to actually hit the reg (just a few inches of tight-ish curves) that I always used to think was less than 100% ideal, unless you have a custom hose cut for each wing/reg combo. The Miflex hose has no problem with the tight curve, however, and feels very natural doing it (I may have been able to use a slightly shorter hose, but consider the OEM hose was 23", I didn't want to go too far off). In fact, if you only want to try one of these hoses, that's not a bad place to start. Makes the LP hose a lot more adjustable for a number of BC/Wing combos, I think.
As for the DS hose... well, I didn't notice it any more or less than any other DS hose, so what can I say. I might add a hose hat (if I can) at some point, but the connector is a little beefier than regular hoses, so it may not be needed. I didn't try to futz with it during the dive, though. No issues popping it on and off (already pressurized) a couple of times on land, however, even with the drygloves on.
Thus endeth my review. Definitely thumbs up, for me, and the normal shore diving I do most of the time. As I get more dives on them, if my opinion changes, I'll certainly post back.
For the record, these hoses were used with an OxyCheq Mach V on a Halcyon plate, with Atomic M1/Z2 regs. I used an 84" primary hose, 22" secondary hose, 22" QD LP wing hose, and 32" QD LP drysuit hose.
I don't know if I'll bother to make any changes to my doubles regs, just because they're long since done and have been working fine, of course. I'm not sorry I spent a little extra on the Miflex hose experiment when I finally set up a new dedicated singles rig, however. I'll very possibly pick up a Miflex hose for my deco bottle, however.
