Using two 40 inch hoses

[Cberni]

I’ve read a lot about regulator hose lengths and hose routing, from “standard” open water to long hose and I understand the pros and cons of each. I have just switched to a BP/W so would like to streamline my hoses. Has anyone tried a 40 inch primary routed under the right arm with swivel/elbow (a common practise) but using another 40 inch hose for secondary (Octo) routed under same arm, instead of using a short hose and bungee?
The reason I ask is I do all of my diving now while traveling so I always have a different dive buddy and I would say 90% have been PADI trained and divers have various levels of experience so I can't predict how they will react if they run out of air or have issues with gear.

With two 40 inch hoses I won’t have to take the primary from my mouth and my setup is similar to what a typical OW trained diver is expecting.

Please don’t just tell me to use standard setup or long hose or just tell my dive buddy about my hose layout. I’m interested if anyone has tried this or if there is an issue I may run into that I’m not thinking of.

Thoughts?

 

[CuzzA]

I’ve read a lot about regulator hose lengths and hose routing, from “standard” open water to long hose and I understand the pros and cons of each. I have just switched to a BP/W so would like to streamline my hoses. Has anyone tried a 40 inch primary routed under the right arm with swivel/elbow (a common practise) but using another 40 inch hose for secondary (Octo) routed under same arm, instead of using a short hose and bungee?
The reason I ask is I do all of my diving now while traveling so I always have a different dive buddy and I would say 90% have been PADI trained and divers have various levels of experience so I can't predict how they will react if they run out of air or have issues with gear.

With two 40 inch hoses I won’t have to take the primary from my mouth and my setup is similar to what a typical OW trained diver is expecting.

Please don’t just tell me to use standard setup or long hose or just tell my dive buddy about my hose layout. I’m interested if anyone has tried this or if there is an issue I may run into that I’m not thinking of.

Thoughts?

No, you don't want to get those two hoses trapped and twisted around each other. Don't do it. Instead you want a ~22" hose going over your shoulder. Add a 90 degree adapter to make it more comfortable. This setup is called the streamlined open water setup. In an air share you will donate your primary and switch to your necklaced second.

 

[northernone]

I’ve read a lot about regulator hose lengths and hose routing, from “standard” open water to long hose and I understand the pros and cons of each. I have just switched to a BP/W so would like to streamline my hoses. Has anyone tried a 40 inch primary routed under the right arm with swivel/elbow (a common practise) but using another 40 inch hose for secondary (Octo) routed under same arm, instead of using a short hose and bungee?
The reason I ask is I do all of my diving now while traveling so I always have a different dive buddy and I would say 90% have been PADI trained and divers have various levels of experience so I can't predict how they will react if they run out of air or have issues with gear.

With two 40 inch hoses I won’t have to take the primary from my mouth and my setup is similar to what a typical OW trained diver is expecting.

Please don’t just tell me to use standard setup or long hose or just tell my dive buddy about my hose layout. I’m interested if anyone has tried this or if there is an issue I may run into that I’m not thinking of.

Thoughts?

I've dove two ~36" hoses for a while (~300 dives). No issues besides for it is enough hose they seem to be easier to twist together or tangle or get stuck while gearing up. The reason I stopped was it is unnecessarily bulky to carry the extra hose... a small inconvenience.

So far this week I have buddy breathed (shared one reg) my ~21" hose with 27 new divers. It's plenty long by the time I've got them by the bicep. I want my out of air diver close. If I wanted them further away I would likely do the configuration you described.

In the water, it seems quite a good routing and I didn't mind it.

Cameron

 

[Cberni]

Thanks CuzzA, I wasn’t sure if hoses would interfere with each other. Thanks for your input.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I’ve read a lot about regulator hose lengths and hose routing, from “standard” open water to long hose and I understand the pros and cons of each. I have just switched to a BP/W so would like to streamline my hoses. Has anyone tried a 40 inch primary routed under the right arm with swivel/elbow (a common practise) but using another 40 inch hose for secondary (Octo) routed under same arm, instead of using a short hose and bungee?
The reason I ask is I do all of my diving now while traveling so I always have a different dive buddy and I would say 90% have been PADI trained and divers have various levels of experience so I can't predict how they will react if they run out of air or have issues with gear.

With two 40 inch hoses I won’t have to take the primary from my mouth and my setup is similar to what a typical OW trained diver is expecting.

Please don’t just tell me to use standard setup or long hose or just tell my dive buddy about my hose layout. I’m interested if anyone has tried this or if there is an issue I may run into that I’m not thinking of.

Thoughts?

This is the exact setup I’m using right now. I dislike long hoses (5’ - 7’) because I don’t like the way they wrap around my neck. I’ve had long hoses get caught up in feather boa kelp behind my head and cause me grief. I don’t dive in caves or wrecks, so one day I came to the conclusion that long hoses are a pain in the ass and I don’t need a hose that long. After I got rid of the long hose I used a 40’ primary routed under my right arm and a shorter hose over the shoulder. But the short hose over the shoulder was slipping down so I used an even shorter one and it restricted head movement to the left.
So I finally went to two 40’s under my right arm. I decided I’m done with hoses over my shoulder. The bungeed hose goes under the primary. I’ve never had them get twisted up. Just make sure they are not twisted up while you gear up and they will be fine. I also use a swivel on the primary but not the bungeed secondary, but I probably should.

 

[Cberni]

So you still bungee the second to your neck? In an OOA situation do you give your primary and switch to your second or is the second on releasable bungee and given? If so is it stoad there to take up hose slack?

 

[Diving Dubai]

I happen to use 2 x 40", both with 90 degree swivels. The Alternate runs under my left arm and I prefer a silicone neck bungee as it keeps the reg tidy and s easy to remove

In my configuration it doesn't matter which reg to donate and swimming is easy. They are both short enough that I can remain in control.

Like @northernone I teach (OW) on a conventional set up and it's fine also

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

I run two 40's as you describe and no neck bungee. Primary goes under my arm to a 90 degree fixed fitting. Octo is on a silicon stretch holder at my hip. No swivel on the Octo but considering one. I started with a 360 degree ball type swivel on the primary but did not like the way it was constructed. It developed a very slight leak and I just went to a fixed 90 to eliminate the additional oring on a moving joint.

Never had an issue with the hoses twisting other than when I first put the rig on and that's easily fixed before I hit the water.

The set up works very well for me. I also throw an Air 2 into the mix....but that has been hotly debated on another thread.

good luck with your set up!

Jay

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

So you still bungee the second to your neck? In an OOA situation do you give your primary and switch to your second or is the second on releasable bungee and given? If so is it stoad there to take up hose slack?

Yes, I bungee the alternate Around my neck and donate the primary.

 

[Bob DBF]

@Eric Sedletzky, it may be the North Coast that sort of thing happen, I dive the same configuration worked out on my own over the years. Of course, over time, I've tried and used a number of configurations and have found almost anything works. It all depends on what one perfers and works best for the conditions they dive.

It's funny, I went to a bungeed backup because I slipped and fell on one of our boulder beaches with old school doubles and had a time getting up. I noticed that in a different spot I would have been face down in the water and had poor access to to my seconds. I also changed the bolt snap on the primary so that I could access it for breathing while it is snapped on a D-ring. This normally happens at the end of the dive, out of the water, or when exercising the backup.



Bob

Fo new divers:
Old school doubles - manifold used in early days of SCUBA, no isolation. Basically making a 140 out of two 72's.