what length hose to use

[headhunter]

I'm 6' tall and like the "fit" of the 7' hose.

Christian

 

[Flamebug818]

thanx u all i will go with the 7'
cheers flambug

 

[yPIETy]

Does anyone know why the long-hose in the DIR Single Tank Hose Kit from Halcyon is a 5' hose? even though the majority of divers seem to choose a 7' hose, even for single tank, recreational diving.

http://www.halcyon.net/acc/hoses.shtml

 

[SDAnderson]

Does anyone know why the long-hose in the DIR Single Tank Hose Kit from Halcyon is a 5' hose? even though the majority of divers seem to choose a 7' hose, even for single tank, recreational diving.

http://www.halcyon.net/acc/hoses.shtml

For single tank open water diving a five foot hose is usually long enough - all you want is a hose that will allow you to swim comfortably side by side with an OOA buddy and that will route neatly. The longer seven foot hose is required in penetration situations, where an OOA diver and his buddy will need to be able to swim single file. Larger divers might find that the five foot hose is too short on a single tank rig but as often the complaints about fit are due to less-than-optimal routing. Some buddies choose the longer hose for single tank diving because they want to standardize their configuration from situation to situation as best they can in order to reduce the chance of confusion in a stressful deployment situation. Finally, some divers just think the longer hose and the loop around the head looks groovy and choose the longer hose on a single tank rig as a fashion statement. Officially, I don't think there is a wrong or right answer - but this from this from a non-DIR (but close) diver, so caveat emptor. I believe that the Fundies book covers this issue, any answer there is mostly considered to be definitive for DIR divers.

Personally, I'm a big guy and find that the centered valve on a single tank rig makes both the five foot and the seven foot hose too short to route properly - and it's important to note that they don't route the same. I dive with a six foot hose routed like most folks would a five footer if I'm diving with recreational divers, otherwise I'm in doubles and using an eight foot hose.

 

[Jason B]

Just to add, imagine you plan on overhead diving where you have an OOG situation. You are diving with another 6 foot diver. You pass him your long hose (which is only 5 ft) and send him out first (since he is the OOG diver). If he's on a 5 foot hose, he's probably kicking you in the shoulders. I say don't but the hose to fit your body, buy the hose to fit the purpose. Get the 7 footer.

Jason

 

[Tollie]

As others have said the hose length is related to the kind of diving you plan on doing. Overhead environments… 7 foot. I’m a recreational diver (singles) and am delighted with the 5 foot hose. I don’t dive with a canister light and so I don’t have to stow the hose in my belt… it fits comfortably routed under my arm and looped over my neck. If you are planning to dive both recreationally and in more demanding environments go with the 7 footer… it will be easier on you to get comfortable with one standard set up. Either way you will find it a vast improvement over the “conventional” octo set up.