What regulators for hookah diving?

[Subcooled]

I was told that I don't need a BCD, tank and half the weights. Also, you drag the kayak with you on the tow belt, which also serves to hold the dive flag. My primary interest in scuba right now is to hunt lobster. I felt like all the gear I had was a major hindrance on maneuverability and comfort underwater as opposed to skin diving.

You do not need weights or a BCD to dive in warm water.

I do a lot of cold water diving in swim trunks carrying an AL80 cylinder (in my hands; your preferred attachment type may vary) and no BCD and no weights. Two pounds of freediving weights would be comfy, though.

Hence, you could carry a tank and a regulator and not much more. You'd need to attach it somehow, though. You'll want to have both hands free for lobster hunting.

 

[halocline]

This is an ancient thread, but I’m curious how the depth compensation works on this type of set up. Presumably you have a tank with a first stage on the surface and basically a long LP hose to the 2nd stage in your mouth as you dive. That would mean that the IP stays the same and does not rise and fall with ambient pressure. So if you set the IP on the 1st stage at 140 and dive to 33 ft, you are now working with an effective IP of 125, and if you go to 66 ft, your effective IP is 110. I assume you definitely want a balanced 2nd stage, otherwise you’re going to have a very stiff breathing regulator at any sort of depth.

Even with a balanced 2nd stage, having no depth compensation available on the 1st stage is going to really limit how well it will breathe at depth. I guess that’s only one of many issues; another one being that any sort of entanglement could turn things bad very quickly. I guess this set up is ok for very shallow and entanglement-free environments, like cleaning a pool or a boat hull.

 

[Waterwulf]

I think you're spit on in your observations. They're pretty much a "one atmosphere rig" aka 33 foot although you can get special low IP 2nd stage regulators that would allow deeper diving. The hose entanglement issue is something that's been around since before there were air tanks. Pay attention and stay away from areas that can get you entangled I guess is the best advice for that. Having said that, I do have a pony bottle with attached regulator on my rig.