When is it time to switch to a long hose setup?

growcurlyhair · Sep 18, 2025

Hi everyone,

I'm currently diving with a standard recreational setup; Octopus on a short hose clipped to my BPW, standard length primary, etc. I’ve been reading up on long hose configurations (5–7ft hose for primary donate and bungee backup) and I’m curious when divers typically make that transition.

I'm not tech diving (yet), and most of my dives are recreational, within 25m depth, with decent visibility and usually with a regular buddy or guided group. However, I am thinking more about streamlining, ease of gas sharing, and just having a cleaner setup that works well in emergencies.

So my question is:

At what point does it make sense to switch to a long hose configuration?

Was there a specific dive scenario or training progression (e.g., Rescue, Cavern, or Intro to Tech) that made it worthwhile for you?

I'm also curious if any of you made the switch early in your dive journey; Do you need to get some training for it?

Appreciate any insights, especially from those who started recreational and later moved into more advanced diving.

Thanks!

Best
Garrett

halocline · Sep 25, 2025

paddydiver:
Don't know whats going on in Roatan, but never in 1000's of dives as a guide, have I had a diver try to pull the reg from my mouth.

It hasn’t happened to me since, (15 years ago or so) but that summer it happened twice. Once it was a fellow DM trainee who panicked during shallow water skill sessions. You’d think she would have been competent enough to not panic in 10 feet of water surrounded by other divers, but nope.

The other time was a client on a typical reef dive who was next to me, one second he was fine, the next he just reached over and yanked out my 2nd stage. He had plenty of air in his tank, I think his 2nd stage leaked and he got a mouthful of water. That was enough to send him spiraling out of control. It’s amazing how fast that can happen.

rongoodman · Sep 25, 2025

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Lorenzoid:
As I mentioned above, I found the 5-ft hose uncomfortable, and I'm all of 5'8" tall and of normal girth. I have no idea if a hose having some length between 5 and 7 feet would have worked better for me, because I switched from there to the 7-ft hose, as it's somewhat of a standard.

72

Our hoses are made from the highest quality materials available Our Low Pressure hoses have a 3/8 fitting Working pressure of 400 psi ensures against hose failures Burst pressure rating of 2000 psi gives you that extra safety margin Our hoses have a 4 to 1 hose working/burst pressure rating...

www.piranhadivemfg.com

tursiops · Sep 25, 2025

I was taking a cave stage class (it followed a cave sidemount class, which followed Full Cave), and as I was changing from one sidemount reg to the other, the 2nd stage I'd been using came off its hose. Many bubbles ensued with the hose flapping around, I rose to the ceiling to shut off my quickly emptying tank, and was fumbling for my other SM reg that was on a bungee necklace. I couldn't find it immediately because it was hanging down at an unusual angle since I was now vertical. My buddy had risen to help, as did my instructor. I had no reg in my mouth and my buddy was holding out his spare reg for me...but he was also shining his light in my eyes so I could see nothing when I looked his way. I looked to the side, and there ws my instructor, watching. I grabbed the instructor's reg from their mouth and took a good breath....but the instructor was so surprised at my move that the mouthpiece was still in their mouth and I was breathing from a mouthpiece-less reg. I got my breath or two, found my bungeed reg, we sorted out and went on with the dive. Lesson: tow very experienced cave divers, and a very experienced instructor, and multiple issues occurred.....even though taking the primary reg was part of the S-drill and the trained response to no gas. Imagine the situation with non-cave divers and a non-technical instructor.....

Centrals · Sep 25, 2025

Lorenzoid:
As I mentioned above, I found the 5-ft hose uncomfortable, and I'm all of 5'8" tall and of normal girth. I have no idea if a hose having some length between 5 and 7 feet would have worked better for me, because I switched from there to the 7-ft hose, as it's somewhat of a standard.

I have two different adapters bought from UK to fit scuba hose(lp). The adapter came in two parts and was not expensive. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the manufacturer and there is NO marking on both adapters.
You simply cut the hose to your desired length and fixed the adapter. This is how I customized the lenght my inflator hose. BTW, I have a spare one for lp hose looking for a good home!! You can have it for free but I have no idea how to post it FOC.

tursiops · Sep 25, 2025

Centrals:
I have two different adapters bought from UK to fit scuba hose(lp). The adapter came in two parts and was not expensive. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the manufacturer and there is NO marking on both adapters.
You simply cut the hose to your desired length and fixed the adapter. This is how I customized the lenght my inflator hose. BTW, I have a spare one for lp hose looking for a good home!! You can have it for free but I have no idea how to post it FOC.

OmniSwivel Hose Repair Kit, 3/8"-24 Male

The hose repair kit allows the end user to self-install a 3/8"-24 male fitting onto the end of a standard half-inch low pressure-hose.

www.divegearexpress.com

rob.mwpropane · Sep 26, 2025

I didn't read all pages, but I'll cast my vote. I switched up within my 1st 20 dives and never looked back. It had a learning curve (as does everything). But now I dive the same setup with the same gear in all situations. Sometimes it's overkill, but it just works for all diving.

Lorenzoid · Sep 26, 2025

rongoodman:
72

Our hoses are made from the highest quality materials available Our Low Pressure hoses have a 3/8 fitting Working pressure of 400 psi ensures against hose failures Burst pressure rating of 2000 psi gives you that extra safety margin Our hoses have a 4 to 1 hose working/burst pressure rating...

www.piranhadivemfg.com

Centrals:
I have two different adapters bought from UK to fit scuba hose(lp). The adapter came in two parts and was not expensive. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the manufacturer and there is NO marking on both adapters.
You simply cut the hose to your desired length and fixed the adapter. This is how I customized the lenght my inflator hose. BTW, I have a spare one for lp hose looking for a good home!! You can have it for free but I have no idea how to post it FOC.

I didn't mean to imply I wasn't aware of hose lengths between 5 ft and 7 ft or that custom hose lengths could not be made. What I meant was that when I found 5 ft was uncomfortably short I chose not to consider some intermediate size because jumping right to 7 ft was not that big a deal. Five feet, six feet, seven feet--these are all "long" hoses. The only significant alternative to a "long" hose, as I see it, is the streamlined OW configuration with a 40-inch (standard octo length) hose.

lostsheep · Sep 26, 2025

growcurlyhair:
At what point does it make sense to switch to a long hose configuration?

Yesterday, it made sense to switch yesterday.

IMO, the important characteristics are primary donate and a bungeed backup. Pick a hose length that works for you and the environment then do what is needed to manage the hose.

Nemrod · Sep 26, 2025