Where to Buy 1/2" Flex Hose in Canada

[Locus]

My buddy wants to move from the hose configuration she trained with to a 5' long hose and bungeed backup.

She uses regs with a 1/2" hose for the primary second stage. I found what she's looking for (in blue flex hose, her preference) from the UK but after shipping it's going to cost around $100 Canadian, which is just too much to spend on a hose.

Does anyone know of a closer source for one of these hoses? We are in the Vancouver, BC area.

I already suggested she get a standard 3/8" hose and use an adapter, but she wants to keep the full use of her reg's larger primary hose port.

 

[ams511]

My advice is the same as yours, forget about the 1/2" hose and just use an adaptor on the first stage with a regular hose. The cost is $2.00. I did look in the Trident catalog and do not see a 1/2" miflex hose listed.

I am not sure why she is worried about "full use" as most first stages don't use 1/2" LP hoses. Even Apeks that has used 1/2" ports for years has switched back to 3/8" inch. I don't think Aqualung uses them anymore either. The connection to the second stage is standard (9/16") so nothing needs to be changed there. I have swapped out a 1/2" hose with a 3/8" and an adaptor and notice no difference in performance on an older Apeks TX-100.

Another alternative (if possible) is to plug the 1/2" port and use a 3/8" port for the primary.

Edit: Dive inn in Spain has a 6' 8" 1/2" hose for about $55 shipped to the US. All of the other 1/2" sources are from the UK.

Edit #2: eBay has some listed for about the same price from Italy.

 

[Locus]

I am not sure why she is worried about "full use" as most first stages don't use 1/2" LP hoses. Even Apeks that has used 1/2" ports for years has switched back to 3/8" inch. I don't think Aqualung uses them anymore either. The connection to the second stage is standard (9/16") so nothing needs to be changed there. I have swapped out a 1/2" hose with a 3/8" and an adaptor and notice no difference in performance on an older Apeks TX-100.

I know, but she's convinced that the 1/2" performs better and I can't talk her out of it. I appreciate you sharing your experience with it though; I'll pass it on to her.

Edit: Dive inn in Spain has a 6' 8" 1/2" hose for about $55 shipped to the US. All of the other 1/2" sources are from the UK.

Edit #2: eBay has some listed for about the same price from Italy.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[keyshunter]

I know, but she's convinced that the 1/2" performs better and I can't talk her out of it. I appreciate you sharing your experience with it though; I'll pass it on to her.

Locus,
Most, if not all, manufacturers have moved away from 1/2" hoses on their primaries because they were found to give no better performance than 3/8". I suspect that they knew that from the beginning, but the 1/2" on the primary was pretty good advertising hype. The cost savings of having one less size hose to inventory and one less machining change in first stage manufacture apparently won out.

I have learned that it is seldom productive to try to change the made up mind of one's buddy. My g/f, for example will not part with her old Sherwood Oasis, even though she has her choice of several much better performing Al and Apeks regs. Fortunately, the Sherwood is very simple for me to service and keep operating as well as it is capable

 

[ams511]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

The only other thing I can think of is to call Dan's Dive Shop in Ontario. They may know of a more reasonable source. What first stage is she using? Maybe someone can give more specific advice.

 

[Locus]

She has a Mares MR32T