comfortable 2nd stage hose?

I've had a long-term issue with the hose to the regulator in my mouth pulling or pushing to one side.

Some years ago I tried to fix the issue by having a swivel joint added, but it's not really working well.

The hose is always trying to pull out of my mouth, and turning my head to the side is problematical at times.   Here is an example:

Tired of diving with the hose pulling and pushing my regulator like this.

So my question - will I have better luck swapping out that hose for a thin, braided one?

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

I've had a long-term issue with the hose to the regulator in my mouth pulling or pushing to one side.

Some years ago I tried to fix the issue by having a swivel joint added, but it's not really working well.

The hose is always trying to pull out of my mouth, and turning my head to the side is problematical at times. Here is an example:

Tired of diving with the hose pulling and pushing my regulator like this.

So my question - will I have better luck swapping out that hose for a thin, braided one?

If you want to stick with the short hose setup, you could try swapping to a shorter length hose. it appears the extra length is what is pushing the reg out of your mouth.  Since you have a swivel on your kit you could try routing the reg hose under your arm pit.

https://www.scuba.com/products/miflex-low-pressure-hoses?variant=36998793560217

Ive switched over to a long hose (7ft) and its been a game changer, I love it.

Like Dann-Oh, I also switched to a long hose (215cm). I have only few dives so far with it, but it feels comfortabel and did not disturb UW-photography.

Whether long hose or normal, a switch to Miflex hose (and a little bit shorter if standard config) will make the hose more flexibel and reduce the problem...

Wolfgang

If I shorten the hose, I can't turn my head to the other side without pulling the reg from my mouth.

I'm going to look into the long hose thing.

I got a braided HP line to my computer a few years ago, and it seems quite nice.   Thought perhaps it was just more flexible and might be a better choice to go to my regulator.

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

If I shorten the hose, I can't turn my head to the other side without pulling the reg from my mouth.

I'm going to look into the long hose thing.

I got a braided HP line to my computer a few years ago, and it seems quite nice. Thought perhaps it was just more flexible and might be a better choice to go to my regulator.

My new long hose is the Miflex material that the other guy mentioned. It is significantly more flexible than the normal rubber material. In my experience, it is also much more floaty than the normal rubber material and comes untucked occasionally. You also have to make sure that you are not clipping camera or other items ON TOP of your hose routing incase of an emergency.

With that said I would never dive a standard hose again.

Be aware that when you use a long hose (either 5 or 7ft) you will not be able to use a snorkel, that might be a violation of your local laws (it is an issue for certain beach locations near me).

Dann-Oh wrote:

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

If I shorten the hose, I can't turn my head to the other side without pulling the reg from my mouth.

I'm going to look into the long hose thing.

I got a braided HP line to my computer a few years ago, and it seems quite nice. Thought perhaps it was just more flexible and might be a better choice to go to my regulator.

My new long hose is the Miflex material that the other guy mentioned. It is significantly more flexible than the normal rubber material. In my experience, it is also much more floaty than the normal rubber material and comes untucked occasionally. You also have to make sure that you are not clipping camera or other items ON TOP of your hose routing incase of an emergency.

No, but I often have an issue where my regulator hose gets caught up in one of the clamps on the strobe arms.   Happens when I turn my head - then I can't turn back, and I can't see the problem.  Just have to fish it out by feel.

With that said I would never dive a standard hose again.

I'll definitely ask about it when I go back to the shop for my tanks.

Be aware that when you use a long hose (either 5 or 7ft) you will not be able to use a snorkel, that might be a violation of your local laws (it is an issue for certain beach locations near me).

Not being aware of 'long hose technique', I have to ask why?  I normally don't carry a snorkel as it gets in the way so much.  My late wife used to carry a folding one in a pocket, just in case.

I guess I should always at least pack one when going to new locations.

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

Dann-Oh wrote:

Be aware that when you use a long hose (either 5 or 7ft) you will not be able to use a snorkel, that might be a violation of your local laws (it is an issue for certain beach locations near me).

Not being aware of 'long hose technique', I have to ask why? I normally don't carry a snorkel as it gets in the way so much. My late wife used to carry a folding one in a pocket, just in case.

I guess I should always at least pack one when going to new locations.

The long hose will wrap down your right side, under a BCD pocket or knife, up across to your left shoulder, then around the back side of your neck and finally the reg will go into your mouth.

This video (at 3:30) quickly explains the routing of the hose.

You could guess that the long hose could get tangled with the snorkel in an out of gas scenario.

kelpdiver wrote:

Dann-Oh wrote:

Be aware that when you use a long hose (either 5 or 7ft) you will not be able to use a snorkel, that might be a violation of your local laws (it is an issue for certain beach locations near me).

as best I know, Laguna Beach doesn't require you to wear it, just to have it. And perhaps a sawed off one still meets the letter of the law.

That's the only location I'm aware of with such silly rules.

Ahh I thought they required you to wear it, and one could argue that "im wearing it in my pocket"

I use a 5.5 ft hose. I don't think there's a reason for the 7 for the OW photog, but the 5 is a bit short for me. A better shop will do it custom, you just need to take the 5 footer and assess.

Yeah the 7ft is kind of annoying with my jacket BCD BUT I am also looking to get into a BP+W/Side Mount (for Tec) in the near future so I thought I would just learn how to use the 7ft now.

For someone that is always going to be essentially solo with the camera, then the short hose can be an answer, but it does mean any actual sharing event will suck even more than it would otherwise. I presume the victim is going to take your primary and leave you to the octo. Hence the long hose and the octo on a short one on a necklace right below.

Yes that's how you would share air with a long hose.  I used to wear my octo (when I had one) around my neck because it was always falling out of every other type of holder I tried.  I always knew where it was and it was secure and VERY seen and deployable when needed.

My octo is integrated into the air inflator hose, and it's nice to not have another hose to deal with.   It's uncomfortable to use, partly due to the short hose pulling a lot on the mouthpiece.  But no big deal in an emergency.   It's pretty short to share

Is my idea of using a double-braided flex hose worth doing (regular length)?   Or another blind alley like the swivel joint?

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

My octo is integrated into the air inflator hose, and it's nice to not have another hose to deal with. It's uncomfortable to use, partly due to the short hose pulling a lot on the mouthpiece. But no big deal in an emergency. It's pretty short to share

Is my idea of using a double-braided flex hose worth doing (regular length)? Or another blind alley like the swivel joint?

See if your local shop will allow you to play with the hose, to see if it is more flexible.

I know many other who like the braded hoses but I have no experience with them.  From what I've been told they are not the right tool for tech diving and that's the route I want to go so I haven't considered using them since making the decision to get into tech.

On my primary I use a 40” hose that routes under my arm with a 110 degree fixed adapter. Zero pull and can turn my head as fast as I want. I reckon you should give it a shot as you can see below way more comfortable than your reg.

I should also mention like your Octo inflator set up this is a primary donate system. My octo is bungied under my neck on a 22” hose that routes over my arm.