Part of the fun of eclectic diving is mixing gear and methods of modern and vintage and everything in between. But, after reading through some of the usual long hose weekly arguments on sb I just thought as a warning, the idea of utilizing a cave type 5 or 7 foot hose with a double hose in the DIR method of routing it around the body and behind the neck and then necklacing does NOT work with a double hose regulator.
Why you ask?
1. The entire concept of the DIR long hose is that the diver breaths from the long hose as primary and DONATES that regulator to the OOA diver and then switches to the necklaced secondary which is routed over the shoulder on a 26 (+-) hose.
2. The twin hose diver, modern or not, will when using a conventional single hose second stage regulator for back up (octopus) will donate the single hose and NOT the twin hose mouthpiece. That is fine and dandy as long as the octopus is on a hose routed under the right arm or otherwise routed to be clear of the twin hose.
So, what happens if you use a long hose (5 to 7 feet) routed around your body DIR method, well, nimrod, let us remember that the long hose routes AROUND and BEHIND the neck/head and that puts it UNDER the twin hoses. Uh, oh, so the OOA diver presents himself for air and you jauntily attempt to hand him your long hose second and when you do you find this action also strips the twin hose from YOUR mouth.
This is a classic example of a fault that can happen when mixing gear and methods that were not conceived of as a functioning system. The DIR long hose method is a CAVE/overhead system that has been around in one form or another for decades and was developed in the cave country of Florida in the 70s. It is not, though often used as such, an open water system. That is my OPINION.
When the long hose is adopted to the twin hose diver, you are definitely doing it wrong to begin with because you are NOT breathing the long hose and donating the long hose, ----> BUSTED <-----, it simply does not work and was never meant to work that way.
Unlike the "DIR" system, we twin hose divers breath, the uh, twin hose, right? We donate a secondary or octopus second. Sure, you can route that secondary hose anyway you think fits and you can use any length of hose you want but you CANNOT run it around your torso, under a can light and then behind your head because you will not be able to deploy it.
Personally, I run my octopus under my right arm on a 40 inch hose, use a right angle adapter and then use a breakaway necklace. There are other ways to do it and that is not my point, just be careful to think it out so that both regulators remain functional when the octopus is deployed.
Just as a side note, I have mentioned it before, the Seahunt style harness with sternum straps and all that trapped under a horsecollar BC. Many people do this, I see them doing it, I have done it, this is strictly MY opinion. The horsecollar BC came along well after the simple Seahunt harness went the way of the do-do bird (well, not completely but I just wanted to say do-do bird ). They were never intended to be used together, well, see, just keep it in mind that if the "safety loop" of the harness slips out of the sternum strap or waist strap and is covered by the horsecollar BC you may not be able to doff the rig and if you put your weight belt UNDER the Seahunt harness as I have also seen being done (another modern diver concept), well, now that will not jettison either, so now you could be in a pickle .
Just a reminder, I do not care how you do whatever it is you are doing, but do please think though what it is you are doing and practice to make sure it actually works and has no hidden traps.
James