5-ft vs 7-ft Long Hose for Single-Tank Diving

The long hose is the heart of the DIR configuration. You breathe from a regulator on a long hose and donate it to a teammate who's out of gas.

So how long does "long" need to be?

What does UTD use?

Seven feet. UTD's minimum equipment standard for single-cylinder training specifies a 7-foot long hose with a necklace backup. That's what we train with, on singles and doubles alike.

5 feet vs 7 feet at a glance

Why 7 feet?

It works in more situations. In open water, a team might share gas side by side. But space isn't always open. In low visibility, around a wreck or through a narrow gap, you may need to share gas in single file, one diver behind the other. Seven feet makes that possible.

It stays the same as you progress. The hose you learn on a single tank is the hose you'll use on doubles. Same routing. Same donation. No relearning.

The extra length isn't in the way. Routed properly, the slack is taken up down your right side and held at your hip.

Does body size matter?

A little. Shorter divers sometimes find a 7-foot hose looks long when they first route it. In practice, the routing absorbs the difference. A fit check in class settles it.

Here's the reality check.

The comfortable belief: a shorter hose is tidier, so it's safer.

The truth: tidy only matters until you need to share gas through a gap. Then reach is what matters.

Set it up with someone who dives it

For the full configuration, see Long Hose Configuration and DIR Gear Configuration, Piece by Piece. For how donation works, read Out-of-Air Drill. If you want to try the setup before buying, you can rent a DIR backplate and wing, and get regulator service, through our shop.