Hose retainers don't get the attention they deserve. They're the kind of small piece of kit you barely think about — until the cheap one snaps mid-dive, your long hose flops loose, and your situational awareness gets pulled away from where it should be. Stack enough of those small distractions on a single dive and you've got a real problem. I've been diving the same set of Deluxe Dive Gear hose retainers for six years. Six. Years. They're stretched, you can almost see through them, my name printed on them is starting to fade — and they're still doing their job. That's the headline.

The options

When you dive sidemount, you've got a couple of choices for keeping your hoses tight to the cylinder pre-dive and stowing the long hose neatly during the dive:

Rubber bicycle-tube style retainers. Cheap, easy to find anywhere in the world, do the job. But they snap. Especially in high-UV environments, you'll go through them constantly. And when one breaks mid-dive, it's not dangerous — just annoying. Annoying is the enemy. A bungee loop around the cylinder. Works, but it rolls up the cylinder when you pull a hose out. Not terrible. Not good. A proper purpose-built hose retainer. This is what D'luxe Dive Gear makes.

What changed with the new version The originals had the pull tab at the top of the retainer. Functional, but with the tight tension (which is how you want them) you'd often only pull the top up and have to wrestle the rest back down to stow your hose. Sven, the owner of D'luxe Dive Gear, redesigned them with a center pull tab — and that small change is a big quality of life improvement. Pull the tab and the whole retainer opens cleanly. Stow your hose. Done.

Why they're worth it

  • They look clean. Lined up across the cylinder, they're sharp. If you're particular about how your kit looks underwater, this matters.
  • They hold. They don't slip up over the crown of the cylinder the way a bungee can.
  • They last. Six years on my originals. I've snapped brand new cheap retainers on a single dive.
  • They're customizable. Your name, your logo, the color of the pull tab — Sven will work with you on it.
  • You're supporting a small business. Sven's customer service is outstanding. I had a student tell me about a shipping issue Sven went well above and beyond to fix. That counts for a lot.

The cost honestly

Yes, they're more expensive than the rubber alternatives. Three personalized retainers run somewhere in the $70 range. Is that pricey? Sure. But over six years, how many cheap rubber retainers would you go through? How many snapped mid-dive, mildly compromising your focus when you needed it elsewhere? I'd rather pay once and dive with kit I trust. As a matter of fact, I just ordered 6 more for the LP85 steels I dive in the caves here in Florida.

Bottom line

10 out of 10. Highly recommend. Go check out D'luxe Dive Gear in Germany if you're tired of replacing rubber retainers every season. Tell Sven I sent you.