I prefer rubber or Xtech hoses to braided because they are negatively buoyant. I don't understand why everyone does not use a 7 foot hose for their primary / donate reg with the secondary on a short hose with neckless. The typical 38 inch octo hose is to short for two people to maneuver out of a tight spot. Think that just because you are a recreational diver you'll never be in a confined space? Even basic open water dives can include confined spaces. Do you have one of those useless secondary regs built into your BCD inflator? Ever wonder how you'd donate that? You can't. So what then? You'd use the BCD inflator reg as your secondary and donate your primary which sits on far to short, twenty something inch hose; even shorter than the typical rec-rig octo. At best, this is not ideal and at worse it's dangerous and un-workable. Having the secondary on a neckless ensures you always know where it is. 7 ' hose should be on all rigs and the standard for basic OW training..