The SPG is to the hip to allow you to glance at it merely by looking
down, without having to unclip it.  The cleaner the front of the diver,
the better.  Routing it to the inflator complicates hose routing from
the first stage with most HP ports.  Also, the inflator needs to be
mobile, to follow your hand to your drysuit inflator and to your nose
for equalizing, and that functionality must not be impaired.  When you
need the inflator, you need to be able to get it immediately and not
confuse it with another hose, such as with a stuck valve when you need
to disconnect it in a hurry.  The hip position places the guage where
it is easily read by your buddies.  All metal SPG housings will tend to
make the SPG negatively buoyant - not a problem when clipped off, but
if attached to the inflator would prevent the corrugated hose from
floating up against the body in the prone position to minimize drag. 
If you have difficulty unclipping the gauge, use larger bolt snaps.  My
SPG hose runs through an O-ring which is bent around the bolt snap. 
This allows me to pull the gauge forward without unclipping it (the
o-ring just slides up the hose), and then pushing the bolt snap back
down to stow the gauge.  I just reread your original message - in DIR,
the inflator leads from the right post, for good reason.  The left post
knob is the one which rolls off, and if your inflator is on the left
post, and you are not on your long hose for whatever reason, you may
not realize the shutoff until you go to inflate - a very dangerous
situation.  Similarly the inflator acts as your tertiary backup (manual
addition) regulator when you have lost the left post.  Also, having all
of the hoses cross behind your neck makes it easier to hear a leak or
rupture.

-Sean


On Wed, 29 Sep 1999 17:00:21 -0700 (PDT), Kevin E. Harris wrote:

>Folks:
>Understanding of course the DIR (hogarth) method is on
>the left (only) hip D ring - Has anyone experimented
>with shortening the SPG hose and bundling it with
>their LP inflator (both come off the left post)?
>
>Configuring the SPG at the inflator buttons (I have
>seen this done) seems to make SPG very accessible for
>those of us with thick gloves.
>
>One drawback may be the weight of the SPG causing the
>LP inflator to hang.
>
>Another drawback may be your choice of SPG which may
>be too large and therefore cover the inflator causing
>difficulties with inflation or deflation.


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