Do we need the long PTFE tube?

I want to have some stands holding filament and would rather there were no PTFE tubing on my P1P, would it be ok if I took most of it out and just put say an inch or so worth in it?

Try it see what happens? Why are you asking?

Asking in case there is a reason the tube is so long in the first place, I don’t want to cause any issues or damage to the printer.

An inch or so where? Off the toolhead? It’s ok if you’re manually feeding, but it’s also to guide and protect the filament. So it’s preferable to leave it there inside the machine, but outside the machine you could cut it back.