sorry if i don't understand have you done your certification or not yet ? I did about 20 ish solo dive by myself (not certified). I am thinking do to the self reliant course next spring but i am wondering if i will gain much doing so. What's your thoughts on that ?
I basically started out Scuba diving solo-diving, from the very beginning. I shouldn't have, and nor do I recommend other divers do so.
My first 20 solo dives were somewhat meaningless from a perspective of "solo diving experience, skills and knowledge." Given the questions I've seen you post in a bunch of threads
(doing research and asking questions is a good thing), I'm guessing your solo-diving experience is much the same as my own first-20-solo-dives. Reading between the lines, you have about 20 dives diving alone, but may not have had the equipment, knowledge, or skills to be self-reliant in an emergency. There's more to self-reliant diving than diving by yourself and/or adding a pony-bottle.
It is possible you have much to gain (or little). I don't know what your kit is like, what safety measures you take, and whether you're capable of handling emergencies alone. An advantage of a self-reliant course, is they will instruct you in a more structured way, ensuring they cover each of the basics, and up to a level of basic competency in each of those areas.
For example, I've seen you post a lot about pony bottles, but have you also thought about other redundancies and emergency handling? For example spare/multiple/redundant mask, computer or depth gauge, cutting-devices, buoyancy, lights, or even propulsion. What if there's an entanglement around your back-mount tank that you can't reach while wearing your kit? Do you practice switching regulators and using your pony bottle? Can you find both regulators, cutting devices, and other emergency tools without visibility? Do you inform someone of your dive plan, or what to do if you disappear?
I don't think the self-reliant courses should be required to dive by yourself, or that everyone has to take one. However, some people would certainly benefit from the knowledge gained in such a course.
I also think based on all the questions you've asked in a bunch of threads, you really should start a thread where you can ask all kinds of questions, and avoid sending other threads off-topic.
