Pony Bottle, worth it?

[DandyDon]

I will too.....But not at the expense of my own life. If my life becomes threatened because of the actions of the OOA diver, I'll wait till he's unconsious and then bring him to the surface where I can try to save him again.

Different statement

 

[tomfcrist]

Different statement

So you are saying that if an OOA diver starts endangering your life after you give him your octo, you will die rather than stop your efforts to help him? There really is no other option here.

 

[DandyDon]

So you are saying that if an OOA diver starts endangering your life after you give him your octo, you will die rather than stop your efforts to help him? There really is no other option here.

Nope. Your statement changed to one more reasonable. Thanks

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

What would be your response if your buddy happen to be just another diver on a boat that you don't know?

Pretty much the same response regardless of relationship. Having a buddy die or suffering a severe injury is not something I want to ever experience. I can however be much more aggressive on enforcing planning and practice with my sons.

You must assume that he\she is certified and has some rudimentary planning skills and if not, how is it your responsibility?

Absolutely, but using a pony bottle handed to you mid water is not part of a typical divers training. When you use your own pony, you have plenty of time to practice with it, plan on different scenarios and generally it is attached to you ready to use. When a diver hands off a pony to someone who has never used one or practiced with it, it is a lot more muddy.

By donating my pony I'm giving that diver a very very good chance to survive. A very good chance...

Yes, you are giving them a chance, but I think its more like giving a panhandler $5 on the street. Sure, you are giving them a resource that could buy a meal.....but can also just as well be used to buy some booze or drugs.

 

[flots am]

Handing off a pony to an OOG buddy is simple and safe for the donor, no doubt about it. However, it transfers a lot of task loading to the victim who already screwed the pooch

FWIW, I never give anybody more than one chance at a Darwin Award on a single dive.

I'll happily share air with anybody, but at that point, we're going up.

An air share for a random stranger means that the victim has managed to both lose his buddy and run out of air on the same dive, so along with the air share comes a free escort back to the boat.

If you hand off the pony, all you've done is give the victim is an opportunity to run out of air twice on the same dive, and a probable drowning at the surface, since there will still be nothing to inflate the BC with. Anybody who doesn't remember to check a pressure gauge probably isn't going to remember to ditch weights or orally inflate at the surface.

flots.

 

[Rhone Man]

I always assume that I would have to be a total idiot to ever need a pony bottle.

So that is why I carry one.

 

[abnjim]

i once had a h.p. hose broken at apx 40+ feet. i was glad i had my littlte 13cf, it's like a gun i would rather have it and never need it than need it and not have it.

 

[spectrum]

FWIW, I never give anybody more than one chance at a Darwin Award on a single dive.


If you hand off the pony, all you've done is give the victim is an opportunity to run out of air twice on the same dive, and a probable drowning at the surface, since there will still be nothing to inflate the BC with. Anybody who doesn't remember to check a pressure gauge probably isn't going to remember to ditch weights or orally inflate at the surface.

flots.

You've also given the chance to survive. Actually if the diver ascends using the pony there's a good chance that there will be pressure to pump the BC at surface pressure, at least somewhat. We're only looking for a few breaths.

Can they still fail to survive? Sure but if their buddy is Rescue Diver trained the odds go up a lot.

Pete

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

i once had a h.p. hose broken at apx 40+ feet. i was glad i had my littlte 13cf, it's like a gun i would rather have it and never need it than need it and not have it.

I bet you probably had more air at the end of your dive in your main tank than you did on your pony. It takes over 30 minutes to drain a full tank with a blown HP hose since there is a very small metering orifice on the HP port of your regulator. Blowing an HP hose will end your dive, not your life.

Now, blowing a LP hose is a totally different story, that will drain your tank fast.

 

[Frosty]

This thread and a whole bunch of others have convinced me of one thing completely and utterly. No matter how good and attentive your buddy is and how carefull you are. If you go into the water sometimes "stuff happens" On that basis I before my next dive will have a "bailout" pony hooked onto my bc.