Is a Pony Bottle too complicated for a beginner?

[SlugLife]

I haven't yet seen anyone say you absolutely need a pony when buddy-diving, or that these scenarios are likely to occur. The point of carrying a pony (responsibly) is not that these out-of-air or equipment failures are likely, but rather being prepared for the unlikely event something did happen.

Some people also solo-dive, and that fact that air-share even exists and does happen is enough for a solo-diver to want redundant air.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

By cold water I mean sub 40 degrees.

Woot! I'm a warm water diver now here in the Puget Sound.

Not giving up my drysuit however!

 

[grf88]

Woot! I'm a warm water diver now here in the Puget Sound.

Not giving up my drysuit however!

That would actually be cool water diver.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I haven't yet seen anyone say you absolutely need a pony when buddy-diving, or that these scenarios are likely to occur. The point of carrying a pony (responsibly) is not that these out-of-air or equipment failures are likely, but rather being prepared for the unlikely event something did happen.

There are also other "unlikely events" that could happen to a diver, or for that matter, to a person doing some other activity. Generally, we equip ourselves to handle only those adverse events for which the combination of the likelihood of occurrence and the severity of the outcome outweighs the negatives of carrying and being ready to use yet one more piece of gear. It's not practical for even seasoned divers, even technical divers, to equip themselves for EVERY unlikely event. We equip for the common ones--sure. We equip for the severe ones--sure. For any given adverse scenario, we try to weigh the likelihood and severity together and decide whether taking yet another piece of gear makes sense.

Some people also solo-dive, and that fact that air-share even exists and does happen is enough for a solo-diver to want redundant air.

Again, this is the New Divers forum, not the Solo forum. The OP asked if a pony bottle is too complicated for a "beginner," and there have been some great responses both for and against.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

That would actually be cool water diver.

For tech diving in Maui i want a dry suit. That should describe my tolerance fairly well.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

This is the money post. This answered the OP's question perfectly. Bravo to Moerae!



Money post #2: Bravo!

cheers,
m

Last September, I was a new diver, slinging a pony from dive 1 as a certified OW diver. Even practiced switch over drills. All drysuit dives in the Pacific NW. The Salish Sea, around the south end of Vancouver Island. Vis from stellar, to crap. A new diver can, handle a pony. I know, as I did it. A month from now, I am doing the SDI Solo cert; currently sitting at 144 dives. Still carrying a pony. Which has grown from, originally, at 13cu; I now sling a 30cu.

 

[markmud]

Last September, I was a new diver, slinging a pony from dive 1 as a certified OW diver. Even practiced switch over drills. All drysuit dives in the Pacific NW. The Salish Sea, around the south end of Vancouver Island. Vis from stellar, to crap. A new diver can, handle a pony. I know, as I did it. A month from now, I am doing the SDI Solo cert; currently sitting at 144 dives. Still carrying a pony. Which has grown from, originally, at 13cu; I now sling a 30cu.

It aint rocket science.

As @Moerae stated, some divers are mentally and physically prepared to learn and practice from the get go. I performed my first solo dive the same day my OW instructor signed my temporary OW cert. Adding a pony bottle came shortly thereafter.

Did I make mistakes? Yes. One mistake I made was not using my oral BCD inflator to gain neutral buoyancy (to iterate: your BCD inflator won't work if your primary reg catastrophically takes a dump). I was a professional mariner. I thought in terms of jetsam. I divided my sinkers into throwable and ditch-able. I was cold water diving. I had "throw weights" readily available in my BCD pocket in small sizes so I could jetsam just enough to become neutral. My tactic did not last very long (not one dive as I recall) as I had discussions with more advanced divers all the time. One told me to just blow into my BCD with my mouth to add buoyancy. DOH! Well that should have been obvious! DUH! I learned that in OW class!

I still have more two pound sinkers than I can ever use.

It aint rocket science!

cheers,
m

 

[skippy311]

Yes, of course. Why not?
I and my wife still own our two Technisub ARALU twin sets, made of a twin 9+9 liters alu tanks at 200 bar, providing roughly 3600 liters of air.
View attachment 666664
However, we also own a 15-liters steel single tank, at 232 bars, providing almost the same amount of air. It weights just 15.4 kg instead of 23 kg, and it also requires 4 kg less of weights. As it is equipped with a double valve, we can use the same two separate regs we use on the twin tank.
I did never consider a single first stage with an octopus "safe enough" for me...
And I did never use any tank providing less than 3000 liters of air. Again, smaller tanks are not "safe enough" for me.

Loving the logo on that image you shared! Thanks for your response!

 

[Angelo Farina]

Loving the logo on that image you shared! Thanks for your response!

That's the Technisub logo. Technisub was the company founded by Luigi Ferraro after leaving Cressi, with a minority share from Jacques Cousteau. They had a partnership with Aqualung, which in the end acquired Technisub. Here the history.
TECHNISUB | BluTimeScubaHistory
Sorry for going OT.
however, back on topic: Technisub was actually the first company selling a compact alu tank to be used as a pony tank here in Italy, back in the seventies. So they should be acknowledged as the pioneer of using a pony tank, at least here in Italy. Here the Aralu pony tank, beside the Aralu twin set:

It is a 4 liters, 200 bar tank, providing 800 liters of air, enough for a safe ascent and a safety deco stop.
At the time, this pony tank was not usually attached to the harness, in front of the chest. Instead, it was usually attached behind the main twin tank (everyone at the time was using a twin tank as their primary standard tank), as shown here:

Such a setup was NOT considered typical for new divers, indeed, and was recommended only for deep dives with mandatory deco, or for diving in caves, etc. - for new divers a standard twin set was the norm, possibly with two independent regs on the two posts.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

It aint rocket science.

Brain Surgeon - That Mitchell & Webb Look , Series 3 - BBC Two - YouTube