Recreational Pony Bottles, completely unnecessary? Why or why not?

[barth]

So people never get bent from a rapid ascent even if they are within NDL. Give me a break.

Because of that the pony should be large enough . Even with stress you should be able to do safety/deco stop(s). A diver should calculate if the pony contains enough gas.

Stops are only slowing down the ascent speed.

 

[grf88]

Because of that the pony should be large enough . Even with stress you should be able to do safety/deco stop(s). A diver should calculate if the pony contains enough gas.

Stops are only slowing down the ascent speed.

That response would be better to someone that thought CESA's were the answer.

 

[Celt]

My Own Out of GAS Experience

So the other week I experienced my first very own out of gas situation and learnt something new. Downstream valves can fail shut!!! I was always told and understood they could only ever fail open c…

grahamsavill.wordpress.com

my buddies and I shoot at the same time and check on the other in between shots.

And for your question yes. Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean one shouldn't plan for it. I've never been in a serious car accident, but I prepare for it every time I'm in a car.

I think you should read your own quote, his reg was malfunctioning a full 20 minutes before failure,

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I think you should read your own quote, his reg was malfunctioning a full 20 minutes before failure,

Where in the world do you get 20 minutes?

 

[Celt]

Good luck to you if you thought that it is always that easy and not time/air consuming.

I’ve cut more net and gear than I’ve had hot dinners

 

[Celt]

Where in the world do you get 20 minutes?

but it had been probably 20mins since I last had a look. He said himself it was breathing funny.

 

[Blackcrusader]

but it had been probably 20mins since I last had a look. He said himself it was breathing funny.

Well regardless of time he certainly wasn't out of air in an instant he had plenty of warning to signal to his dive buddy to stay close.

 

[Celt]

Well regardless of time he certainly wasn't out of air in an instant he had plenty of warning to signal to his dive buddy to stay close.

Maybe not 20 minutes when he fully realised he needed to take action but plenty time to sort himself out, but I’m glad I don’t own one of those regs,

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

this is likely also not the newly certified diver. The Dunning Kruger effect puts these folks at higher risk. Perhaps it shouldn't, but the evidence indicates otherwise. Quite simply, you cannot control your buddy, and self reliance is the mark of an advancing diver

A year ago, I was the newly certified OW diver, slinging a 13cu pony. Wanting to have the ability to save myself, from the getgo. Even did a mask flood, switch to pony drill at 45', just to make sure I could do it.
A purely recreational diver, can carry a pony right from the start. The trick is, to not include it in any dive planning, gas management. The only function of a pony is, "oh $#it", and it is time to surface. I did from dive 1 as a certified diver. Recently did my 213th dive, and this past summer, I did the SDI Solo cert. Still packing a pony, and still not including it in my gas planning
Recently did a dive where I packed a stage and my pony. The stage btl was to extend my gas so that I could stay with my buddies who have much better consumption than me. The pony was still for the "oh $#it" moments.

 

[barth]

A year ago, I was the newly certified OW diver, slinging a 13cu pony. Wanting to have the ability to save myself, from the getgo. Even did a mask flood, switch to pony drill at 45', just to make sure I could do it.
A purely recreational diver, can carry a pony right from the start. The trick is, to not include it in any dive planning, gas management. The only function of a pony is, "oh $#it", and it is time to surface. I did from dive 1 as a certified diver. Recently did my 213th dive, and this past summer, I did the SDI Solo cert. Still packing a pony, and still not including it in my gas planning
Recently did a dive where I packed a stage and my pony. The stage btl was to extend my gas so that I could stay with my buddies who have much better consumption than me. The pony was still for the "oh $#it" moments.

For redundancy you don’t need 3 tanks. Why don’t you start and breath down with the stage to a certain pressure and then start using your single tank/backgas ?

Or just use doubles instead of 3 tanks. If I would use doubles/sidemount for a cave dive I don’t need a third tank for redundancy.