Pony Bottle, worth it?

[herbdb]

I agree, we had a fatality recently at our local dive spot. A 15 year old became separated from his buddy (his father) at the wrong time and drowned. No details have emerged so far, but reports are that his tank was empty.

It is easy to do a lot of second guessing, but it is likely that if he had been diving with an independent air source he would probably still be alive after learning a valuable lesson.

This really spooked me because I dive with both of my sons and I would be heart broken if this happened to one of them. I went out and spent the money that week.

 

[captain]

I agree, we had a fatality recently at our local dive spot. A 15 year old became separated from his buddy (his father) at the wrong time and drowned. No details have emerged so far, but reports are that his tank was empty.

It is easy to do a lot of second guessing, but it is likely that if he had been diving with an independent air source he would probably still be alive after learning a valuable lesson.

This really spooked me because I dive with both of my sons and I would be heart broken if this happened to one of them. I went out and spent the money that week.

If no details have emerged how can you make the assumption that a pony would have saved him.
I have not ever used a pony in a lifetime of diving and have never been in a situation where I felt "dam, I wish I had a pony right now".

 

[scubadiveilat]

During your course or for the course you'll have no use for a pony. Everything will be provided for you. You can inquire to use a pony while your registered in the course.

As for post-course diving. During the course cover the materials and look into "pony" use see if that falls under your criteria of diving.

General use of pony:

• Deep Dives
• Caves
• Cavern
• Cold Water
• As a reservoir for the above. Which in order to dive these dives a certification is required.

For Adv. Open Water you likely not required to dive with a pony. Unless in cold waters or rare conditions. Prior to any diving PLAN YOUR DIVE AND DIVE YOUR PLAN. Thus you'll know what your facing. Otherwise!!! Have fun diving get some dives under your belt and enjoy the sport as you progress.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Interesting discussion. I am not a fan of pony bottles, have never carried one in over 500 dives, have been +100 feet over 75 times. I have a dive friend who always carries one. He has never used it. The valid use of a pny bottle is in the event of equipment failure, not out of air emergencies. You should plan your dive and dive your plan to not exhaust your air. Your should also dive with a buddy ( in almost every circumstance). So, if your 2nd stage and alternate second stage malfunction, or your tank valve malfunctions, and you have no buddy near at hand to share air, then you will be using the pony bottle. But really, how often will that happen if you have quality equipment, and keep it properly maintained? I refer here of course to recreational diving. Tek is a whole different world.
DivemasterDennis

 

[flots am]

I agree, we had a fatality recently at our local dive spot. A 15 year old became separated from his buddy (his father) at the wrong time and drowned. No details have emerged so far, but reports are that his tank was empty.

Running out of air on a recreational dive is not fatal. In fact, that was how dives were done for decades (dive until the tank is empty, then "go up").

Forgetting/not remembering/ignoring training can be.

There is no point on a recreational dive within table or computer limits where the diver can't surface and breathe all the free air that's above the water. All that is required are the skills required to be taught for an Open Water certification

flots.

 

[pedo]

Running out of air on a recreational dive is not fatal.

No, it is not. But according to Gabrielle Giffords neither is being shot in the head. I think I'll pass on both,thank you.

 

[Dr Wu]

I agree, we had a fatality recently at our local dive spot. A 15 year old became separated from his buddy (his father) at the wrong time and drowned. .

When would have been a good time for them to separate?

It is easy to do a lot of second guessing, but it is likely that if he had been diving with an independent air source he would probably still be alive after learning a valuable lesson.

I would consider that highly unlikely.

If he was lacking the knowledge or skill to monitor his gas, stay in touch with his buddy or do a CESA I don't think he would have had the wherewithal to use a bail out bottle.

 

[DandyDon]

Based on some of the reasoning presenting above, it may sound like we should stop carrying any safety devices that we didn't need for our last hundred dives.

If you have a good, reliable buddy and you both plan and manage your gas for an OOA emergency then you probably do not need to bother with a pony. If you dive solo then you should have a pony when conditions warrant. If you do not have such a buddy then you may be diving solo at times and not realize it.

If, if, if - if s/he always travels with you, makes every dive you do, sticks with you like a remora, and nothing goes wrong. How many times have you used a spare tire, and would you drive 100 miles thru Arizona backroads without one? You can also discuss risk management and how to deal with caca when it hits the fan, but I won't dive without one unless I have to - like when I arrived at the resort too late the first night to have it filled for the first trip the next day. Sure enough, that was when I screwed up and had to do a 50 ft Cesa - which I aced, but I really missed my pony.

It's a hassle: annual reg and tank servicing, an extra 15# in my luggage for every trip, getting it filled on arrival, boarding with it, mounting up with it, dragging it thru the water, climbing it up the ladder, rinsing it between dives, etc. Still - nope, won't do without it if I can avoid it. Hell it should be a requirement before buying a camera as bad as many of us are about following our view finders.

Get the 19 cf - only 2# heavier than the 13 cf but 50% more air when a surprise comes up, as it's hard to say how much is enough in an emergency given the unplanned nature of those. The 6 cf is in the same joke area as a spare air.

The book recommends a hang bottle at 15 feet. You may want to consider that.

What book? Can we bury it? You want your safety devices attached to your body.

 

[Hatul]

My formula for solo shore diving is to use a 13 cu ft for dives <60 ft and a 19 cu ft for deeper dives. I use the Dive Rite sling clipped to the right side of my BC and I take 2 lbs off that side. If you're going to have just one I'd go with a 19.

Pete's formula for sizing the pony is correct but it's conservative and with shore diving I don't want to be hauling a 30 when swimming a long swim.

Two other points. Top off the pony before each dive (or set of dives). And, another important purpose is psychological. It's reassuring to see the redundant air source in front of me and allows me to solve problems with less anxiety and avoid panic.

Adam

 

[Rocketmahn]

"Worth the price or just be extra cautious and play it safe?"

YES!....