Back mount pony bottle

[A Bajo]

In my opinion double are good if you are getting into tech diving. I use to cave dive 20 years ago but not anymore And was using doubles. I am not physically in shape to carry double rig anyway. As a solo diver now I slung a 30 cf under my arm and this is perfect for what I do. There is no need to use double

i really like that setup I am just wondering if will be off balance: I use a 30 cf that I slung under my arm, but for next summer I am considering a 19 cf cause less bulky, I will like to try it back mount. Very good idea to see your spg. Possible also to eliminate one hose using a air integrated computer but cost more.

I tried this back mounted pony because I grew tired of 'insta buddies". However, my balance was all off and I was struggled so much my air consumption was much higher. I went back to a single and try to make sure I have someone near me at all times. Now I am getting more into photography and may reconsider. It almost make want to dive sidemount.

 

[Boarderguy]

I tried this back mounted pony because I grew tired of 'insta buddies". However, my balance was all off and I was struggled so much my air consumption was much higher. I went back to a single and try to make sure I have someone near me at all times. Now I am getting more into photography and may reconsider. It almost make want to dive sidemount.

You need to counter your pony with a cam band mounted weight pouch. Put one opposite your pony and have a 4-5lb weight in it. Your balance will be significantly better and far less likely to turn turtle. It's a simple solution to a gear problem.

 

[A Bajo]

You need to counter your pony with a cam band mounted weight pouch. Put one opposite your pony and have a 4-5lb weight in it. Your balance will be significantly better and far less likely to turn turtle. It's a simple solution to a gear problem.

yea, I need to try again, someone came over and gave me a weight mid-dive and I was better

 

[NYCrecdiver]

In my opinion double are good if you are getting into tech diving. I use to cave dive 20 years ago but not anymore And was using doubles. I am not physically in shape to carry double rig anyway. As a solo diver now I slung a 30 cf under my arm and this is perfect for what I do. There is no need to use double

i really like that setup I am just wondering if will be off balance: I use a 30 cf that I slung under my arm, but for next summer I am considering a 19 cf cause less bulky, I will like to try it back mount. Very good idea to see your spg. Possible also to eliminate one hose using a air integrated computer but cost more.

19 cf mounted on the back is not going to get you off balance. I mount that on my HP120 and don't notice it being there at all. At first I had a piece of lead on the other side of my primary tank on the cam band to 'balance' out the pony. I noticed I don't need to do that and now no longer bother.

 

[scubadada]

An AL19 is about a pound negative when full. I sling one on the left side and do not change my weighting. I generally do not even know it is there.

 

[SlugLife]

I tried this back mounted pony because I grew tired of 'insta buddies". However, my balance was all off and I was struggled so much my air consumption was much higher. I went back to a single and try to make sure I have someone near me at all times. Now I am getting more into photography and may reconsider. It almost make want to dive sidemount.

yea, I need to try again, someone came over and gave me a weight mid-dive and I was better

It might be worth doing a shore-dive and testing the weight to see what your balance is like. I think 4-5lbs is too much, but there are many factors at play (your BCD, where the tank is, regulator weight, etc) so I prefer real-world testing over theorizing too much. If you have a pocket (either on your BCD, or attach one to the waist-strap), you could hover over the bottom and add or remove weights.

While not required, an advantage of having the weight towards your belly or sides, is it helps lower your "center of negative buoyancy." Any imbalance in back-mount or weight above your BCD tends to be significantly more noticeable, essentially steadily forcing you to roll over onto your back like a dead-fish.

edit: If your BCD isn't fitting properly, it's possible both your pony tank and main tank are rolling towards one side, causing the imbalance to get even worse.

An AL19 is about a pound negative when full. I sling one on the left side and do not change my weighting. I generally do not even know it is there.

When slinging or sidemount, an imbalance is significantly less problematic. I regularly Sidemount AL80 (used during dive) + AL 19 (redundant only) without an offset weight, and it only starts to get annoying when my AL80 is almost empty, where it tries to roll me about 15 to 20 degrees up. However, I can stop finning and it doesn't go beyond that. Even when diving absurd weight offsets, like a steel-100-left & AL6 right, it rolled me about 40-degrees to the side but then stopped there.

A few years ago, I had a back-mount BCD with a slight imbalance in weighting (that took me a while to figure out, mostly improper fit), and my BCD was constantly trying to roll me face-up ... slowly, but I had to constantly fin to prevent that from happening.

 

[Boarderguy]

19 cf mounted on the back is not going to get you off balance. I mount that on my HP120 and don't notice it being there at all. At first I had a piece of lead on the other side of my primary tank on the cam band to 'balance' out the pony. I noticed I don't need to do that and now no longer bother.

I notice it with a 13cf back mounted. Going perfectly still and I would roll towards my pony. Weight of the pony is one aspect but you also need to account for your 1st stage weight and the mounting method(shark or cam mounted bracket). 2-3 lbs works fine. I keep 4 on my opposite side because I carry a few other things in my right side.

 

[grf88]

Sling a 40 Al, you will not even know it is there in the water.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

I'm considering setting one up. The only time I used one was when we were using surface supplied air, and thankfully never needed it. So here's my though process.

Worse case is I suck a tank dry. Not sure how someone could get to that point without realizing they are low in air, but it's worse case. If that happened, the octo on my main tank is not going do anyone any good. Me or a buddy. No air to breathe, inflate the wing or the drysuit. That's what's called a bad day.

More likely case is that I find myself low on air. At this point there is still enough to inflate the wing and drysuit but maybe not enough to get to the surface safely.

So considering the more likely scenario, I'm thinking a back mounted 19cu pony with it's own 1st and 2nd stage. Maintain the octo I currently have because I wont always need a pony bottle. That will give the breathing air I need while using what's left in the main tank for wing and drysuit inflation. The assumption is that if I ever needed to use alternate air, the dive is over. Maybe hang the pony 2nd stage on a necklace.

Does this idea hold water? I would also likely be in a FFM if that matters. I don't really dive solo anymore, but even on group dives there are many instances where I might venture away from the group. Far enough away that should something go wrong, I may not make it to a buddy's octo.

If you are not hunting fish nor using a large camera set up then just sling it to your bcd in front. clip it top and bottom to your bcd super close so it doesnt hang at all.

then you can unclip it and hand it off to someone else OR you can just take it off your bcd in about two seconds if needed. Way more convenient. I set my dive computer to read my pony air as well as my main tank btw. AI computer.

edit for Boarderguys Disagree emoji lol. We can agree to disagree brotha. But front/side sling is far easier. you can take it off in literally two seconds...... and hand off..... easier to fiddle with it underwater at 100 ft deep if you have a pony malfunction. It happened to me once in philippines. if it was on my back id have not been able to do anything about it as I was in a wreck.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

I am a firm believer and user of a back mounted 19cf pony along with a 120HP Steel primary tank. Because of this I also don't dive a separate octo and instead have an Air 2 on my BC inflator so that I have both a redundant and share air option for my main 120cf HP. This gives me an inventory of approximately 140cf of available gas. My 19cf Pony is fully charged and good to go and is basically a no frill fully available buddy that is always there for me and doesn't ever drink any of my beer. I do dive primarily solo.....or at least end up that way if hunting or videoing. Also, my 19 pony is not factored into my primary dive and/or gas management plan. It is ONLY there as an emergency option in case if a catastrophic failure of my primary system.

The other thing that I do that is a bit unusual is that I have a dedicated SPG for my Pony so that I can monitor and confirm Pony gas pre-dive, during dive, and most importantly if needed for an emergency. Having the Pony SPG lets me know if in an emergency I have the capacity to complete a fully controlled ascent and safety stop.

This pic is of my Pony Tamer system but I have since changed to a Quick Draw Easy Mount because its more conducive for travel and for the double tank straps on my Zeagle Ranger BC.

I know that there is a lot of negative karma on this forum when it comes to back mounted Pony's and Air 2's......but it works really well for me and most importantly is what my personal mindset is ready and prepared for....

I do same on local diving. steel 120 and AL19 but front/side sling it. I dont have an octo and i dont have an spg. two less hoses baby

One thing, seeing that you use an spg for pony id just switch to air integrated computer. Mares has two models for under $600 that monitor 3 tanks. I use a perdix AI