Back mount pony bottle

[Ross19966]

There should absolutely never be the possibility of being surprised by an out of air situation, as in ever... Redundancy of air supply is not an excuse to ignore your tank pressure, it's important for a host of other reasons (such as 1st stage high pressure seat failure or any number of unlikely but potential gear issues...).
If there is a chance of your diving heading to more technical you'd get more longer term use with an aluminum 40 (or 30, but 40 most popular..)

I agree. I have never been in such a situation but that was about the worse worse case I could come up with. Right now I'm just looking for something to get the surface safely should something go wrong with my primary air. If I were cave diving I would be on twins or a larger pony bottle.

 

[grf88]

You will not get much love on this forum for pony bottles

You probably will from those of us that dive cold water where free-flows are not that uncommon. Most people I dive with carry the bottle side slung like a stage and a 40 is popular as it also makes a good deco bottle if you plan some deco diving. I rarely see a back-mounted pony in this area and the preferred method is turned on rather than a stage which is typically charged and closed. If you don't want to lug doubles or switch to side mount a side slung pony is a good choice.

 

[Ross19966]

I was thinking SPG mounted directly to the pony 1st stage to avoid yet another dangling hose.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

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....

 

[Boarderguy]

I was thinking a mount like the Shark. Easy to add and remove. I'm coming from the commercial world 25 years ago to strictly rec diving now. We always weighted heavy so we could work on the bottom comfortably. We also never wore a wing. Tank on a backpack and a drysuit or helmet on surface air. I am aware that I can blow the wing by mouth and have done it in training.

Get one of these. I don't remember the name though... Your shark mount would need an adapter on every tank you dive with. This one lives on my upper band and allows effortless tank changes and my pony is with me regardless of which of my 10 tanks I grab.

 

[Boarderguy]

I was thinking SPG mounted directly to the pony 1st stage to avoid yet another dangling hose.

My pony reg is a 1st and 2nd only. I check the pressure with my tank guage and don't bother with it again. I check again when I get home to see if it should be topped off or is still good

 

[Ross19966]

Get one of these. I don't remember the name though... Your shark mount would need an adapter on every tank you dive with. This one lives on my upper band and allows effortless tank changes and my pony is with me regardless of which of my 10 tanks I grab. View attachment 763519View attachment 763520

Looks like a Trident Quickdraw. Looks like a great option. The shark looks easy to add and remove from any bottle and lives with the pony, but I like this better.

 

[Ross19966]

Here's a pic of the Shark. One strap to deal with and the whole mess can be removed and moved to another tank. Quickdraw is definitely a cleaner install.

Here's a video.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Here's a pic of the Shark. One strap to deal with and the whole mess can be removed and moved to another tank. Quickdraw is definitely a cleaner install.

View attachment 763526

I have never seen anything like that (fortunately).

 

[Stoo]

This configuration (tank mounted 13 or 19 cf) was quite popular around Tobermory for many years. It's simple and convenient and you always take it because it's semi permanently mounted to your main tank. In these parts, regulator freeze-ups were a constant threat. I used my pony on more than one occasion.

The downsides are mostly hypothetical, and yes, a true set of doubles with a proper isolator manifold is better... unless you don't want to wear/lift doubles.

One legit concern however is that being out of sight and out of mind, is that it's well, out of sight and out of mind, and I'm not sure that's ideal for a backup system. That's the advantage of slinging a bottle... it's there and easy to keep an eye on during the dive.

If you can come to terms with slinging it, then perhaps consider a 30 or 40. A 19 will get depleted with repeated testing a purging.