Back mount pony bottle

[grf88]

It only gets tangled if you are (already) sucking on the air 2 right?

I guess you have never been mugged by a panicked diver who rips your reg from your mouth. I have and the first reaction is not to calmly deploy the long hose before going to your backup especially when they are either desperately trying to claw their way to the surface or sinking. In a normal air share with a diver low on air or having issues with a freeflow it may not matter as you have already deployed the long hose in advance but when the sht hits the fan every little thing matters.

 

[MidOH]

How would it get caught on an air2? My long hose has no chance of getting tangled in mt necklace or my inflator.

There was another poster here, preaching about having nothing on our right side, because it would trap the long hose. But nothing on my right side traps that hose. And so what, if it did.

Here's 4 feet of hose. Deal with it. You get 3 more in 2 seconds. No big deal.

 

[johndiver999]

I guess you have never been mugged by a panicked diver who rips your reg from your mouth. I have and the first reaction is not to calmly deploy the long hose before going to your backup especially when they are either desperately trying to claw their way to the surface or sinking. In a normal air share with a diver low on air or having issues with a freeflow it may not matter as you have already deployed the long hose in advance but when the sht hits the fan every little thing matters.

So you didn't answer the question directly, but I interpret your response to mean that you are predicting that the air share emergency is going to be so "upsetting" that you will put the alternate in your mouth before you take the time to remove the long hose from your neck.

I have never used a long hose, never had one wrapped around my neck, but I have heard a million times that it is not a problem getting it off your neck and that it is a simple learned response of looking down and pulling the hose and it all deploys instantly and infallibly- just as long as you are not wearing a snorkel. Perhaps getting the long hose deployed is a bigger deal than I am lead to believe by the proponents of the "system"? I don't know and don't claim to know.

However, I do know that in a real air share emergency, my first concern and objective is to get a regulator into the other person's mouth. Getting a regulator in my mouth is NOT my first priority! This is based on my own experience, not guessing or supposition. I've had my reg removed from my mouth several times , against my will, and it has never caused me panic or an inordinate amount of fear, but it DOES one hundred percent, cause you to take immediate notice.

I can secure the air 2 breathing source about as quick as I can retrieve the necklaced second stage. There is no difference, and either way, it only takes 2-3 seconds, max. I can handle the reg out of my mouth for that amount of time. Is that (potential) delay, what is driving your position on this issue?

I have no problem with people NOT using an air 2, I am just want to explore this specific reason, because I have never heard of it before.

 

[Cthippo]

Great thread! Now I’m convinced I need to add a pony to my setup. I swear logging on to SB is liking stepping into a used car lot.
Edit: But I do think, for me, as a relatively new diver, that a back mount setup makes sense. Maybe I don’t truly see the big picture, but a slung pony would be more effort to manage, no?

In my experience, once I get in the water I tend to forget my slung pony is even there. It hangs across my chest and doesn't get in the way

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

In my experience, once I get in the water I tend to forget my slung pony is even there. It hangs across my chest and doesn't get in the way

Respectfully.... I would have to say that personally, a slung pony on my chest would be a total conflict with everything else I have and need in the "chest" area. I'm mainly talking camera / video. When shooting macro, I am sometimes right on the "deck" and holding steady just inches from the bottom and a chest mount would be a problem. That's why I prefer back-mount for my pony.

If a diver has nothing else going on other than "looking" at their dive, then a chest mount might be OK......but not for me. Side-mount makes more sense.

 

[Marie13]

In my experience, once I get in the water I tend to forget my slung pony is even there. It hangs across my chest and doesn't get in the way

Across your chest? Ugh.

 

[Cthippo]

Across your chest? Ugh.

Yeah, upper boltsnap on my AL40 goes to left chest D ring, bottom goes to right hip. Hose is attached to the bottle with a elastic band and reg goes on a necklace.

Works well for me, but to each their own.

 

[grf88]

Yeah, upper boltsnap on my AL40 goes to left chest D ring, bottom goes to right hip. Hose is attached to the bottle with a elastic band and reg goes on a necklace.

Works well for me, but to each their own.

Do yourself a favour and try the left hip for the bottom connection.

 

[Cthippo]

Do yourself a favour and try the left hip for the bottom connection.

What do you see as the advantage to that? I'll give it a shot, but I am comcerned with the length of an AL40 it's going to put the valve up my nose

 

[grf88]

What do you see as the advantage to that? I'll give it a shot, but I am comcerned with the length of an AL40 it's going to put the valve up my nose

You might need to adjust your stage kit but it should just hang at your side such that you are not even aware of it. Maybe look up videos on stage rigging.