Building a Pony

[NW Dive Dawg]

Edit: @-JD- makes a great point about recovering a pony reg knocked out of your mouth? Is that going to be difficult with an inverted back mount pony dangling so low?

Having your pony 2nd on a necklace pretty much mitigates that concern... PS...... I also use an Air 2 as my alternative to access my primary gas so I only really have two 2nd stages that can be confused.....and yet I still managed to do it. One thing I can say about a close call is that it will never happen again, so maybe my "event" is really a blessing in disguise".

 

[Litefoot]

Having your pony 2nd on a necklace pretty much mitigates that concern... PS...... I also use an Air 2 as my alternative to access my primary gas so I only really have two 2nd stages that can be confused.....and yet I still managed to do it. One thing I can say about a close call is that it will never happen again, so maybe my "event" is really a blessing in disguise".

Maybe I need to go back to my DIY bungee necklace. The thick rubber XS Scuba necklace doesn’t inspire much confidence as a reg keeper.

 

[Bigbella]

This ^... I feel sorry for the people with the back mount ponies on the boat during surface intervals... it always looks like quite a hassle switching tanks.

That's a nonexistent issue for me.

I use the Zeagle pony attachment kit, which I have been quite happy with for several years, which is attached to the main BC straps by velcro closures and two buckles; and if it takes me more than fifteen seconds to swap out, it's really an off-day . . .

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I can't get this damn image out of my head every time I read that title...

 

[Bigbella]

I can't get this damn image out of my head every time I read that title...

View attachment 830258

Me too.

"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" . . .

 

[Pressurehead]

Is that the Shark mount?

Yes it is, so easy to change cylinders, I have tried others mounts before settling on this one a few years ago.

And the inverted spare cylinder is a thing we did on deep dives in the mid 1980s, we had these recompression gas test cylinders [made in Germany] we 'acquired' set upside down [like the photo above] mounted on our twin sets with metal bands, not the 'Shark system'.
Two divers I know are alive today because of that extra small amount of gas, I was the gas provider both times, one at 45M , the other on the way up from >50M to cylinders set at at the first deco stop, a diver out of gas will suck your cylinders low on gas quicker than you think before they settle down, you learn that fast.
This was not your every day recreational dive, so a little off topic , but still remember things that have worked for me in the past.
I don't dive past 30M now, and never deeper than 18M solo [most are 10-15M], so this will do me.

B.Z.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

All great points! The only thing that can sometimes may be an issue with a back mount pony is that some dive boats have your "station" tank racks that can be a 'tight" or cumbersome fit for a system with a back mounted pony. I find that at least on the Newtons, that if I tweak my system so the pony is more configures towards the center of the boat rather than to the side, it's not a big deal.

One other item to mention is that if you are diving back mount with a buddy, that it's a good plan to have your buddy understand ahead of time how to pull the locking pin to disengage the full pony system in case a need to "hand off" the pony system ever arises. For the sidewinders, this seems pretty much straight forward in that is it's typically just two bolt snaps and the doner can just unclip themselves and hand it off if needed.

I can see lots of good reasons why side mount makes sense and is a good system, but for a solo photographer or hunter/ gatherer like my-self, the backmount just works better. Also, for those who might be concerned about monitoring pony PSI during a dive, I personally have a small 2in SPG tethered to my pony 2nd hose. I get that it's an added failure point and some added "clutter" but for me personally the tradeoff to have that "knowledge" during my dive is worth it....particularly since I am almost always solo.

If I wasn't already set in my ways then I would probably ditch the added pony SPG and go with a wireless transmitter to a wrist mounted AI computer.

PS.... this is an older pic prior to reconfiguring my pony first to DIN.

 

[SlugLife]

I would avoid taking three second stages, because of the potential for confusion, freeflows, entanglement etc., if you are back mounting. IF you are going to take 3 second stages, I think you should be able to lay out a logical case as to what scenarios that configuration would be advantageous. I can't really think of many that are even remotely likely. Basically, if you need to share air with a buddy, you donate your primary and use your pony to ascend, simple as can be - no need for an octopus.

Adding to this:

In theory both your pony and main tank should always have at least enough air for 1-diver to safely surface.

However, if you had to, you could still buddy-breathe off your main tank. By the time you might "need" to buddy breathe, the other OOA diver should have had the time to calm down, collect their thoughts and communicate/understand you're buddy-breathing.

no one else around here uses pony’s.

Same around here. The only time I've even met another diver with a pony-bottle, was when buying them used off CraigsList.

Is that going to be difficult with an inverted back mount pony dangling so low?

IU sling mine. However, I might say "just try/test it." Reach for your butt and see if you can find it (your pony-reg, not your butt). Even with slung pony's I would encourage practicing switching without looking, and verifying you can do it effortlessly on a regular basis even if it is easy. In an emergency, you may be task-loaded, vision obstructed, etc.

And thanks especially for not turning this into a pony vs doubles thread.

Have your heard about our lord and savior side-mount?

 

[Litefoot]

I see the slung 19L ponies with a loop of LP hose bungied most of the length of the bottle. So that would be around 34" LP hose. I'm guessing those using 30L bottles wouldn't need more than that right? What advantages would be seen with a shorter or longer hose?

 

[inquis]

Standard hose length is 1m / 39" for pony/stage/deco bottles. Routes behind the neck with sufficient bend to not hinder head turn as well as not kink if on a 1st stage without a turret. I'm not certain that would work for an AL19 (19" without a valve) with only one bend, but it's pretty close. I tried a 36" early on (though not on an AL19), but prefer the 39".