Catalina vs Hy-Mark Pony Bottles

[Crush]

Hello,

I am planning to buy a 13 cu ft pony bottle. An on-line store has both "Hy-Mark Pony Bottle Tanks, Yellow with Harrison Valve" and "Catalina Pony Bottle Tanks, Yellow with Genesis Pro Valve" in stock. There is about a $20 price difference between the two.

Can anyone comment as to which tanks or valves might be better?

Cheers

 

[elan]

get the pro valve so you can use both yoke and din regs.

 

[WD8CDH]

The tanks are essentially equal quality but you can get the HyMark in the natural heat treated finish which I personally prefer.

You sure the 13 is big enough? A 19 is not much more bulk for the added air.

 

[Crush]

You sure the 13 is big enough? A 19 is not much more bulk for the added air.

13 is the minimum recommended by NAUI for deep dives. I thought that I wanted a 19, but my LDS only had a 13 available for rental. I found the extra bulk of the 13 such that I did not think that I would get a 19. In the comfort vs safety trade off, I am opting for some comfort (13 rather than 19) and some safety (13 rather than zero).

In an ideal word I would be diving doubles. However, in a word where I travel about with my own dive gear, I am not going to haul around doubles. In a world where I get paired up with dive buddies who are usually great (but sometimes not very great), an extra 13 is a good idea.

 

[elan]

just keep in mind that diving in Alberta you would most likely be finding your bottle having 10-20 % less of gas due to the cold water. so you will be getting closer to 10-11 cuf. If I were you I would consider going with 19 cuf at least.