Diving with a Pony - key tips for a newbie?

[Mat K]

I'm a novice diver and have decided to start diving with a pony. Most, if not all, of my diving will be warm water rec diving to 30m. I have my own kit, and recently bought a reg, SPG and sling to travel with. The dive ops I use rent out 3 liter tanks - though I'm toying with the idea of buying a 1 or 2 liter al tank to travel with. Having never dived with a pony, I've arranged to to a familiar shore/10m dive with an instructor to 'practice'. I'd be grateful for some tips on what to focus on (and why is it called a pony...?)

 

[Marie13]

Instructor session is good. I dove with mine several times in the pool before even attempting to deploy it, just getting used to it. I have a 30 cft one (not tiny). I don't really notice it's there when in the water. Making first real dive with it today at local quarry and I'll be diving with it during Advanced course this year.

 

[The Chairman]

How you're going to sling the pony is your biggest challenge. I've tried them in many locations, but have settled on clipping them to D-rings on my shoulder and waist straps. I charge the rig and then turn it off before I splash. I have bands on the tank to keep the reg hose tamed, and I use a bungee around the neck to keep the reg tamed.

 

[Kharon]

This document is the best DIY sling I found. I don't remember whose idea it was but I found it on SB.

 

[Mat K]

Thanks for the advice people. As for traveling (flying) with the 13cf, I'm right in thinking I'm going to have to remove the valve even if it's in hand luggage right?
The sling from AP looks a lot like the homemade one...

 

[RyanT]

Hi Mat, yes, you will have to remove the valve. Doing this means you'll need to have the tank visually inspected more often. If you dive ops rent 3L tanks, I would just plan to bring my own sling kit and use their tanks.

 

[mi000ke]

How you're going to sling the pony is your biggest challenge. I've tried them in many locations, but have settled on clipping them to D-rings on my shoulder and waist straps. I charge the rig and then turn it off before I splash. I have bands on the tank to keep the reg hose tamed, and I use a bungee around the neck to keep the reg tamed.

I'm a relative novice diver and just started diving with a pony (13cf) 6 dives ago, and I do the above as well (because the Chairman said so ) - and it works great.

there are several recent threads on this issue you might search for

compute your air needed to get from depth to the surface with a safety stop at 30'/min plus a minute at the bottom to get sorted out using your SAC rate x 2, and use that to size your bottle.

I practice using it during safety stops every now and then (but tell the DM you will be doing this)

I bungee my pony reg to my shoulder D ring and it is nestled perfectly under my left shoulder

 

[FinnMom]

Articles I've read say it can be helpful to have the pony reg or hose be visually distinctive, different from your normal regs. Buy a miflex hose in a distinctive color for instance.

 

[JohnN]

Hi Mat, yes, you will have to remove the valve. Doing this means you'll need to have the tank visually inspected more often. If you dive ops rent 3L tanks, I would just plan to bring my own sling kit and use their tanks.

I travel with a 19 cuft pony and have never had trouble getting a fill. If your tank is in hydro, a visual for an air fill is complete BS.

 

[uncfnp]

I'm a novice diver and have decided to start diving with a pony. Most, if not all, of my diving will be warm water rec diving to 30m. I have my own kit, and recently bought a reg, SPG and sling to travel with. The dive ops I use rent out 3 liter tanks - though I'm toying with the idea of buying a 1 or 2 liter al tank to travel with. Having never dived with a pony, I've arranged to to a familiar shore/10m dive with an instructor to 'practice'. I'd be grateful for some tips on what to focus on (and why is it called a pony...?)

Hi Mat K. There are extensive threads on SB about ponies and their use. Take a look. Lots of good info if you take some time to shift through the threads.

I rig my tank the same as posted by Kharon with a few minor modifications but if you are rigging rentals to sling the version you posted should be much more convenient. Just make sure to have the correct size to fit your planned rental.

As for use, your instructor should help you sling and adjust for weight and trim. Make sure you charge the reg before the dive then I recommend leaving it on at least until you get use to carrying one. Then you can decide to leave on or off during the dive. After that its just a matter of practice and tweaking the rig until you find what works best for you.

As for flying with a pony, its mostly an issue of weight. And yes, you will have to remove the valve. We close the opening with the plastic plug that comes in a new tank when shipped. Our LDS gave us several.

As for vip requirements at your destination, it all depends on the shop. Some may require one prior to fills.