Do I want a Spare Air

[EFX]

If someone is unable to stick with their buddy, or monitor their own time/depth/air, then their problem won't be rectified by them lugging around a pony bottle, or even by upgrading to a larger tank. They don't need to blow money on more stuff, they need to learn to dive.

Sometimes chasing after your buddy isn't the best thing to do. I had two situations where I was diving with a group of six. One of them was my assigned buddy. I chose to carry my 19 ft3 pony and I'm glad I did. On one situation I told the group I was going to run a line into the cavern and that I was going to be slow. Sure enough every one took off. Even my buddy left me. In the second situation my buddy didn't leave me but was swimming too fast ahead of me. We were at 100 ft in the back of the cavern in a fairly narrow crevice (not a restriction). In this situation having the pony enabled me to relax and gradually catch up to him. I agree that trying to stay with your buddy is important. Having the pony is not a replacement for the buddy but cheap life insurance in some situations.

 

[BRT]

that's great, very happy for you

but I wouldn't again trust a screw-thread that can only be hand tightened again. One careless knock and you have a bottle full of water.

And I did

If it is full you can't unscrew it.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

@Mark IV , @tbone1004 ,

Have you guys gone recreational diving in places like Maui? Where there is one guide and the herd basically follows but no one is assigned anyone and it is each diver for themselves? Are you guys into photography? In that scenario, which I believe is quite common (take pictures of pretty fish following a guide around), a pony bottle is a great idea.

That is the reality of a big part of the diving segment. You can't look at diving purely through tec diver eyes. What does much of the market do? It sure ain't tech diving.

 

[Scraps]

If it’s not too far off topic, I have a question about pony bottles:

This summer on the way to and from a non-diving family get together, I will have a couple days of diving in the Carolinas (one day in each Carolina).

These will be boat dives to about 100 feet. I don’t have a buddy to bring, so I’ll be randomly paired (but I won’t show my DM card so as to avoid baby sitting someone who shouldn’t be there).

Given the depth, conditions that may be rougher than I’m used to, and likelihood of an unreliable buddy, I was thinking about taking the self-reliant diver course and buying a 19 ft^3 pony.

I’ll be diving with single steel 120’s.

Wisdom or prudence of this idea? Other suggestions?

 

[Boston Breakwater]

I suppose...... I should clarify.....a little.
The "Spare Air." even on its initial release was highly criticized, and "Yes, I believe it was manufactured purely for the market, and to rake in the cash.
I do not consider a "Spare Air." a pony bottle. (Sorry, I just don't.) I dove with a 30 cubic in between my doubles for many years,
I currently own (3) 40 cubic bottles. So, should you buy a "Spare Air." I would say "No."
Should you buy a "Pony Bottle.".......I highly recommend it.
Cheers

 

[Mark IV]

And if you were cave/cavern certified, that that's even more unforgivable !

Hold on there cowboy. Sometimes chasing after your buddy isn't the best thing to do. I had two situations where I was diving with a group of six. One of them was my assigned buddy. I chose to carry my 19 ft3 pony and I'm glad I did. On one situation I told the group I was going to run a line into the cavern and that I was going to be slow. Sure enough every one took off. Even my buddy left me. In the second situation my buddy didn't leave me but was swimming too fast ahead of me. We were at 100 ft in the back of the cavern in a fairly narrow crevice (not a restriction). In this situation having the pony enabled me to relax and gradually catch up to him. I agree that trying to stay with your buddy is important. Having the pony is not a replacement for the buddy but cheap life insurance in some situations.

No, you hold on, cowboy !! I don;t even know where to begin with this post, LOL!
First, I wasn't suggesting "chasing" after dive buddies, but merely staying close enough for the principal to be effective (it really ain't that hard).
And, that's a 2-way street. If you knowingly dive with clueless idiots that leave you stranded in a cavern, then that's also kinda on you!
And, if you were in an overhead environment,without the proper training and equipment (as it appears), then that's definitely on you. (even BEING a hundred feet back in an overhead, with a group of single-tank, non-cave divers, was stupidly irresponsible, but getting left there??
And if you WERE cave/cavern certified, then that's even more unforgivable !
Having a pony bottle during this hairbrained scenario, wasn't a substitution for good judgement and proper training, nor is it justification for lugging one around every dive for the rest of your life. As I said........it's much more practical to just learn to dive properly.

 

[Boston Breakwater]

If it’s not too far off topic, I have a question about pony bottles:

This summer on the way to and from a non-diving family get together, I will have a couple days of diving in the Carolinas (one day in each Carolina).

These will be boat dives to about 100 feet. I don’t have a buddy to bring, so I’ll be randomly paired (but I won’t show my DM card so as to avoid baby sitting someone who shouldn’t be there).

Given the depth, conditions that may be rougher than I’m used to, and likelihood of an unreliable buddy, I was thinking about taking the self-reliant diver course and buying a 19 ft^3 pony.

I’ll be diving with single steel 120’s.

Wisdom or prudence of this idea? Other suggestions?

Hello. I typically dive singles.....Faber L.P. 121's and Faber H.P. 120's
In 100ft, I would recommend a 30 cubic bottle.
Cheers.

 

[Mark IV]

BTW, I actually briefly owned a pony bottle, years ago. I was just starting to get into the technical thing (before PADI even sanctioned nitrox diving). But no sooner did I buy the tank, then I realized it was useless for what i was doing, and i sold it to a work mate, and just started side-mounting another alu 80 when I needed to.
But, we were doing deep air/deco dives back then, and genuinely needed the redundancy, and the extra air. When I was doing normal dives, a pony would've just been in the way. It was much simpler (and more responsible) to just pay attention to my air,depth and time, as it is with the overwhelming majority of recreational divers.
For anyone doing casual, single-tank recreational dives, if you find yourself needing that pony bottle, or even getting real close to needing it, then you need to look a little closer to home to find the problem, 'cause it ain't an "air" issue.

 

[UTscuba]

If it is full you can't unscrew it.

that wasn't my experience, maybe there was another fault or flaw that caused it to flood, but either way it's not something I personally am comfortable with using again.

But YMMV and we all make our own risk assessments

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

BTW, I actually briefly owned a pony bottle, years ago. I was just starting to get into the technical thing (before PADI even sanctioned nitrox diving). But no sooner did I buy the tank, then I realized it was useless for what i was doing, and i sold it to a work mate, and just started side-mounting another alu 80 when I needed to.
But, we were doing deep air/deco dives back then, and genuinely needed the redundancy, and the extra air. When I was doing normal dives, a pony would've just been in the way. It was much simpler (and more responsible) to just pay attention to my air,depth and time, as it is with the overwhelming majority of recreational divers.
For anyone doing casual, single-tank recreational dives, if you find yourself needing that pony bottle, or even getting real close to needing it, then you need to look a little closer to home to find the problem, 'cause it ain't an air issue.

So you ignore that group diving is common in many tropical locations? And that people invariably drift apart?

And that while unlikely, equipment does fail: My Own Out of GAS Experience