Do you actually see people diving with pony bottles?

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On my first trip to Soipadan this year, as well as on my first trip to the Maldives this year. I know that there will be a third time on my trip to Pulau Weh next month since my buddy will be carrying a pony. I could also say that I see a diver with a pony on every dive since I carry one.
 
I only know one diver who has one. He recently drained it underwater so he is not allowed to bring it on my boat any longer.
 
I've never seen a pony bottle yet. In warm water holiday destinations (Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Mauritius, Belize), I've only seen sidemount once, someone was taking a class while I was taking my OW class.

Now, I have plans of taking my sidemount rig this weekend to the Philippines, for purely recreational dives. I'm curious to see how peoppe will react to it :wink:
Still not a pony though.
 
I almost never see them.
 
I think @billt4sf in Bali dive with one. To me it is pain in the rear when you travel overseas and have to remove the valve off so the security / custom officer can see inside to make sure you are not hiding anything inside the bottle, not including the extra baggage weight that you have to worry about on top of the rest of heavy & bulky diving gears & camera. It's not worth the hassle of traveling half around the world with it IMHO.
 
In Joisey - everyone. Unless you're diving doubles-quite a few)

In warm water? Seldom if ever.

@Marie13 - Good thread but you should have set this up as a survey.
 
I have a 13 cf one I attach to my tank, but rarely use it. Most of my dives are solo and very shallow. I can't recall seeing a pony on the charters I've taken on the FL panhandle, in SC, AL & TX. That means probably 20-30 boat rides over the years. If the dive is below 80' I begin to think about using the pony. Sometimes I decide depending on how an insta-buddy sizes up.
My first (and only) regular dive buddy here in NS always took his. I don't think he dives much anymore.
 
Have never seen one 2200 feet back in a cave. Now stage bottles and deco bottles are another story.

We have figured out that a better alternative to an AL 80 with a small pony bottle is to use a single steel 95 or 120 with an “H” valve.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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