I would like gills--no tanks and regs at all. But alas .... You can't always get what you want. Every diver has a different idea about the balance between convenience and safety.
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Well, if there is one certainty in this life, it is that I am not infallible, and have a remarkable ability to misunderstand.When I suggested that carrying a pony could lead to complacency, I was referring to complacency with the pony--rusty deployment skills, lax maintenance, etc.--not monitoring the backgas. Of course, no one on SB would be complacent--I mean, among those OTHER divers. Your last sentence above is what I had in mind.
It ain't rocket science.
Rig pony with stage bottle kit. Have some way of holding second stage so it doesn't go dragging. I use a loop of bungee around valve. Some people use a snorkel holder.
You clip it to chest and hip D rings on either left or right side.
Dive with it. Practice in pool or quarry before going on "big" dives with it.
Done.
If you don't dive a BP/W, your BC may not have appropriate attachment points for a pony.
Doesn't PADI have a Solo diver certification that recommends solo divers carry redundant air supply with dedicated 1st and second stage regulator attached? and either slung or attached to your cam strap with a Highland type mount?
Excellent and terse summary of your agency's take on this. I don't think that I have ever read a better one.
I deviate from the above due to how I dive. Two oversize clips on the pony with cuttable attachments to the pony. Unclip/cut those two clips and the pony falls away as a self-contained unit.
Bungee on top, inner tube strap on the bottom of the pony. None of those stupid plastic balls on the two bungee tails, balls catch on everything. The two tails are cut to the width of your hand and flame sealed. Should you need to re-stow the secondary reg, that bungee tail is priceless (to me). Forget the bottom strap on re-stow, unnecessary.
But you guys/gals re-stow the secondary around your neck, no? In which case, I can't complain about the procedure you offered.