Do you need to take Reg off Pony when not diving?

[Wibble]

A pony is not a stage to extend your dive. It’s emergency redundant air. Many in the US sling them from chest and hip D ring, much like a tech diver would sling a deco bottle. They go as large as an AL40 here.

For the purposes of clarity, the term "stage" is generally accepted as a cylinder that's dis-mountable, normally mounted in front and attached at the hip and chest D-rings.

 

[Marie13]

For the purposes of clarity, the term "stage" is generally accepted as a cylinder that's dis-mountable, normally mounted in front and attached at the hip and chest D-rings.

Maybe in the UK, but common usage for stage in the US is not “emergency redundant air.” It’s to extend a dive, such as in a cave stage dive.

 

[lexvil]

I love the into the weeds semantic threads, call it a pony, an elephant or “my little tank” paint it pink, doesn’t matter it the same piece of equipment and it has multiple uses, from dive extender to emergency back up.

 

[Celt]

You're confusing using your pony regularly for practice and to ensure the reg is working correctly with actually including it in your gas plan. Absolutely you should plan to regularly use your pony bottle for practice and to ensure it is working perfectly. However, you should not include the gas in your pony in the gas plan for the dive. If you do that it is just more planned gas that just so happens to be in a 2nd cylinder. In that case it is NOT a redundant air source but rather part of your planned gas.

I practice with and test my pony on dives when I don't need it as a redundant air source. For example on a shallow shore dive when redundancy isn't necessary. In that case I'm using it as a stage and not as a pony. It might seem to be splitting hairs but it's not. It's important to be clear with your gas plan for every single dive.

Not confused, I just don’t bring anything on a dive that I don’t plan on using, it’s dead weight.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Not confused, I just don’t bring anything on a dive that I don’t plan on using, it’s dead weight.

A CCR diver doesn't quite view their bailout bottles as "dead weight" if they don't use them. Rather they are thankful. That is exactly how I view a pony bottle when I choose to carry one.

But to each their own. Your diving procedures clearly work for you and successfully support the diving you do.

 

[Wibble]

Words are important and frequently have different meanings in different regions of the world.

Whilst a 'stage' cylinder is an additional gas cylinder staged in a cafe for the return trip — like the Saturn V third stage — its colloquial meaning is that of a cylinder clipped on as a "bottom stage", "deco stage", "bailout stage" or now as a "pony stage".

In the UK a "pony" almost exclusively means a 3 litre/25 CF steel cylinder attached to the side of a primary cylinder on a diver's back.

 

[Wibble]

I love the into the weeds semantic threads, call it a pony, an elephant or “my little tank” paint it pink, doesn’t matter it the same piece of equipment and it has multiple uses, from dive extender to emergency back up.

This has many different planning implications according to the use, which is why different names are used.

 

[Celt]

A CCR diver doesn't quite view their bailout bottles as "dead weight" if they don't use them. Rather they are thankful. That is exactly how I view a pony bottle when I choose to carry one.

But to each their own. Your diving procedures clearly work for you and successfully support the diving you do.

That’s true, I actually see that as a flaw with CCR you’re carrying two different systems.

 

[tursiops]

Not confused, I just don’t bring anything on a dive that I don’t plan on using, it’s dead weight.

So you don't carry a cutting tool? Or a redundant computer? Or an alternate air source/regulator?

 

[lexvil]

This has many different planning implications according to the use, which is why different names are used.

I can call it a potato chip if I want, so long as I know what it’s for it doesn’t matter and bares little relevance to the question at have of removing the potato chip from the bag.