Free diving with a pony

[Lord Northern]

Hey. I was wondering: do you think I could extend my free diving experience having a pony bottle with me? Instead of having to go up to the surface for a breath, I could take it from a pony.
Now, I know it might be dangerous if abused but if I don't intend to dive too deep or too far, do you think having a pony bottle would be a good alternative to taking the breath from the surface?

 

[docmartin]

Hey. I was wondering: do you think I could extend my free diving experience having a pony bottle with me? Instead of having to go up to the surface for a breath, I could take it from a pony.
Now, I know it might be dangerous if abused but if I don't intend to dive too deep or too far, do you think having a pony bottle would be a good alternative to taking the breath from the surface?

it's a great idea. it's called scuba diving and i believe some people on this board have experience with it.

 

[Lord Northern]

No, it's different.
It's still free diving because you don't have a ton of equipment on you, only a little bottle in your hand.

That isn't very nice.

 

[Chad Carney]

LN,

Freediving is breath hold diving.

Breathing from a pony bottle makes it compressed air diving, no matter how little you're wearing.

It's very dangerous.

The two don't mix.

Chad

 

[jeraldjcook]

Hey. I was wondering: do you think I could extend my free diving experience having a pony bottle with me?

NO

Now, I know it might be dangerous if abused but if I don't intend to dive too deep or too far, do you think having a pony bottle would be a good alternative to taking the breath from the surface?

Any breathing of compressed air AT ANY DEPTH mixed with breath holding is A VERY BAD IDEA. Once a breath was inhaled, you could only go deeper, not shallower. Depending on your depth, an ascent of only a few feet could injure you. And the shallower you are the more dangerous it is.

LN,

Freediving is breath hold diving.

Breathing from a pony bottle makes it compressed air diving, no matter how little you're wearing.

It's very dangerous.

The two don't mix.

Chad

What he said.

 

[Alex777]

I think what you are (or should be) interested in is not "freediving with a pony bottle" but scuba diving with a Minimalist gear configuration. Something like this:

One can do a dive with a pony bottle as your only air source (I have done several), but (obviously) you will be limited to a short bottom time or a very shallow depth.

 

[Lord Northern]

Hehe, I see.
Thanks for the info

 

[RickI]

I've looked into a pony bottle for emergencies in deeper scooter free diving. Just started carrying one for deeper wrecks. It would be used to try to stave off a crisis and for no other purpose. Once you're on compressed air, it would be best to stay on it until you have carefully made it to surface not exceeding proper ascent rates. Going from a free dive to compressed air, particularly a smaller pony bottle at depth is complicated and to be avoided. Wouldn't recommend it for casual use at shallower depths under any circumstances. Way too easy to get messed up.

 

[perdidochas]

Hey. I was wondering: do you think I could extend my free diving experience having a pony bottle with me? Instead of having to go up to the surface for a breath, I could take it from a pony.
Now, I know it might be dangerous if abused but if I don't intend to dive too deep or too far, do you think having a pony bottle would be a good alternative to taking the breath from the surface?

There's a discussion about this on the spearfishing forum on this board.

What I have concluded from that thread is that there is only one real legitimate use of a pony when free diving--to help when you've speared a grouper or other fish that goes into the rocks. Having a pony bottle when free diving adds a lot of complexity and danger to free diving. I would invest in free diving fins and work on free diving technique first.

 

[perdidochas]

No, it's different.
It's still free diving because you don't have a ton of equipment on you, only a little bottle in your hand.


That isn't very nice.

Breathing compressed air underwater from a tank is scuba diving. A pony bottle with a regulator is scuba gear (scuba meaning self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).