Gear configuration question

[Mr. Dooley]

I use a HOG second on my Elephant (see you can call it anything)

During training, one of the pool drills was for my instructor and me to trade elephants. When he gave me his, I had a hard time securing it to my D-ring and I dropped the elephant - banging it against the bottom of the pool. Various bands and fasteners started coming off the elephant, so I put the animal in the crook of my arm to cradle it like a loaf of bread, while attempting to corral the loose components strewn on the bottom. I could hear my instructor laughing like a hyena through his reg.

 

[Marie13]

but you may carry a stage bottle and building muscle memory now is not incompatible with your goal.

Perhaps you mean a deco bottle ?

 

[MichaelMc]

A setup called 'streamlined open water' DGX Custom - Dive Rite XT Streamlined OW Reg Package
is very compatible with most recreational setups and is largely what you describe. A longer hose moves you to the setup common with tech divers. It is a very good setup with several advantages, though with covid it has the issue you would be donating the reg you have been breathing and slobbering all over, so for now, its advantages are mixed.

Pony is often attached with a clip at the tank neck to shoulder D-ring and clip further down to hip D-ring. Hose is stowed on tank and reg pulled out to use, no necklace required. Please do not call them elephants, nor bailouts as you are not diving a rebreather.

When in a necklace, the second second stage is usually just called the necklaced reg. If you want to be agnostic as to where the reg you are not usually breathing lives, say necklaced vs some octo holder, often just 'backup' reg is used or secondary. A necklaced reg is only bulky when trying to look directly down your body to see behind you past your fins. But moving it aside with one hand solves that. Hmm, your compass and SPG are on the shoulder, Compass on wrist is one of the more useful. The reg comes from the right and the SPG from the left, so they should not interfere.

Most tech diving uses a BP/W BC, now that you have a BC already..., so ultimately you may want to move that direction.

If you are looking at deep dives, an AL40 is a good pony. It sounds big but is not that much in the water.

Deep6 signature regs are great, I've two of their first stages and one of their seconds, which sometimes lives under my chin as my necklaced reg. A backup reg of the same quality as your primary reg is the safer approach, and the clear assumption in any tech diving. So mostly any reg with octo in its name is not a great choice for a tech diving oriented backup reg.

ETA: The AL40 is also very common as a small deco bottle in tech diving, it can also serve as a small stage bottle.

ETA2: The first thing you might do is get a simple BP/W setup. The BC is the base that you attach everything to. Your base is not the standard tech base, so many of the things you do in setting it up will be just a bit different with a BP/W so I would make the shift now. It need not be very expensive, for example DGX Custom - DGX Singles Harness / Backplate / Wing Package. And a BP/W is perfectly suitable for rec diving.

 

[loosenit2]

Perhaps you mean a deco bottle ?

I don't think I did mean deco bottle but that would work too. Building muscle memory using an extra tank in this way could mean a stage bottle (used to extend diving time or provide a limited use mix i.e. travel gas) or it could mean a deco bottle (mixture used to increase efficiency of decompression). In the context of the original OP he was using in terms of a recreational deep dive and the purpose in that case would be to either extend dive time or act as a redundant air source, both of which I would classify as a stage bottle rather than a deco bottle.

 

[Searcaigh]

Having a necklace on the pony bottle regulator does not add any value to the system and only provides an additional entanglement hazard.

Perhaps the necklace was added as someone's personal preference, but it's not a standard practice as far as I am aware.

Necklace on the secondary second stage in technical diving is standard.

 

[-JD-]

Necklaced pony 2nd stage probably only makes sense in the case of a back mounted pony and a main-tank reg set with only a single 2nd stage.

Not a setup that I would dive, but others do, and have advocated for, in other threads. I am good with a slung "-insert appropriate name here-".

Admittedly, Stage, Deco, and Bailout are all much more correctly descriptive of their function than Pony, which I assume is culturally derived - Pony tank is a small tank like a Pony is a small horse.
I've addressed the naming thing in the context of the "Ponys are BAD" rants. At the risk of offending the anti self-quoting rule ...

[snip]
Going forward I will no longer be diving with a Pony. Instead I will commit myself to continuing to pay attention to the condition of my equipment, checking and diving within the limit my available gas, and doing my best to monitor and be ready to support my buddy.

I will, however, start diving with a new system that I'm working on developing. I think I'm going to call it: Backmount Singles w/ Hybrid, Asymmetric, Independent, Sidemount, Redundant, Rescue-Reserve or B.S. HAISR^3 for short.

If that is a little too much of a mouthful, maybe just call it a Big Spare (air).

 

[lexvil]

Mouse, elephant, pony

 

[formernuke]

@Maxwelll

If your thinking of switching to a necklace secondary it is recommended that you use a long hose for your primary.

I prefer this configuration myself even for singles however you should get training on it.

I recommend finding a good GUE instructor and taking fundeis or if they have a pre fundeis class take it.

As for second I use the same second for primary and secondary.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Well Maxwelll now you have been well an truly assisted

I think I want the regulator / hose configuration where the primary goes under the right arm and incorporates a swivel / elbow joint

Your idea here is sound and usually encompasses a five foot hose, NO training required for the capable

 

[RogueClimber]

I'd. be interested to see where SSI requires a second independent air source.

What I see inn the course literature:

Some divers choose an independent air source, either in addition to one of the above systems or to stand alone as an alternate air source. The difference with this system is that it contains its own cylinder and regulator system that operate independently. Again, this system should be of high enough quality to breathe easily at depth and hold enough air to make a normal ascent to the surface from a depth of 100 - 130 feet. Consult your SSI Dive Center for more information about purchasing an independent air source.
​

As your instructor seems to prefer an incorrect term for his independent air source perhaps he is adding his own interpretation to SSI protocols?