Gotta love that Pony

[FireInMyBones]

Please tell me why you feel you need a Pony?

It cannot be for proper gas management issues.

If gas were to become short you would have a proper buddy easily reachable and be prepared to share things properly. So why the pony?

It cannot be because you fear equipment failure. If that was a problem during the dive there are several ways to sort out that issue way before you have to resort to a tank you really cannot say will work or not. (and no, you have no idea if it will work when you need it)

It cannot be because you think your buddy will be unhelpful during the dive. If that were the case you should not have done the dive in the first place. (and you MUST know that to be true)

You know it is not a way to extend bottom time.

So why do you do it?

I use a slung 40 with O₂ for deco. Buddy skills over bailout.

 

[Crush]

I use a slung 40 with O₂ for deco. Buddy skills over bailout.

Jeremy,

I respect your position, and if I always had a buddy that I could rely upon, your position would be (in my opinion) unassailable. However, what happens if you dive with an insta-buddy? Do you stay above, say, 60 feet, so as to minimize the likelihood of a deep water blackout as you surface in an OOA situation? Or do you not dive?

I am not being a pr!c& here, I am genuinely curious to see when, if ever, you would use a pony.

 

[grf88]

Well for a pony discussion I think this has been pretty mild mannered. It really boils down to two schools of thought one more reliant on the buddy system and one that takes a more self sufficient point of few. Both are workable and it probably depends to a degree on the individuals personality as well as their experience and exposure. You are more likely to find pony users in areas where the water is cold, visibility limited and tide and current a significant factor and in these areas ponies tend to be accepted as a standard vs warm water and great visibility locations where the pony is probably more of an exception.

 

[Graeme Tolton]

Another point is... sometimes, surfacing immediately is not an option, even in recreational dives. There may be boating traffic above you need to avoid, there may be a shipping channel above. There may be strong surface currents that will take you into another country where you will be arrested for crossing into illegally. Or maybe, all of the above.. One dive in particular I did not long ago, all of the above were hazards. The wreck we were diving was a 20 min swim out into the river. Anyone without redundancy, should stay on the shore side of the stop sign.

 

[halocline]

The pony... or my grandfather?

I guess it depends on the scale of the photo. That's not a normal size horse, is it?

 

[FireInMyBones]

...what happens if you dive with an insta-buddy? Do you stay above, say, 60 feet, so as to minimize the likelihood of a deep water blackout as you surface in an OOA situation? Or do you not dive?

Never dove with an insta-buddy outside of a class. Do not see myself doing that anytime soon. If I did, I would probably overwhelm them with my pre-dive briefing, checks, and proximity during the dive. I have the tendency to be very zealous about staying alive and ensuring that those around me do too.

Me with an insta-buddy...hmm, I am curious how that would go. We would probably both gain a sense of humility through the experience.

I am genuinely curious to see when, if ever, you would use a pony.

I sometimes solo dive at the lake with doubles for redundancy and my O₂ bottle for added safety (even on shallow dives). I do not have another small tank that I could use for a pony. My O₂ bottle only ever has O₂ in it.

I would rather take the day to go diving with a bunch of friends and then go out for a burger or a beer afterward then be by myself. A creature of community I guess.

 

[no excuses]

I guess it depends on the scale of the photo. That's not a normal size horse, is it?

normal size horse, xtra large grandpa

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

Another point is... sometimes, surfacing immediately is not an option, even in recreational dives. There may be boating traffic above you need to avoid, there may be a shipping channel above. There may be strong surface currents that will take you into another country where you will be arrested for crossing into illegally. Or maybe, all of the above.. One dive in particular I did not long ago, all of the above were hazards. The wreck we were diving was a 20 min swim out into the river. Anyone without redundancy, should stay on the shore side of the stop sign.

Very true, or here in California, I can easily imagine having an emergency and getting stuck in kelp-----it'd be much nicer to have a pony while struggling to get to the surface instead of struggling while holding your breath for an extra 20-30 seconds. Call me crazy but I'd prefer to have the pony

 

[scarefaceDM]

Funny I am referring to recreational diving.

I use to dive with a 19, then went to a 30 and now with a 40.

A 19 is useless diving deeper that 80 feet with an insta buddy. Risk is to great in my opinion. I use to dive that way and found out the hard way it was not enough for two divers especially when one of them is an air sucking hog. I was DMing an advance course adn both divers I was paired with, sucked back an 80 in no time and were narced up the ying yang...and we were on the deep dive portion of the course. I handed my 19 to one and gave my octo to the other( I had twin 80's)...the 19 was almost dry when we got to a safety stop...called over the other DM to lend an octo...for me lessened learned.

I stick to recreational limits with instabuddies..and always dive a 40 - not for me but for them in the event of a low air situation.

Anything lower than 80 feet, you need to rethiink your gas management. Even though it is for your own safety. You do have a buddy to consider regardless if he /she is an insta buddy or not. Proper gas management. Which many recreational divers never think about is vital, especially if they venture deeper than 80 feet.

So why not add a greater margin of safety, when diving deeper than 60 feet....

A 19 can be a good size for shallow diving. Which I am not disagreeing upon. My point is - a 19 at depths greater that 80 feet is not the right tool for that depth. This is based on my experience and those I dive with. In the conditions I dive in.

you dive your dives as long as they are all safe dives.

So when someones asks an opinion on something, do expect a varied array of them. Take what you want from them..but do not knock the opinion of others. Especially if it is based on experience.

Enjoy.

Maybe for you, but for recreational divers a 40 cft bailout bottle is far larger than necessary. 19 cft of air is plenty for any recreational situation. If you truly NEED more air as a bailout in recreational diving, I would venture a strong guess that you're doing something very wrong in planning/profile management. You might WANT more for your own reasons, but saying anything less than 40 is useless is not an accurate statement at all.

The vast majority of recreational divers consider it perfectly safe to dive with a 750PSI reserve, which is just about 19cft of an AL80.

Tech/deco/overhead diving, totally different scenario.

 

[OldNSalty]

scarefaceDM-If the 2 divers you were suppose to be watching had drained an 80, well, first, shame on you BUT why didn't you give them all your regs and you use the 19? That's what a pony is for.