How big of a tank as a Pony????

[matt_unique]

It is always better to have a contingency system with you underwater. Using a pony is not a function of experience or the number of logged dives. Someone suggested getting 200 dives under your belt before you consider a pony to avoid a false sense of security? That's nonsense - what if you have a first stage failure on dive 199? Perhaps I misunderstood his post.

It's a function of your dive planning methodology, if you like having backup get a pony.

Doubles are of course great redundant systems but if you are diving with a single tank BC a pony is a great piece of equipment.

--Matt

BTW a 9CF or 13CF is great to have at home for rinsing your regulators, in addition to serving as a door stop Regulators should always be connected to an air source when you rinse them.

 

[Big-t-2538]

It's a function of your dive planning methodology, if you like having backup get a pony.

This is the exact reason I dive with a buddy. Since I don't dive solo, I don't get ponied up to dive.

 

[IndigoBlue]

...Doubles are of course great redundant systems but if you are diving with a single tank BC a pony is a great piece of equipment.

--Matt
...

Great post, Matt.

Doubles are indeed the only truly reliable redundant system. That is precisely why they are used in technical applications. Unfortunately most divers will never develop to the state where they are diving doubles. In the meantime, a pony bottle is the next best thing, buddy or no buddy.

I also must agree with those who have observed that when you are diving with an excellent buddy, you do not need a pony. When I dive with my wife, we stay glued together, and there is no need for a pony. When I dive with anyone else as a buddy, I bring a pony. Always.

We could haggle all day on what is the best size for a pony. Doubles is after all the best size. Short of doubles, I suppose everyone who dives with a pony has their own favorite size. I do not see any agreement on what is the best size.

 

[WaterDawg]

Ah yes another piece of gear to make up for poor dive habbits. In this case gas management! Are you planning on running out of air? Probably not, but how about if something happens? Thats where gas managment comes in.

You are just adding to more of an entanglement hazard, task loading, etc.
Save the money on the bottle and put it toward some training or doubles.

ps I had a pony once...when I was 5yrs old! Ha.

 

[IndigoBlue]

Ah yes another piece of gear to make up for poor dive habbits. In this case gas management! Are you planning on running out of air? Probably not, but how about if something happens? Thats where gas managment comes in.

You are just adding to more of an entanglement hazard, task loading, etc.
Save the money on the bottle and put it toward some training or doubles.

ps I had a pony once...when I was 5yrs old! Ha.

So are you also arguing against double tanks?

 

[matt_unique]

Ah yes another piece of gear to make up for poor dive habbits. In this case gas management! Are you planning on running out of air? Probably not, but how about if something happens? Thats where gas managment comes in.

You are just adding to more of an entanglement hazard, task loading, etc.
Save the money on the bottle and put it toward some training or doubles.

ps I had a pony once...when I was 5yrs old! Ha.

Diving with a pony has absolutely nothing to do with gas management. It has to do with gear redundancy. Diving with a pony demonstrates better judgement (better dive habits) compared to those who rely on their buddy to be within arms reach if they have a failure or run out of air. If I am breathing on my pony, I am going straight to the surface (or safety or deco stop) because my primary system has failed. You would be foolish to dive with a pony and plan to use the gas in the pony because that would remove the benefit and purpose of it. The rule of thirds is a tried and true recommendation - the pony should not constitute part of this gas mgmt.

Entanglement hazzard? I disagree - if you are in quarters so tight your pony will snair your primary will be just as likely to snair. The way my pony is mounted, the edge of the pony is parallel to the edge of my bc. Of course it could be said that any single piece of gear increases entanglement hazzard inlcuding a wreck reel connected to your bc or cutting tools or an octo or anything else we take with us.

Task loading? There is no task loading in carrying a pony. It's there to use if you need it. Otherwise you do nothing with it for your complete dive.

--Matt

 

[Big-t-2538]

Diving with a pony has absolutely nothing to do with gas management. It has to do with gear redundancy. Diving with a pony demonstrates better judgement (better dive habits) compared to those who rely on their buddy to be within arms reach if they have a failure or run out of air. If I am breathing on my pony, I am going straight to the surface (or safety or deco stop) because my primary system has failed. You would be foolish to dive with a pony and plan to use the gas in the pony because that would remove the benefit and purpose of it. The rule of thirds is a tried and true recommendation - the pony should not constitute part of this gas mgmt.

I think the exact opposite...someone who's diving with a buddy within arm's reach or immediate communication distance, demonstrates better judgement & habits than someone diving with a pony.

My primary system fails....I contact my buddy, we solve the problem and begin our ascent or way back to the anchor line. I don't see the need for a pony in buddy diving period.

 

[Genesis]

I think the exact opposite...someone who's diving with a buddy within arm's reach or immediate communication distance, demonstrates better judgement & habits than someone diving with a pony.

The most likely item to fail to act as expected is the "spare brain".

The doubling of the amount of gear carried (two divers instead of one) doubles the risk of any single failure occurring. That is simple statistics; if the mean time between failures is one year, if there are two of you, statistically you will experience a failure once every six months, instead of once every year.

The argument FOR a buddy is that the buddy can save you (in some fashion) when the water turns brown. The argument AGAINST a buddy is that the buddy might not be there or might be the CAUSE of the water turning brown.

 

[matt_unique]

I think the exact opposite...someone who's diving with a buddy within arm's reach or immediate communication distance, demonstrates better judgement & habits than someone diving with a pony.

My primary system fails....I contact my buddy, we solve the problem and begin our ascent or way back to the anchor line. I don't see the need for a pony in buddy diving period.

A pony adds an additional safety point to your method. Do you not recognize the benefit to having an additional breathing system? To use an analogy - seatbelts work - but why not utilize anti-lock brakes and airbags as well?

Tech training for example departs from recreational thinking in terms of diving with a buddy. In short, dive with a buddy (if you choose) but plan your gear as though you are solo with no one else to help you should a problem arise. Doubles or pony are one of these methods.

--Matt

 

[billseamon]

I agree with Matt, I dive with a 19 and I consider it as a last resort for gear backup. I mount it on my tank, but like the idea of mounting it as a stage bottle so I can get to the valve in case the regulator starts flowing.

I would recommend getting one of those small pressure gauges. At first I didn't have one. I think the O ring leaked. After a dive, I hooked up my main regulator to the pony bottle and noticed the pony bottle only had 600 psi.