How Do You Do Pony?

[Darnold9999]

I carry a 13cf for travel. Take the valve out and put it into a clear plastic zip lock bag (or two). Slung on left side. Is it enough spare air to dive solo - you get to decide that.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I carry a 13cf for travel. Take the valve out and put it into a clear plastic zip lock bag (or two). Slung on left side. Is it enough spare air to dive solo - you get to decide that.

It's only two minutes and ten seconds to the top from 130.

File direct and maintain 60 fpm if necessary.

OMMOHY

 

[Bigbella]

Probably thinking an AL19 or a steel hp 23 for working pony bottle . . .

A 19 cubic foot tank is usually sufficient -- keep in mind, that it is only necessary for you to get to the surface safely, hopefully with a brief stop, and not for sightseeing.

I generally prefer mine to be back-mounted, though have gone both ways. My bands -- manufactured by Zeagle -- are attached to the mains by secure velcro closures that are easily removed and repositioned, within seconds; so there is no worry about stowing anything on a charter, since they are collapsible and unobtrusive -- a huge improvement over the metal bands that I once carried.

Don't overthink this crap . . .

 

[happy-diver]

What can happen with this one is taking weight from your belt a bit of overpumping maybe as it's steel for
heaps of air, air that you can use for diving, especially when you squirt some o2 in to 50% and extend your
diving

Faber Steel HP23 Tank

Please note all tanks are excluded from free shipping. We will contact you separately with shipping fees. Faber white 3442 psi high pressure steel 23 cubic foot tank. Valve sold separately. Diameter: 3.94" Length: 19.5" Weight: 8.6 lbs. Buoyancy full: -2.64 lbs. Buoyancy empty: -0.66 lbs.

san-diego-divers.com

 

[TGS]

I use an AL19 and mount it on the tank. I have tried different tank mounts and the one I like best by far is the shark pony system. It will hold a 13 up to a 40 cu ft tank. It mounts very solid to your tank and doesn't move. When changing tanks it switches over very easily. I mount mine on the right side. I use a 2LB weight on the opposite side of the tank and that balances the weight perfect for me. My primary regulator comes over the top of my right shoulder. I use an Air 2 instead of a regular octo. My regulator from the pony goes under my right arm. My primary is on a flex hose with swivels. The one on the pony is on a yellow hose without swivels. Easy for me to tell the difference even in zero visibility. That's just my personal preference.

 

[Blackcrusader]

What can happen with this one is taking weight from your belt a bit of overpumping maybe as it's steel for
heaps of air, air that you can use for diving, especially when you squirt some o2 in to 50% and extend your
diving

I thought the idea of a pony was to have a backup to your main tank and not to be used to extend your dive time?
So let's say you were using air on a dive at 35m depth and your first stage failed. Your pony with a 50% mix won't be of use as you have filled it to be a stage tank. If you had filled it with nitrox at 32% you could use it to get to the surface.

 

[CosbySweater]

I sling an AL30 on the left side with a 24" hose. I chose a 30 over a 19 because IMO 30cf is much more usable in a true high stress situation at the depths I typically dive (80-100'). Also the 19 was too small for me to sling comfortably. The bottle kept finding its way between my legs. The 30 is long enough so that it rests on left left hip. I couldn't have gone with 40 but the 30 felt like the better compromise between size and capacity. If you already have a 40, it would make sense to just use that.

I chose to sling it rather than back mount it because I can manipulate the valve easier, can pass it to other divers in an emergency, or remove it altogether. After 10-15 dives I got comfortable with it. I honestly don't like diving without it now.

The 30 is maybe 1lb negative full underwater so my kit doesn't require a any trim weight (I load my right pocket with my torch and knife to offset it).

IMO, if you plan to solo frequently, lose the integrated octo on your inflator hose. It's overly redundant if you're carrying a pony.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I sling an AL40 on my left for all the same reasons @CosbySweater mentions above. As a former technical diver, slinging a bottle on my left is just second nature. That is also why I use an AL40. I had them from my technical diving days. I own two of them. An AL30 would suffice perfectly for the dives I do these days, but I had the AL40s and they really don't dive that differently than an AL30.

I still keep the octo on my primary regulator. That is because I don't always dive solo. I do the majority of the time, but if I'm diving with a trusted buddy on a shallower dive, I will forgo the pony. Another reason is that I've been involved in a couple of OOA emergencies and in both instances, the other diver went right for my primary. No signaling, no warning, just went for the regulator. In that instance I don't want to have to fumble for my pony. I'd rather just give them (or let them have) my primary and I'd switch to my octo which is on a necklace right under my chin. Given that most of my "solo" diving is with a larger group that is being led by a DM, there is always a chance another diver in the group goes OOA and comes at me for my regulator. I consider those solo dives because I do not have a designated buddy and will often "wander" away from the group to be truly solo. Regardless, if I'm around another diver that goes OOA, I want to be ready to handle something like that as gracefully as possible, thus I've kept the octo on my primary regulator.

 

[EFX]

I use an AL19 and mount it on the tank. I have tried different tank mounts and the one I like best by far is the shark pony system. It will hold a 13 up to a 40 cu ft tank. It mounts very solid to your tank and doesn't move. When changing tanks it switches over very easily. I mount mine on the right side. I use a 2LB weight on the opposite side of the tank and that balances the weight perfect for me. My primary regulator comes over the top of my right shoulder. I use an Air 2 instead of a regular octo. My regulator from the pony goes under my right arm. My primary is on a flex hose with swivels. The one on the pony is on a yellow hose without swivels. Easy for me to tell the difference even in zero visibility. That's just my personal preference.

I've had great success using the Highland system from XS. Like you I mount it on the right side on the tank and use a 28 inch hose with the reg on a neckless. I clip the primary alternate reg to my right chest D-ring. My primary reg is on a 7 ft. hose routed according to DIR.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I guess I'm just an old boomer and set in my ways. I dive mostly solo with either a 102 or 120HP primary tank and either a 19 or a 13 back-mounted Pony... I still use the old Pony Tamer band system but am thinking about upgrading to a Quick Draw Easy Mount.

My main tank reg is an Apeks ATX200. Primary 2nd stage goes over my right shoulder. One LP hose goes over my left shoulder and connects to my Air 2 / Airsource combo 2nd stage / BC Inflator. Another LP goes under my left shoulder and connects to my SiTech drysuit inflator. My Pony first stage is a Mares 22 Abyss.. that I have paired with Zeagle F8 2nd stage. The F8 is bright yellow with bright yellow hose. That hose goes under my left and then to an octo holder at my right breast area. I really like having the fully adjustable inhalation control and venture assist on the F8 as I can tune it down to avoid potential free flow. It also works exactly the same as my Apeks ATX200 2nd stage so there is consistency in the operation. I also have a mini SPG zip tied to my F8 Pony hose so that I will always know (and can actually see) exactly what my available emergency gas is.

My backmount Pony is NOT any part of my gas management plan for ANY dive. As a solo diver, it is only there for ME in case of a catastrophic failure of my primary system.