If pony, get rid of spare regulator??!

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Elkfriend

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Messages
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Location
calgary, canada
# of dives
100 - 199
Here is a thought, as I am currently gear hunting for my future solo adventures:

If I have an additional pony bottle, with single reg on it, as redundant air source, there is no need to have two regs (one main, one emergency) on your main air source, correct?

Is something goes sour with your main reg, just take the pony bottle reg and make safe ascent.

Even if you are with a buddy, if his air source craps out and you needed to give air, but happen to have a pony bottle, you could just give him that -in such case both of you would safely ascent anyways.

In other words, can I save complexity, weight and money by not bothering having a spare reg on my main tank, if I carry a pony?

Just curious what people here think !!!
 
I keep both 2nds on my back gas even when I carry a pony. My pony is sized just to get me safely to the surface. It is not intended to help another diver. Plus, since I don't carry it on all dive, it avoids a lot of unnecessary reconfiguring.
 
I use independent doubles with a single reg on each tank (left tank reg on necklace), I don't see much difference just one tank is smaller. Shallow dives I use two 40cft tanks so I'm just diving with two pony bottles.
 
Was thinking about this the other day. Couldn't there be a situation where your reg craps out but you can still use the backup reg to get to your back gas? The situation I was thinking of was a free flowing reg. Depending on when it happened you could still have a lot of air left in the tank. Seems like having access to it would be a benefit.
 
When I used a backmounted pony I had the pony reg on a necklace and an airsource for my octo.
 
I also went back and forth about this very issue. I ended up NOT carrying an additional second stage on my primary tank (i.e. an octo). My reasoning: if something goes wrong, I switch to the pony and abort the dive. Period. The utility of a octo is for sharing air with another diver from your primary tank...not a concern when solo diving. Losing the octo eliminates a set of possible failure points and risk of a free flow from the octo.

The main benefit of keeping the octo when soloing is to eliminate the need to reconfigure when diving with a buddy. The solution is simple: get an additional regulator setup specifically for buddy diving. For me this is usually warm water, clear, semi-tropical recreational diving with my wife. Cost is not that great when compared to the totality of diving as a hobby and it makes things much simpler.
 
It is only my opinion But. The octo is a good thing way would you abort a dive just because one reg is not working. Chang to the octo and keep diving. If it is the first stage thin go to the pony and call the dive. Oh you got red of the octo so you are Don. OK.
If you had to o but I cant think of any good reason to get red of the octo.
Think of this, A air two reg for a back up on the main with a good sec stage and a pony.
 
I dive with a pony pretty much all the time. I have a standard BC inflator on some of my BC's and and AIR2 on a few others. In either case, I REMOVE the Octopus.

The octopus adds unnecessary complexity, and increases the chance of gear failure and also the potentially FATAL confusion between 3 regulators. Even if your buddy needs to share air, I would donate the primary and I would use the pony. The pony should be large enough to get you to the surface in an emergency, (or why are you wearing it?).

Well what if your buddy runs out of air and your pony fails and then you only have one second stage between two divers from your main tank Answer: Buddy breath,
 
You are both right. I have never thought of my octo been in the way.So I steal have it. Even when solo diving.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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