Is a Pony Bottle too complicated for a beginner?

[Seville]

To save space, should i get rid of my octo on my 80 tank and just have the octo on the pony tank? I think having 3 2nd stages may be a but much.

 

[-JD-]

To save space, should i get rid of my octo on my 80 tank and just have the octo on the pony tank? I think having 3 2nd stages may be a but much.

I dive with the Pony cylinder slung (left side - stage-style) and the regulator is stowed under the elastic bands, on the bottle.
My main tank has 2 second stages (I have been diving primary donate - necklaced secondary, but with Covid continuing, I'll probably go back to a stowed "octo" for diving where I might be interacting with random divers. )

Why:
1) Supplying air to another in an emergency is "standard" (hand-off Octo or hand-off primary and switch to necklaced secondary). Reaching down to deploy my pony reg with a panicked diver in my face seems sub-optimal as a planned procedure.
2) If for some reason, I splash without a redundant airsource, I have a full regset without needing to reconfigure. (It does sometimes happen ex: problem getting the pony filled at the beginning of travel or I'm the rescue class "victim" and having the student need to deal with unusual kit {pony} during gear removal is a distraction).
3) Donning and doffing simply means clipping the bottle on/off and the reg just stays stowed for the day. I don't need to route the hose and attach the reg somewhere when getting in.
4) If I get finned in the face or mugged for my regs, I have a theoretically undisturbed place to go for air.

 

[Angelo Farina]

To save space, should i get rid of my octo on my 80 tank and just have the octo on the pony tank? I think having 3 2nd stages may be a but much.

No, in my opinion. The main tank must always be equipped with an alternate air source, properly placed so it is easily available when needed.
The pony tank instead usually has another reg, fixed to the tank with rubber bands, and not so easy and fast to deploy.
If you want to be more streamlined, you could consider an alternate air source integrated with your BCD inflator, such as the Air2. But this requires to configure the primary with a longer-than-normal hose, as it will be donated to your buddy in case of need, while you switch to your alternate air source (AIR2 or the like). You cannot donate an AIR2...
Donating the pony tank is not advisable as first choice. It is an additional option, of course, if donating the alternative reg or the primary is unfeasible. But it does not replace the need for a standard secondary air source on the main tank. You would end up with a setup which is generally worst than the standard setup with just the main tank with 2 regs. You can add something to that standard basic configuration, but you cannot remove one of the two regs...

 

[Bob DBF]

To save space, should i get rid of my octo on my 80 tank and just have the octo on the pony tank? I think having 3 2nd stages may be a but

Actually when I first heard of a pony, it was one of the alternatives to the new idea of adding an additional second stage to one's primary, as a safety feature. This was back in 1980 when I finally got a C-card, part of a NAUI/PADI OW class in the PADI text. The class still included buddy breathing, but covered the concept of a safe second. I picked one up in the following year, or so.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

As a beginner you don’t want anything which is not essential. A pony is quite an awkward thing that messes with balance and adds extra ways to get things wrong. For your first dives you want everything to be as simple and easy as possible. As your experience increases you will get past the point where 110% of your brain is used up just being there and begin to have spare for extras. For a while that extra will be what you have available for when things don’t go perfectly. Eventually you will get to a place where you can manage all the stupid little things that bother beginners as second nature, all your dives will be uneventful and just be about whatever you are there to see. At this point adding a camera or other extra complication is fine. Maybe consider a pony then.

Having said all that, a pony is not actually a perfect solution to any problem. It is useful in a narrow set of circumstances mostly involving not having a decent buddy. It introduces extra and perhaps surprising ways to screw up, now and again people start on the wrong reg, some of those fail to figure out what is happening when they run out of gas a few minutes into the dive and switch to the full cylinder.

@KenGordon I am going to have to disagree with you on this. A person's mindset plays a big part in this, especially as a new diver. For example, last September I got my OW. My 1st dive as a certified diver, I slung a 13cu pony on my left side. My buddy for that dive, a DM in training, watched me as I flooded, then cleared my mask while switching to my pony for my ascent from 50'.
Packing a pony as a new diver is not hard if you are prepared to use it. I prefer to sling my pony, as opposed to mount to my main, as all control of the bottle is right in front of me and if something happens, I move my hand to the pony and the stage 2 is the first thing that my hand grabs.. Originally, I slung the pony on my left, but now sling diagonally across my chest. This keeps weighting equal between both sides and if I ever had to hand off my pony to a diver in need, my balance would not be out. I lovingly carried that 13cu for my 1st 70ish dives, after which, I purchased a 30cu tank, which I also carry, diagonally across my chest.
I have been diving for less than a year. I did not do my AOW until I had 40 logged dives. AS of this morning, I am now at 142 dives, all but 6 of those have been carrying a pony. I also did my OW in a drysuit, just to add more complexity, but it is needed in the waters I dive.
A beginner can do it, but you have to have the mindset. When I purchased all the gear I needed to scuba dive, I used the gear list from a Solo course to help me decide what to buy. I still practice switch over drills, and my pony has a LP whip for launching my DSMB, and as a spare source for my drysuit.
(I have still not brought out my camera, as I feel it is more important to nail buoyancy and finning techniques 1st, a camera however, is not lifesaving gear)

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

I am new to scuba diving with only a couple dives under my belt. I am a little OCD and tend to pay attention to my gauge more than enjoying the dive as I am always worried about my pressure. I have a 13cf pony bottle. Would being a new diver and having the pony tank connected to my main tank for the piece of mind confuse me and be tougher for me starting out? When I started paramotoring, they recommended not flying with a reserve because it is more likely to accidentally deploy and cause more problems.

@Seville I too am a new diver. Got my OW last Sept and my AOW last Nov. I had purchased all my gear, even before my OW course; one piece of the kit was a 13cu pony. I had it rigged with an OMS pony sling kit. Sling your bottle as opposed to mounting it on your back, and put your primary stage 2 on a necklace. (when you do switchover drills, your primary stage 2 you will not have to look for)
My instructor would not let me carry my pony during my OW, but for my 1st dive as a certified diver, I carried it, and have ever since, except one time when the stage 2 went into free-flow. When I had around 70 logged dives, I found a 30cu tank which I now carry. At around dive 25-30, I switched my sling from the left side, to diagonally across my chest, which eliminated the need to offset weight. If I ever had to hand off my pony to another diver, my weighting would not be affected. Go ahead and carry your pony, and practice switching to it. I am now at dive 142, as of this am, and carry my pony all the time.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

To save space, should i get rid of my octo on my 80 tank and just have the octo on the pony tank? I think having 3 2nd stages may be a but much.

NO, keep the octo for a dive buddy, the pony is for you. PONY stands for Piss Off Not Yours.

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

Not everyone does that. Some clip the pony reg elsewhere, some have it banded to the tank itself. Second stages can and do leak. Sucking down your primary tank and reaching for an empty backup can ruin your day.

If you suck down your primary, you should be at the surface, not reaching for a pony to extend your time. A pony is never considered as part of your gas supply, but rather, your get out of $#it supply.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

My buddy for that dive, a DM in training, watched me as I flooded, then cleared my mask while switching to my pony for my ascent from 50'.

If you suck down your primary, you should be at the surface, not reaching for a pony to extend your time. A pony is never considered as part of your gas supply, but rather, your get out of $#it supply.

Then why did you switch to it on your first dive?

 

[Gandalf-the-Diver]

Then why did you switch to it on your first dive?

I switched to it as a practice switching to my pony, not to extend my time, so I would know what to do if I needed to. During my "practice", my primary tank still had more than enough gas to finish my dive. My pony is not included in my gas management and planning, and therefore not used to extend my time.
I have been told by a number of instructors that the switch over drill I performed on my 1st dive, was one that is taught in the PADI Tech 40 class.