Is there a valid reason for a pony bottle

[Esprise Me]

I can't imagine any scenario where I could possibly confuse the regs. My donate is in my mouth, my backup is bungeed around my neck and the pony reg is nowhere near either.

Not trying to be snarky; genuinely interested in learning. Where is your donate before you put it in your mouth?

My pony reg is a deep six, my secondaries are HOG’s....makes it a bit easier to distinguish which is which...using all three the same can lead to confusion as in this scenario.

Again, not trying to be snarky, and also in case it wasn't clear, not trying to persuade anyone. But: I don't understand what you mean by this comment. Are your regs different enough that you wouldn't confuse them because they're different brands? If one needs to be replaced, are you planning to buy the same brand for consistency?

 

[lowviz]

Where is your donate before you put it in your mouth?

My donate has a small clip on it just in case I need to go to my backup. I breathe my donate through the entire dive. If I happen upon someone who needs air I'll offer a reg that I know is working and charged.

I would then get onto my backup. Calm the diver down and then either donate the pony or just continue up together if it seems to be working. Panicked divers are capable of just about anything. My preference is to get them onto my pony, clip it to them and give them a thumb.

 

[Esprise Me]

Sorry, guess I'm a little dense. Before you put your donate in your mouth, it's... clipped to your BCD? Or...?

 

[lowviz]

Oh, sorry. I clip it to anything on my rig that keeps the hose neatly stowed, doesn't matter.

It goes into my mouth before I hit the water and it stays there with the little clip dangling from the hose near the secondary reg.

 

[flyboy08]

Sorry, guess I'm a little dense. Before you put your donate in your mouth, it's... clipped to your BCD? Or...?

Why would one clip their donate? Mines on a 7 foot hose with no clip while wet.

 

[lowviz]

If I needed to get onto my pony I'd want the donate stowed.

 

[flyboy08]

How did you get those bolt snaps onto the Amber rings?

 

[flyboy08]

If I needed to get onto my pony I'd want the donate stowed.

Sure, I have a boltsnap on my donate, but not while wet.

 

[lowviz]

That is neoprene drive belt, really cool stuff and extremely strong. It can be stretched over the valve knob for the top clip. Permanent for the bottom clip. Cuts easily. Give me a sec, I'll post the details...

Edit:
Go to McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com) and search on part number 59725K732. You just melt the ends and stick them together. Takes a few tries to get the size ring you want. The 1/4" size will put up a bit of a struggle when making that small of a ring but I have a much older version of this tool: McMaster-Carr Don't waste your money on it.

I'd drop down to a smaller diameter belt and melt the ends on a teflon pan, only takes a few seconds. Stick them together and push. Cut off the flashing.

-don't scorch the pan in the process...

 

[2airishuman]

Its not a safety device.

Consider the conditions that would require the use of a pony bottle. You've a) had a for serious equipment failure, b) lost your buddy and c) are unable to perform a CESA. All three of those things have to happen at the SAME TIME.

Equipment failures are rare, but do happen. Losing your buddy isn't acceptable. Search for a minute then up you go. If you can't do a CESA, you're not rec diving and need proper redundancy.

PfcAj you have the good fortune of being able to dive with other well qualified divers. Not everyone does

I've been buddied up on boats with people who are either a) clueless, b) don't give **** all about staying together, and c) both. This is common for people who aren't part of a long-term dive team or married to another diver or whatever.

I would not want to try a CESA at the end of a dive to NDLs at 100 feet or more. Then again I'd bring doubles on such a dive if I could. I've been on dives like that where doubles weren't an option, though.