Is there a valid reason for a pony bottle

[Ryan Mcshane]

So what dive suits a 6cuft ‘pony’?

Isn’t a 6cf a drysuit inflation bottle?

 

[KenGordon]

So you lot all have a cupboard full of cylinders of various diminutive sizes and take the smallest one that might possibly work (down hill with a following wind)?

 

[KenGordon]

Isn’t a 6cf a drysuit inflation bottle?

I decided against that joke. I think these people are seriously using them as breathing gas.

Wildly I have almost every one of these sizes of cylinder in my garage, the smallest I have ever used as a pony is a 7l.

 

[saxman242]

I think these people are seriously using them as breathing gas.

I would expect you'd find that most that are carrying pony tanks on normal recreational dives are carrying 13 or 19 cu ft tanks. There are obviously some outliers.

 

[rhwestfall]

I use a 13 for suite gas and larger for emergency breathing air (19, 30), and 30 or 40 for deco...

 

[grf88]

So you lot all have a cupboard full of cylinders of various diminutive sizes and take the smallest one that might possibly work (down hill with a following wind)?

Most people I know that use a pony select it for the type of diving they are doing. In the cold water here it is typically a 30 or 40 cu.ft. If they fly for vacation it would typically be a 19 cu.ft. for those trips but sometimes even a 13 cu.ft. which is fine for conservative dives in warm water.

 

[Ryan Mcshane]

Sounds complicated. Still prefer good buddy skills and min gas. Dragging all that extra kit on a recreational dive is unnecessary hassle in my opinion.

 

[CWK]

So what dive suits a 6cuft ‘pony’?

I presume that there are a few variables that can affect pony size decisions. This would include the diver’s reaction to stress, intended depth, and risk tolerance.

I am Padi self reliant certified. After I had completed my TDI AN/DP last year I asked my instructor (a tech instructor trainer) if I could do a solo dive at the house reef with a planned max depth of 5m. At that time I had a 3 cu ft pony. I was told flat out that a) Padi self reliant does not qualify me for solo, and b) the smallest pony I would be allowed to go solo with is a 40 cu ft.

I was gob smacked that a planned dive to 5m would require a 40cu ft pony. I am actually en route to Bali to do the SDI Solo Diving course at the moment. The TDI instructor trainer who taught me AN/DP is also a SDI Course Director and will be teaching me the solo course. The discussion on pony sizing should be interesting.

 

[rhwestfall]

My recreational dives include very cold Georgian Bay waters. Our preferred way to address a free flow is to go to your pony, shut offending regulator down to thaw, and go back to it if successful. No way do we want "option 1" to be two divers stressing a singular regulator.... Still requires a buddy to help sort it out, but not on the same stage unless first action doesn't succeed...

YMMV

 

[Ryan Mcshane]

I presume that there are a few variables that can affect pony size decisions. This would include the diver’s reaction to stress, intended depth, and risk tolerance.

I am Padi self reliant certified. After I had completed my TDI AN/DP last year I asked my instructor (a tech instructor trainer) if I could do a solo dive at the house reef with a planned max depth of 5m. At that time I had a 3 cu ft pony. I was told flat out that a) Padi self reliant does not qualify me for solo, and b) the smallest pony I would be allowed to go solo with is a 40 cu ft.

I was gob smacked that a planned dive to 5m would require a 40cu ft pony. I am actually en route to Bali to do the SDI Solo Diving course at the moment. The TDI instructor trainer who taught me AN/DP is also a SDI Course Director and will be teaching me the solo course. The discussion on pony sizing should be interesting.

So the dude that’s teaching you SDI solo told you that Padi’s solo doesn’t qualify you for solo diving... hmmmmm, I think you’ve been had.