Is there a valid reason for a pony bottle

[Diving Dubai]

Please tell us about your typicle dive conditions.

Sure
I dive in a very remote region

On 40% of the dive we encounter strong washing machine currents, down currents are present on 10 - 15% of the dives. Visibility can range from 50m to 1.5m

We all carry ponies - more correctly stages. Yes they're there for redundancy, they're also there for additional contingency. On a 1 hr normal dive using a single 15L (HP125) I plan to be on the surface with 90 bar (or 50cf) as do others. The stages are there as an added precaution.

We are a group of friends, we have strict "rule" You stay with your buddy, because the conditions might need both of you working together.

If you lose your buddy you look for the prequest 1 min if it's' safe to do so and immediately ascend under your dsmb IF the pick up boat sees one dsmb early it's looking for the other. If the second diver's dsmb isn't' seen or their not on the surface within a reasonable time, a recall goes out. And then we'd be summoning the Coastguard -

It would be unthinkable for anyone on lost buddy to continue their dive as a solo. If one did that would be the end of their diveign that weekend and would never be invited again.

When new people join us, the rules are explained. Everyone adheres to them and everyone has a good time.


I'm not against ponies whatsoever. I'm against them being used as a substitute for people failing to be good buddies etc. I'm even more against the mentality from a minority that if they lose their buddy they'll continue diving because they have a pony and it's okay to continue the dive as it was their buddies fault anyway.

 

[lexvil]

Sure
I dive in a very remote region

On 40% of the dive we encounter strong washing machine currents, down currents are present on 10 - 15% of the dives. Visibility can range from 50m to 1.5m

We all carry ponies - more correctly stages. Yes they're there for redundancy, they're also there for additional contingency. On a 1 hr normal dive using a single 15L (HP125) I plan to be on the surface with 90 bar (or 50cf) as do others. The stages are there as an added precaution.

We are a group of friends, we have strict "rule" You stay with your buddy, because the conditions might need both of you working together.

If you lose your buddy you look for the prequest 1 min if it's' safe to do so and immediately ascend under your dsmb IF the pick up boat sees one dsmb early it's looking for the other. If the second diver's dsmb isn't' seen or their not on the surface within a reasonable time, a recall goes out. And then we'd be summoning the Coastguard -

It would be unthinkable for anyone on lost buddy to continue their dive as a solo. If one did that would be the end of their diveign that weekend and would never be invited again.

When new people join us, the rules are explained. Everyone adheres to them and everyone has a good time.


I'm not against ponies whatsoever. I'm against them being used as a substitute for people failing to be good buddies etc. I'm even more against the mentality from a minority that if they lose their buddy they'll continue diving because they have a pony and it as there buddies fault anyway.

Cool, my usual buddies dive with the understanding that we all solo dive together. In Monterey viz can drop to 0 in places and at times, we all know the site we all know the depth and losing a buddy doesn’t happen often but it can happen, when it does each can search for the others or not, surfacing in the kelp is usually not a good idea, take personal responsibility and end the dive when you (they) feel the need.

 

[happy-diver]

@happy-diver , If you had a pony you could have just clipped it off on him...

Yeah, ha ha ha ha ha, but there it is on my back and I'm too big to sling so stuff him

and anyway where would be the fun in that

do you think padi will introduce an octo diving only specialty

 

[Diving Dubai]

Most are fine, but I've had several who just took off deeper than planned or into a wreck with air reserves lower than I would agree to (aligned topside - ignored underwater). So, on a few occasions, I was left alone for a period towards the tail end of the dive.

I assume that you were on a commercial trip? So lost buddy system would have been briefed i.e. Look for 1 minute and ascend?

So you had 3 choices

1. To look and ascend
2. To wait and use your pony as a stage to extend the dive - I count dipping into yoru back gas reserve knowing you have a pony as extending also
3. Continuing the dive, because you've paid for the dive.

If the pony gives you security in that if you have a complete 1st stage shut down on the ascent you still have gas, thats cool

On the other two points not so much .....

 

[BlueTrin]

FTFY.

I prefer this one

Wait, there was a stage pony when it wasn't ridiculous

 

[Diving Dubai]

Cool, my usual buddies dive with the understanding that we all solo dive together. In Monterey viz can drop to 0 in places and at times, we all know the site we all know the depth and losing a buddy doesn’t happen often but it can happen, when it does each can search for the others or not, surfacing in the kelp is usually not a good idea, take personal responsibility and end the dive when you (they) feel the need.

Fine, good procedure (never knew that about kelp) And you've all briefed it and it's your plan.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

Option #1 - Don’t Dive.

Ha! Dont dive? lmao. You are joking right? That was actually funny.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

I solo dive sometimes and tend to have conservative practices in general(more so when I'm alone) I'm looking into getting a pony bottle, not to rely on but for peace of mind just in case.

You solo dive in B.C. cold water with a single tank? To me that feels like russian roulette. No offense but sounds frightening if anything happens

 

[PfcAJ]

Ha! Dont dive? lmao. You are joking right? That was actually funny.

Hahah yeah so funny lets dive in unsafe conditions and/or with unsafe buddies lol rofl

 

[NAUI Wowie]

You are assuming a worst case scenario only, but let's go with that. 60 per minute was fine for decades before the training agencies made things even more conservative. If for some unknown reason my low pressure hose blew and I was unable to pinch it or feather my valve I would ascend at whatever rate would get me to the surface. I and thousands more dived for years before anyone heard of a safety stop. If I was making a dive to my ndl I would either be using doubles or it would be a long, shallow dive. I would not be at 80 feet on a single tank with no ndl. I try not to put myself in situations where I would need a buddy or a redundant tank to escape.
Also, that 0.3 CUF/second is from an aluminum 80 at 80 feet. I wouldn't be staying at 80 feet, so the remaining air would last a bit longer. Either way, I'm not going to place myself in a situation like that.

You base every argument and every reply on YOUR diving style ONLY. You dive 35 to 60 feet and plan your dive at end to be shallow. Thats cool but what about everyone else? What about divers in Cozumel at 100ft or Indonesia in deep dives? For you you DONT need a pony. We get it. But arguing against ponys for everything else is nonsensical. You have always replied based on your boat and your little area of the world.

What if you are diving the Devils Throat? Are you going to Cesa from a tunnel at 110 ft? And I get it you may not want to put yourself in that situation. But tons of divers do that vacation dive every day. What if you are doing an east coast dive down to 80 feet to check out sunken barges and during the dive a lot of bullsharks show up and start circling above you? And they seem very active. That happened to a manager at my company. Hes got 30 plus years of diving experience. He ended up taking a hyperbaric chamber ride as they had to try to wait out the bullsharks and then had to make a relatively quick ascent. a large pony would have been helpful.
Diving isnt just doing one situation.