I've decided to get a Pony Bottle; which one...?

[geraldp]

No, its not. Two entirely different applications with two different needs and purposes.

Also, 50% EAN doesn't do much at the typical rec safety stop depth (15'). Whoever is doing this is deluding themselves and wasting money.

MD

I see your point - I haven't done any deep dives with these guys, so i don't know when they switch to their ponies/stage bottles.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Appreciate that input! Thanks!

I use a Pony in part so I can descend below a scheduled MOD if a need arises, so I mine for Air only. Would also hate to breach a O2 ready tank for plane travel. I just might get a 30. I know I can sell my 19 easily enough.

Select a gas for the dive that works for contingencies also.

I wouldn't care to be deep (below a MOD) breathing on a little tank when I can't see the SPG especially if the reason I'm blowing the dive plan because of a problem. You said you had a little SPG on the first stage and the tanks on your back right?

What you do is your business but this sounds like BIG BIG trouble to me.

It also sounds like you can't reach the pony bottle valve, You can't see the SPG and you let others touch the valve after it's on your back.

Honest Don, it's hard for me to think of more dangerous practices.

Like I said, what you do is your business but I don't want to end up participating in a thread about you in the accidents forum.

 

[-hh]

...If you were going to select a Pony for possible bailouts, which would you get?

In short, what the "right size" will be will depend on a couple of factors - - your SAC, your dive environment, max depth and if this is a "for yourself only" type of contingency planning item or not (eg, is it for you only, or you + buddy?).

As such, for ideal Caribbean-type easy solo (or quasi) warmwater rec diving to the ~100fsw range, for an experienced diver (good SAC), a 13ft^3 will generally be "enough". A 19 would be better, but the travel logistics of airlines now saying 55lbs max per checked bag starts to rear its ugly head on the question of what other piece of dive equipment you're going to have leave behind in this trade-off in your real-world weight budget.

For coldwater diving, your ability to respond to a problem and make a quick, direct ascent with minimal bouyancy change management (due to thermal protection differences)...are reduced, plus your typical SAC is going to be higher, so you're going to need a bigger contingency supply even when diving to the same depths. A 30 or 40 is the rule of thumb here.

Philisophical aside: yes, I know that a 30 or 40 is getting close to the "wear doubles" arguement. But:

1) the local diveboat rules in some areas (such as here in NJ) say that you're going to carry some sort of redundant air supply - - if they're not going to wear doubles, would you rather have them carry a 30 pony, or a 2.7 Spare Air?

2) The unfortunate reality is that doubles weigh a lot and are a very common cause of "dive career ending" back injuries.

Diving a single w/pony merely trades-off some bottom time (a short-term gratification) versus being able to dive for more years (a long-term gratification). YMMV, but I intend to dive for another couple of decades, and IMO, doubles are an avoidable health risk: I already had one back injury in 1993, and I don't want another one, as it carries the finite risk of bringing my rec diving hobby to an end.


Hope this helps,


-hh

 

[-hh]

I wouldn't care to be deep (below a MOD) breathing on a little tank when I can't see the SPG especially if the reason I'm blowing the dive plan because of a problem. You said you had a little SPG on the first stage and the tanks on your back right?

What you do is your business but this sounds like BIG BIG trouble to me.

I was going to say that not being able to see the pony's SPG during the dive should not be a huge issue, but if I'm reading this correctly...

... air in pony, nitrox in primary and then at depth, switching from EAN (primary) to Air (pony) so as to be able to go deeper than the EAN's allowed MOD?

If that is indeed the case, I agree...no thanks!

IMO, in the "lesser of two evils" catagory, I'd say that it might be safer just to risk the higher PPO2 exposure than to perform a regulator swap, particularly since the apparent rationale is that it MOD violation will only be "momentary".

Particularly since it also depends on just which "MOD Violation" criteria we're really talking about...there's a healthy difference between going from 1.4 to 1.6, versus going from 1.6 to 2.0


-hh

 

[DandyDon]

... air in pony, nitrox in primary and then at depth, switching from EAN (primary) to Air (pony) so as to be able to go deeper than the EAN's allowed MOD?

If that is indeed the case, I agree...no thanks!

IMO, in the "lesser of two evils" catagory, I'd say that it might be safer just to risk the higher PPO2 exposure than to perform a regulator swap, particularly since the apparent rationale is that it MOD violation will only be "momentary".

Particularly since it also depends on just which "MOD Violation" criteria we're really talking about...there's a healthy difference between going from 1.4 to 1.6, versus going from 1.6 to 2.0

Good points, Mike & HH! Thanks for pointing that out. It's obvious, but I may not have considered it enough.

As such, for ideal Caribbean-type easy solo (or quasi) warmwater rec diving to the ~100fsw range, for an experienced diver (good SAC), a 13ft^3 will generally be "enough". A 19 would be better, but the travel logistics of airlines now saying 55lbs max per checked bag starts to rear its ugly head on the question of what other piece of dive equipment you're going to have leave behind in this trade-off in your real-world weight budget.

Fortunately, most Caribbean destinations are International flights, qualified for 70# bags. My 2 bags for Belize are right at 60# each; I don't know how I could do 50#?! And my preferred airline allows me 70# bags on domestic, because of my elite status on them, but - for most divers traveling domestic, 50# limits are a big challenge. Don't know if P-Rico and U.S.V.I.s are treated as international by the airlines...?

 

[geraldp]

Fortunately, most Caribbean destinations are International flights, qualified for 70# bags. My 2 bags for Belize are right at 60# each; I don't know how I could do 50#?! And my preferred airline allows me 70# bags on domestic, because of my elite status on them, but - for most divers traveling domestic, 50# limits are a big challenge. Don't know if P-Rico and U.S.V.I.s are treated as international by the airlines...?

On my recent business/dive trip to MA from OR I checked on two bags at exactly 50 pounds each, plus I stuffed my 2 carry-on bags as well. My banana yellow ankle weights caused some raised eyebrows when I went through security

On my return trip my gear was wet, and I didn't have scales to balance everything out so I just packed most of my gear in my large check-on and paid the $25 extra overweight fee.

Jerry

 

[Jeddah Aquanaut]

I like ponies and use one often. My 1st choice is my 30c.f. bottle which I take on a sling. I have no problem keeping my balance. The sling is on my right, and by using a clipon weight on my left, balances me out nicely. As for Spare Air, it is the right size to froth the milk when making cappuccino.:0