Pony bottle for my solo dives

[drbill]

I own both 13 and 19 cu ft pony bottles and solo about 85-90% of the time. The 13 was adequate for much of my diving above 100 ft. However when I started doing deeper dives I switched to the 19 and am thinking of a 30. I think you'd be fine with a 13 based on your description, but a 19 would give you that extra margin.

 

[dave4868]

So, there you go. Nothing too special there. I need a pony bottle for this kind of stuff. The typical response I've seen about PB questions is something like "get a 30 or 40 - extra gas, not much bigger - just do it and you'll be happy." That would be fine I guess - except that I would STRONGLY PREFER something I can carry on the plane in my carry-on bag. The biggest one that will fit, as far as I can tell, is a 19cf bottle. I also think that will meet my emergency gas needs, for the situations described above. Finally, I think a 19cf would make an adequate emergency gas source for my non-solo dives, as described above. Certainly better than nothing anyway.

I'll just agree that a 19cf pony appears to meet your criteria quite well, including your carry-on requirement.

Just curious, when you travel to a warm-water destination, will you possibly want your pony to supply additional air to occasionally dive deeper and/or lengthen a dive, not just provide bail-out?

Just something to consider.

A few years ago, I spent a couple of weeks solo diving in Bonaire and found myself occasionally using quite a bit of the air in my 30cf pony when a dive was particularly special or deep.

That seemed to happen more often than in the cold, dark waters of home....

Dave C

 

[seaducer]

I'll pile on and say at the depths you like to dive, a 19 should be plenty of insurance. I like mine, it dissapears when diving.

however, I don't travel with mine either. It seems a little big to be fun to carry around the airports. You may want to consider 2. One for Alaska, and one for vacation...

 

[hwa0421]

I found many helpful calculation about depth & bailout bottle here on SB.
19cf is enough if you'll keep your max depth.
I went 30cf (luxfer) coz I go down deeper, I feel heavy on the land with this,
but underwater I don't feel it anymore & did not effect any weight trim.

 

[NudeDiver]

Just curious, when you travel to a warm-water destination, will you possibly want your pony to supply additional air to occasionally dive deeper and/or lengthen a dive, not just provide bail-out?

Well - I don't think so. Given that doing so would require my dive buddy to ALSO have the extra air - I don't think so. I'm not saying that it couldn't happen - I may want to do it some day. But I don't think the frequency of such events would merit losing my ability to carry on my pony.

I guess if I really needed more air for a dive, my buddy and I could rent a 30. That's my thinking anyway. FWIW - one thing I didn't mention in the OP - is one goal is of course to save on rental costs. At $25+/day (a recent quote I was given), it doesn't take too long to pay for a pony.

All: Thanks bunches for your insights.

 

[scubadada]

You've already made your decision for a 19 cu ft, I made the same decison and that's what I dive with. I've had quite a bit of experience with taking it planes, carry on works fine as long as the valve is out for inspection.

Good diving, Craig

 

[NudeDiver]

I went ahead and bought a 19cf bottle today.

Thanks for your advice all!
nd

 

[drdaddy]

Thank you for the discussion about flying with a pony. I've never had any problems taking my regulators (& computers & mask) on board (domestic & international) - but I've never taken my pony. I will consider this.

Most of my diving is Jetty Diving in Oregon's Pacific NW and is 50 ft and under (yesterday at low tide was 35 ft and 48 degrees). I use a 13 cuft Pony attached by a strap to my tank. When I switch out my main tank (100 or 80 HP steel), I only have to open my pony strap and slide the new tank in. I am in my mid 50's and my once perfect vision does not focus as well as they used to, so I replaced the button air pressure gauge with a full sized analog gauge on a hose (I can see it clearly ).

When I dive deeper than 50 ft (Hood Canal/Puget Sound, Washington) I use my 19 cuft pony. I also have an extra 13 cuft pony on a sling that I can use or loan to a friend.

Note: About OOA drills - Remember that a pony does not attach to your BCD, so when you practice using your pony also practice orally inflating your BCD (and periodically practice dropping your weights).

drdaddy