Pony bottle skills

[doole]

I didn't take it to mean that. I can see how that could be thought though. Looking at it a little differently, those that use a large tank with an H valve and 2 first stages, do you use one reg on each primary or do you have a total of 3 or 4 second stage regs.?

Joe

Four second stages might be just a tad ridiculous - DEFINITELY one second per first in the H-valve (or doubles) rig.

So they imply that you should dive with three seconds, or is it not specific?

 

[jonnythan]

A few of my buddies dive with 13 cf pony bottles strapped to their tanks. By suggestion of the LDS and instructor, they have a primary reg and octo set up as normal on the right side, then the pony bottle reg set up on the left side. They use a quick disconnect for the pony bottle so the buddy can detach it and carry it himself.

I have seen people ditch their octo in favor of a pony bottle, but I'm pretty sure I never saw it in any of the pictures in my SSI OW and AOW books.

Personally, I think it's a mess, and I'd much rather breathe the reg from my buddy's mouth instead of hoping that the pony bottle hasn't emptied or anything. I trust my buddy much more than some O-rings sitting by my kidneys.

 

[Web Monkey]

Superior to an octo? Does that mean that you are supposed to abandon the octo in favour of the pony? (Just curious.)

I would. If my primary stopped supplying air, I'd go right for the pony reg, since I *KNOW* it works, and has no dependencies on what I was just breathing, that failed.

The moment that you sucked the last breath out of a second stage is no time to start troubleshooting exactly what went wrong, it's time to get more air.

Once you're breathing again, you can figure out what happened, and decide if you want to use your octo or not.

Terry

 

[OE2X]

Yes. But do you know where your buddies mouth has been?
Just kidding Jonnythan. I'm with you on this one.

 

[Soggy]

I would. If my primary stopped supplying air, I'd go right for the pony reg, since I *KNOW* it works, and has no dependencies on what I was just breathing, that failed.

The *fastest* thing to do would be to get gas from your buddy, rather than wasting time turning on the pony.

 

[Web Monkey]

The *fastest* thing to do would be to get gas from your buddy, rather than wasting time turning on the pony.

You think?

How can it possibly be faster to swim over to my buddy and grab one of his (even if he's only a few feet away), than to crank a knob that's sitting next to my hand, and use a reg that that's less than a foot from my mouth?

Terry

 

[JimC]

You think?

How can it possibly be faster to swim over to my buddy and grab one of his (even if he's only a few feet away), than to crank a knob that's sitting next to my hand, and use a reg that that's less than a foot from my mouth?

Terry

Because my buddy is on the ball and likely already has there primary deployed and sitting 3 inches from my face.

The habit of going for a slung pony reg will KILL you if you start doing technical diving.

 

[Web Monkey]

Because my buddy is on the ball and likely already has there primary deployed and sitting 3 inches from my face.

So your buddy spends the whole dive staring at you waiting for you to have a problem, and never looks away?

How does he manage to do this while navigating and watching his own gas and equipment.

You can do what you like, but I prefer to be self-sufficient.

The habit of going for a slung pony reg will KILL you if you start doing technical diving.

More than likely, since it would probably not contain something breathable at depth. However, for technical diving, I'd be diving doubles, which means I wouldn't be going for the pony.

What's your point?

Terry

 

[doole]

Because my buddy is on the ball and likely already has there primary deployed and sitting 3 inches from my face.

The habit of going for a slung pony reg will KILL you if you start doing technical diving.

For me, this pretty much says it all.

 

[JimC]

So your buddy spends the whole dive staring at you waiting for you to have a probleml, and never looks away?

How does he manage to do this while navigating and watching his own gas and equipment.

You can do what you like, but I prefer to be self-sufficient.

Err, no - they have basic buddy awareness. Constant communication is so easy to nail down its a joke after a few dives. I am sorry if you don't have this with your buddies.

More than likely, since it would probably not contain something breathable at depth. However, for technical diving, I'd be diving doubles, which means I wouldn't be going for the pony.

What's your point?

Terry

Your training in a response to an OOG emergency. That response can kill you in some situation. You don't see that as a problem?

Me, I have one response to an OOG. Secure my buddies regulator - a known good. It has gas appropriate for the depth and works, every time on any dive.