Pony bottle sling - position question

[Fishhy]

I've been slinging a 19cuft pony bottle whenever I've been doing deep or penetration dives. But I've found that with my sling kit the valve tends to hang pretty low and ends up banging on doorway thresholds, etc unless I cradle it while diving.

Today I was able to get some pool time to try out a new BP/W and I found if it stayed pretty trim and up against my body if I mounted the sling upside down on my side (valve side down)

I can pull the hoses through the bands to work in this configuration but I'll need to get a short spg (have a button one now).

Does anyone else sling upside down? Any concerns with this configuration I should consider?

 

[JXT71]

When I used a back-mounted pony for diving at work, it was mounted upside down. This kept it away from our front where we had other hoses/equipment to worry about, as well as dragging it along pool bottoms or fixtures. But on my own in open water I'd rather have it right-side up in front of me.

Your issue sounds like something a bungee cord could fix. I have some bungee tied to a snap bolt that is looped to a slot in my backplate with a lark's foot. If I sling a pony, that bungee gets snapped to a loop of paracord tied around the neck of my pony bottle, just tight enough to keep it right on me. When not in use, the bungee just gets snapped to another slot on the backplate, out of sight out of mind (and zero risk of getting snagged on anything).

 

[inquis]

For a single bottle like that, I would use a bungee to corral it at your side -- side-mount style.

 

[Wibble]

For a single bottle like that, I would use a bungee to corral it at your side -- side-mount style.

Absolutely.

Stages tend to dangle down with all the issues this causes: a snag risk, non-streamlined, sucks your energy as it swings forward and backwards...

A bungee around the neck will pull it back under your armpit and tight into your body. Thus being streamlined, out of the way and doesn't move.

Sorting out the bungee mounting's not that hard. Make a loop and tie a knot, leaving the tails. You can adjust this to fit (sidemounting's a bit of a faff to sort out in the beginning). You can tidy the tails or just lash them together to form a sort of handle.

Looks something like this (although this is a 7 litre stage - the principle's the same for a smaller one). Note how it's pulled back under the armpit and isn't dangling.

You can use a little stainless link to mount the bungee onto your backplate (this isn't a standard one, but it's the same on a backplate), This means that you can change your bungee without undoing/cutting it:

Use a small bungee loop under your chest D-ring to hold the bungee in place.

 

[Fishhy]

I agree this is what I need. I think what I'm missing now really is a choker to bring the top stage d-ring up to the neck so I can clip into a ring bungee. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[flymolo]

I agree this is what I need. I think what I'm missing now really is a choker to bring the top stage d-ring up to the neck so I can clip into a ring bungee. Thanks for the feedback!

You can adjust your D-rings (both your hip and left chest d-rings) to pull the bottle in tighter. Moving the hip d-ring until it is only about 3-4 finger's width off the backplate will pull the bottom in, and moving the chest d-rings up will prevent the valve from hanging down too low. Shortening the length of the stage rigging by wrapping the bottom bolt-snap once around the tubing will also help.

 

[Nemrod]

Never mind the reg, that is my old Calypso from in the day. I was just using it to help rig. If you look close, a variation on the bungee theme, I have a bicycle tube rubber band looped on the valve and then through the opening of the bolt snap. This keeps the tank up under my arm but still allows me to pull it down a little if I need to access something on it thereabouts.




A piece of bungee can accomplish the same thing, maybe better. I have plenty of bicycle tubes of all sorts. .

James

 

[-JD-]

@Fishhy As he suggested, I use a variation on what @Nemrod does using bungee cord instead of the inner tube section. Works pretty well. When I get some "play" time in the water again I'll be trying sidemount-style bungee variations.