Pony Bottle, worth it?

[BHB ScubaTroll]

So I'll be going for my Advanced Certification in the next 3 weeks or so

However the nature of the depths does have me on the cautious side of things. I have been considering buying a pony bottle. I've seen quite a few people with them and just to know if something were to happen to my regulator setup or by whatever means I mis calculate my air left for ascent it would be nice to know I can salvage a few more breathes.

So what is the overall thought on these? Worth the price or just be extra cautious and play it safe?

Your own question answers itself...

Advanced Certification indicates AOW (Advanced Open Water) training, not solo training.

Depth is only one course for AOW and it does not require a pony bottle.

Quite a few people dive with a pony bottle because quite a few people dive solo (completely different from AOW). I carry a 30 cf steel as my buddy on solo dives. I do not carry a pony bottle because "I have noticed quite a few people with them". It is my buddy on solo dives. If I have a problem with my regulator, I have practiced switching to my octo... If I have a problem with my first stage reg, I am aborting my dive. If it is a big enough problem and I am diving solo, I have my 30cf steel buddy with me. I have made close to 300 solo dives, and have carried my 30cf steel buddy 2 times.

Is it worth the price... you decide what is worth your money and what is just eye candy because you thought it might come in handy...

 

[Hatul]

Have you done a Cesa from 80 ft? Have you ever rented a pony at destination?

My pony goes on every dive trip with me. Flown it many places.

Can I ask you what size pony you take on your travels?

 

[DandyDon]

Can I ask you what size pony you take on your travels?

Sure. It's a personal judgement call but I carry a 19 cf for the reasons given...

Get the 19 cf - only 2# heavier than the 13 cf but 50% more air when a surprise comes up, as it's hard to say how much is enough in an emergency given the unplanned nature of those. The 6 cf is in the same joke area as a spare air.

A 30 cf would be 50% more again, but just more than I considered needed for a recreational bail-out bottle when I bought it some 8 years ago, plus 4# or more to pack and carry depending on brand. See specs at Scuba Cylinder Specification Chart from Huron Scuba, Ann Arbor Michigan

I think the price difference between a 6, 13, 19, or 30 is usually about $10 per jump and they all use the same sling, reg, and spg - so for the weight and money, I called it at 19.

Hmmm going to be hydro time again. I want to be sure to get that done before the viz that year as my LDS charges a premium for running it over to hydro testing, then picking it up. I can handle the drop and pick myself for a lot less.

 

[Ghanguss]

If solo diving I sling my 19 cuft pony to my dragon BCD. Pony has two clips, one top, one bottom. When entering the water I clip the top to my shoulder D ring and bottom to my hip D ring. Its very secure and wont move much when entering. I usually roll onto my back entering as opposed to gaint stride for two reasons.
1. I hit my knee while entering doing a GS recently
2. I lost a BC pocket doing a GS.

I find this position good for entry but not practical when diving. The valve is too high up on my chest and difficult to see. So, once in the water I move the pony.
I clip the top pony clip to my hip D ring and let the bottom of the pony hang loose. Its very easily accessed and visible. I hardly notice it there while diving.

 

[BoltSnap]

How much gas does it take to untangle yourself, answer, you don't know. How much is enough. might take a 40 and you have a 30, might take an 80 and you have a 50.

Unless I am missing something here, doesn't what you said apply to every scenario where a pony may be needed including the ones that DevonDiver listed and the ones that we probably didn't think of thus far?

 

[captain]

Unless I am missing something here, doesn't what you said apply to every scenario where a pony may be needed including the ones that DevonDiver listed and the ones that we probably didn't think of thus far?

Sure does, and that's my point, when is enough enough, never. The only enough is the surface, learn how to stay out of situations like entanglement unless you are surface supplied, and learn how to do CESA's on no deco dives in the highly unlikely event of equipment failure and learn gas management so you don't run out. It ain't rocket science.

 

[DandyDon]

Sure does, and that's my point, when is enough enough, never. The only enough is the surface, learn how to stay out of situations like entanglement unless you are surface supplied, and learn how to do CESA's on no deco dives in the highly unlikely event of equipment failure and learn gas management so you don't run out. It ain't rocket science.

I check my tires often, service as needed, and avoid road hazards - so I never have flats unless the unforeseen happens, then just in case carry my cell phone and AAA card. Is it good to still carry a spare tire...??

 

[CuNanoTube]

I sling a 19cft. on all my dives. No matter which depth or situation. I don't need it on my 40' shore dives, but using the same equipment on every dive at my experience level is beneficial. I also dive deep (wrecks tend to be 80'+ in my area) cold water (very cold, usually 4-10C at depth). Considering how difficult it is to carry one, why not?

 

[DevonDiver]

Sure does, and that's my point, when is enough enough, never. The only enough is the surface,.....

I don't really get your point here. You talk about gas management, but then you present an arguement that it isn't worth planning your gas (inc reserve/redudancy) because of 'variables' that cannot be planned for???

learn how to stay out of situations like entanglement unless you are surface supplied, and learn how to do CESA's on no deco dives in the highly unlikely event of equipment failure

Good basic/core skills will make all the difference on open-water dives..and they will always be the best preventative against emergencies.

That said, there may be occasions when a diver feels like adding an extra contingency due to the advanced nature of the dive. Deep dives and overhead environments being the most obvious.

What we are really talking about here is an advanced recreational level dive, where the surface may not be guaranteed accessible via CESA and/or other factors present themselves that may otherwise hamper an emergency ascent.

A CESA is an emergency situation. Emergency situations tend to bring about multiple emergent complications. The divers' tolerance to survive any further complications is very narrow once they have entered into this situation. Basically, if you are reliant on a CESA, then you cannot chance anything else going wrong (including your psychological state).

A redundant gas source prevents the need for a CESA... this prevents the emergency situation in the first place.

I still wouldn't advocate redundant air as the only solution for surviving an incident on this calibre of advanced dive.... but I do feel that the concept of gas redundancy is a valid and prudent measure that a diver can incorporate within their dive planning.

... and learn gas management so you don't run out.

...and gas management should be flexible enough to incorporate a redundant air source.

For instance, a diver wishing to use the 'Rule of Thirds' for a wreck/cavern dive might wish to add a AL40 as the reserve 1/3rd, in addition to their AL80 back gas. Not only does preserve the third, it also provides complete isolatation for that reserve.

It ain't rocket science.

It is as simple as reality allows it to be. Fatality statistics illustrate that reality can sometimes bite even the most skillful and prudent divers in the arse.

I don't advocate 'equipment based solutions to skills based problems', and consequently would never support the use of redundant gas supply as an alternative to having the requisite skills to survive any predicatable incident on any given dive.

BUT... with the right foresight and planning, a redundant gas supply can become an effective contingency that is built into a divers' planned response to predicatable incidents, ..or even just an 'extra chance' to survive the most unpredicatable scenarios.

 

[DandyDon]

I think that if I got badly entangled, the first thing I'd cut lose would be my pony as I might want to abandon the rest of my kit and ascend with it.