Pony bottle

[diveandclimb]

It seems like I am going to be doing a lot of my diving with unfamilar buddies which is obviously less than ideal. I feel like it would give me greater piece of mind if I knew that I could be pretty much self sufficient is need be. I figure a 30cf pony bottle would fit the bill for now and be large enough so that when I take an intro to wreck diving class I won't need to get something bigger. I have most of my own gear but I do rent AL80s whenever I dive. I was wondering whether people had any suggestions as to what a good system for mounting my pony bottle would be. The zeagle pony band thing looked good but it is important to me that it be easy to swap tanks etc. Thanks.

-DC

 

[muddiver]

I've been using a nylon pouch that I picked up at Sports Chalet long ago. Sorry, don't know the brand right off hand. It's a lot cheaper than most hard mounts and it seems to be a little eaisier to remove to change tanks.

There is also a nice BC tank strap mounted system out there, might be DiveRite, that I saw online. That would also work with changing tanks.

 

[micklock]

sorry the one I was thinking of is discontinued. I have used the superpony tammer but it would be a pain to use with a rented tank. It uses hose clamps to secure it to both tanks.

 

[diveandclimb]

Reef Scuba X-Bracket Pony Tamer from LeisurePro.com

I looked at that but it only is good for tanks up to 20cf. My choice of a 30cfer seems to be ruling out a lot of mouting options.

 

[micklock]

Maybe you could buy two X-brackets and another cam band and mount the second one on the bottom of the tanks.

 

[marchand]

Get a stage strap and a big SS hose clamp. It'll cost you maybe $30 and it is a lot easier to use than anything else out there.

 

[geraldp]

It seems like I am going to be doing a lot of my diving with unfamilar buddies which is obviously less than ideal. I feel like it would give me greater piece of mind if I knew that I could be pretty much self sufficient is need be. I figure a 30cf pony bottle would fit the bill for now and be large enough so that when I take an intro to wreck diving class I won't need to get something bigger. I have most of my own gear but I do rent AL80s whenever I dive. I was wondering whether people had any suggestions as to what a good system for mounting my pony bottle would be. The zeagle pony band thing looked good but it is important to me that it be easy to swap tanks etc. Thanks.

-DC

I have a couple of these:Quick Draw Pony Bracket that I use for both my pony and my argon bottle, and I like them (I have the smaller size that fits 13-19 cu-ft bottles, but this one will hold 30-40 cu ft bottles). They hold the tanks pretty securely. Quick-draw they're not, however. Despite the add there's no way I could take them off underwater. For my personal pony-bottle use that's not important - it's more important that the bottles are secure.

Jerry

 

[diveandclimb]

I have a couple of these:Quick Draw Pony Bracket that I use for both my pony and my argon bottle, and I like them (I have the smaller size that fits 13-19 cu-ft bottles, but this one will hold 30-40 cu ft bottles). They hold the tanks pretty securely. Quick-draw they're not, however. Despite the add there's no way I could take them off underwater. For my personal pony-bottle use that's not important - it's more important that the bottles are secure.

Jerry

Kind of pricey but it looks promising.

 

[Scared Silly]

For a 30cuft I would just sling it. A 19cuft will work fine for the Zeagle bands (I have used them for a 13 cuft as well).

 

[foles1972]

I agree with Scared Silly. I use a 40cf pony and I used to mount it to my main cylinder but it was always a pain in the neck. I now sling it in front of me and don't even notice it while diving.

Also, if you have a buddy who has an OOA situation you can unclip the pony and hand it off to him/her.