pony bottles

[grassyknoll]

Grassyknoll, if your asking if I don't use my double hose regulators when buddy diving--yes--I use them. Thats is what I prefer to dive. The regulator shown is capable of out peforming virtually anything at depth. It is superbly reliable and rugged and simple and has depending upon how I rig it upwards of four to six LP ports and three HP ports to support even commercial type diving where tools might be operated.

Thanks for the rundown, I was just wondering. I and most I know prefer to hand off the known working primary 2nd and switch to the octo when wearing an octo on the necklace. Knowing that you weren't going to be handing over your double hose I was just curious. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and with the number of different gear configurations you have you sure have plenty of options.

 

[Sandbar]

DivnHoosier, the answer to your question is because every time a person asks a simple question about how to rig a pony, tips on use, appropriate sizes, how to travel with them or whatever they get shouted down by the scubaDIRboard police who insist on monopolizing the field of opinion that theirs alone is fact and everybody other than them is in need of their superior training at which point they would see the carmic light and realize how stupid they have been for even thinking to use a pony bottle. BS.

N[/QUOTE
Great point Nemrod. We all know that diving is an inexact science. I for one appreciate the many opinions shared here. This site has taught me a lot.

 

[Ronald K]

Forget ponies, use doubles. More air, less lead. And the benefits of the two being usable from both regs.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Forget ponies, use doubles. More air, less lead. And the benefits of the two being usable from both regs.

Dude, check his profile. He has between 25 and 49 dives. He needs to switch to a set of doubles right now like he needs to smoke crack and worship Satan before each dive.

What he also needs to do is avoid some impulse buy without any calcs to back up his rationale. Alternately, perhaps he can save some bucks from others who do exactly that: http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=177031

 

[in_cavediver]

Dude, check his profile. He has between 25 and 49 dives. He needs to switch to a set of doubles right now like he needs to smoke crack and worship Satan before each dive.

To be fair, my wife started diving doubles somewhere in the 25-50 range of dives. She just got sick of changing tanks when we dove (and I didn't with 104's). She also hated the extra lead with a drysuit with the single tank. Mind you, this was after her cavern class and when she was seeing the cave bug.

Now at 100-125 dives, she never wants to go back to a single tank (unless its a stage bottle).

Doubles are just another piece of gear for accomplishing a task. There is nothing magical that makes them inappropriate for any diver. They offer no more complications than a FFM does. (different yes, more no). They do give you more gas and redundancy. (although, an HP 149, HP 130 and dbl 72's are roughly the same capacity)

 

[Tonio Anastasi]

thanks for the advice from all im just thinking from a safety point of view cost isnt the issue

I would recommend the Pony bottle.
From the safety point of you it is tops.
The reason, as you well know, is that unlike the other AASs around, (with the exception of the Spare Air), the pony bottle not only gives you two seperate air independent regulators, but you also have an independent untapped source of air.
Go for it.

However. A word of advise.

Before you start diving with a pony bottle, get your buddy, or find a DM or Instructor, or experienced diver that is familiar with the rig, and get into the pool, or sheltered, shallow open water site, to practice and learn the out-of-air routines using the Pony.

If you do not practice with it, it's quite possible that, in the stress of the moment, you may forget you have a source of air on your back.

It may sound like a stupid think to do, to forget that you have an additional source of air on your back.....but I know of at least one reported fatality, a few years ago, when that happened.