Pony, Octo, or both?

[senseiern]

Waiting for the water to warm before the first OW dive, I have some concerns about equipment to buy. Mainly, I am thinking about the secondary air.

For safety's sake, even though I plan on diving with a buddy, always, I am thinking of getting a pony and an octo.

I can't imagine there are as many people who put safety as prominent in decision making as I do...I am anal about it.

So, I researched and found horror stories about a panicked OOA diver causing all kinds of problems when grabbing an octo, and others where a pony failed., But, what else can you do? I read about regs freezing, which if it froze through coldness of the water, chances are the other devices are going to freeze as well.

So, i was thinking to improve my risk management, I would do both. What are your thougths? Is that overkill?

 

[Rocketmahn]

I dive with an Octo, and a backmount pony.

The Octo is for my buddy if they have a problem or if I have an issue with my 2nd stage.

But the pony is MINE, ALL MINE!
It's regulator stays on a necklace so I can get to it quickly and easily.

I have the pony in case I have a 1st stage failure, do something stupid like run out of air due to a leak, or a stuck SPG needle (stuck on full!), or "diver error", or if my main tank strap comes loose pulling the reg from my mouth as the tank slides off my back and into the abyss, or,or,or ???

Do not strap your pony to the main tank (in case it slips off of your back).
Use the main tank band or sling the pony.

 

[OldNSalty]

Its hard to say whats over kill. A spare mask? 3 cutting devises? an SMB? 2 dive buddies? If you want to have a pony and an octo attached to your main tank go for it.

 

[Dr Wu]

Dive with an octo. You do not need a pony. Not now and probably not ever.

Just learn to dive properly. A pony is going to cause you more harm than good.

Leave the silly junk alone.

 

[senseiern]

That is exactly what I was thinking. Since most rental gear comes with the octo, my first purchase beyond the mask, snorkel and fins, which I already have, will be a pony. I just do not want to be down and out of air when my buddy swims off to see a fish.

I really have some trust issues.

 

[goonsquad]

Do whatever makes you feel safe.
If you don't feel safe you're not going to be as relaxed or as confident while you're there.

 

[TSandM]

senseirn, you have a couple of options. You can deck yourself in equipment to try to be entirely self-sufficient, or you can dive with reliable buddies. If the latter intrigues you, try contacting cmalinowski on this board. He can give you some ideas on how to hook up with people who take buddy responsibilities, and buddy skills, seriously.

I do not blame anyone who is forced to dive with random buddies for choosing to sling a bottle, or dive solo for that matter.

 

[Dr Wu]

Do whatever makes you feel safe.
If you don't feel safe you're not going to be as relaxed or as confident while you're there.

That's one of the major problems with pony bottles. They make the inexperienced diver "feel" safe.

 

[Graeme Tolton]

It is a good idea to take a little time and a good number of dives before you are overloading yourself with a pony. Don't get me wrong.. A redundant air source is a good idea, especially in cold water, like we have here. Before you buy one, consider what you are going to want to do in the future. Are you eventually going to want to dive doubles? It is best to think of the future when choosing equipment, rather than having to rebuy later on because of a poor initial choice.

Another piece of advice, choose the same regulator for your pony if/when you decide to get one as your main reg.

 

[goonsquad]

That's one of the major problems with pony bottles. They make the inexperienced diver "feel" safe.

Dr. Wu, I'm not trying to be a douche, but how does slinging another tank on your back as a back up air source not make a diver safer? And I would think that diving like most other somewhat dangerous sports is made much safer when a person feels safe and is much less likely to panic in a given situation?