Pony's best configuration?

[jonnythan]

Spectre once bubbled...
In hindsight however, I would have purchased an AL40. A friend of mine is thinking about picking up a pony, and I'm thinking of unloading this on him [if I don't think of a use for it... argon? probably to big. O2 kit? possibly....] and picking up a 40 instead.

You can probably sell it on ebay, pick up a 40, and walk away with some cash to boot.

 

[Uncle Pug]

awap once bubbled...
BTW, I also use a 13. I am confident it contains all the air I need to abort a dive and safely get to the surface for the kind of diving I do.

...that you have a good attentive buddy who will be able to get you untangled when line loops around your hard mounted contraption... and get it done before the full 13cf is sucked down in a spasm of panic... allowing you to make an esa.

Or are you super limber and practice self-disentanglement regularly so as to be truly self-sufficient?

 

[redacted]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

...that you have a good attentive buddy who will be able to get you untangled when line loops around your hard mounted contraption... and get it done before the full 13cf is sucked down in a spasm of panic... allowing you to make an esa.

Or are you super limber and practice self-disentanglement regularly so as to be truly self-sufficient?

I've had to cut myself out of some fairly mild fishing line entanglements, but nothing very serious. EMT shears seem to work well. I'm reasonably careful to avoid the uglier looking entanglement opportunities. And I tend to get even more cautious when the SPG gets toward 1000 psi. While it pretty hard to have too much air/gas, I like the 13 because it travels so easily. I don't think I would want to fly with much more. Other than cost, there really is little reason I couldn't go with something larger for local diving. Maybe after the BP.

 

[Uncle Pug]

How nice to have a buddy who is really a buddy and be able to dive fearlessly with a single single.

 

[MikeS]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
How nice to have a buddy who is really a buddy and be able to dive fearlessly with a single single.

Yeah it is nice, but in practicality that’s not always the case, for example if you travel without a regular buddy and get paired up on the dive boat. And as much as you might trust your buddy, you never know how someone is going to react in a life-threatening situation till it’s over. Why not carry a little extra life insurance?

Mike

 

[Uncle Pug]

MikeS once bubbled...
you travel without a regular buddy and get paired up on the dive boat

If you engage in such risky behavior... and especially if you have loved ones at home... by all means purchase extra life insurance... would you mind including as a co-beneficiary the Uncle Pug Foundation For Dive Safety Through Intimidation And Harassment Of Solo Divers Who Mistakenly Imagine That Their Pony Is A Substitute For A Dive Buddy?

BTW... as has been discussed on this board before and will undoubtedly be discussed again.... pony tanks are not good buddies... nor are they substitutes for a good buddy. They will however get you into situations where it would take a good buddy to save you.

Of course that is just imo :boom:

 

[neil]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...

...that you have a good attentive buddy who will be able to get you untangled when line loops around your hard mounted contraption... and get it done before the full 13cf is sucked down in a spasm of panic... allowing you to make an esa.

Oh, Pug! In your overzealous attempt to discredit the pony you have abandoned all logic and reason.
Are you seriously trying to imply that a pony is any greater an entanglement hazard than doubles? You kiddin' me? (read with NY accent) Is your left tank more a hazard than your right. Isn't it "hard mounted"? THAT part of your argument doesn't hold water

Neil
Guardian of logic and reason

 

[AltonK]

I've done my share of untangling panicy DIR wannabes with doubles while wearing a OMS IQ bungee bc and a pony bottle.
accidents seem to have alot more to do with what's between a divers ears as oposed to whats on his back

 

[AltonK]

oh by the way I use the Quickdraw mounting bracket and it works great. you can reach the one pin to remove it and if you keep some silicone grease on it the metal to metal is no prob.

 

[Uncle Pug]

neil once bubbled...
Oh, Pug! In your overzealous attempt to discredit the pony you have abandoned all logic and reason.

You just need a class in critical thinking Neil

The thrust of the polemic was to discredit the notion that a pony substitutes for a buddy.

And I always dive my doubles with a reliable buddy.

And yes, as a matter of fact, a back mounted pony is much more prone to entanglement than a proper set of doubles.

I take it that you do not dive doubles.

And greetings to you Sir Alton of Bungee, savior of doubles divers, but surely you know that DIR wannabes are a scourge.... why do you persist in rescuing them?