Question about pony bottles

[ScubabunnyCR]

It seems to me only logical that carrying your own back up air would be far superior to depending entirely upon a buddy in an OOA/equipment failure situation.

Good on you, I think you are taking a very sensible approach to your diving and having that option is great.

 

[Andyoak]

Maybe the upside down regulator would be a good clue that the regulator is attached to the pony? I'm getting the feeling you haven't actually used the configuration you are discussing?

Not all regulators are "upside down" if they come from the other side.

For what it is worth I used to dive with a pony upside down attached to the tank, hose coming up under the left arm, reg on a bridle around the neck.

- Upside down pony means you can easily reach down to pressurize it then turn it off, and then back on if needed.
- Bridle around neck means you can easily find it and donate your primary to an OOA diver and ascend (give the stressed diver the bigger air source, after all you have said you can happily ascend on your pony)
- use a reg on the pony that will work coming from the left
- if reg comes from left it is pony, if it comes from right it is main
- I always left the alternate reg on the primary first stage, why bother messing with taking it on and off if not diving with the pony

Now doing deeper dives and deco and rebreather so slinging all sorts of other tanks, but back in time a pony attached to the tank served its purpose well.

In short any extra air is a bonus, but with only recreational training you are not really equipped to understand all the pros/cons/scenarios. So no you are not missing anything extra gas is a good thing, but your primary response should still be the one you are trained for which is share air with your buddy and ascend, use the pony for practice and if it all goes really really south.

Maybe consider doing a Solo Course? That would be a good introduction to managing an additional gas supply

Just my 2c worth.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Or take an AOW where the instructor has you use a redundant gas supply like a slung bottle or allows you to use doubles or sidemount. And if you choose one of the latter two, he/she will tailor the course for that.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kharon]

Have to say I got some chuckles from this thread. There are more people than I thought that have to "be right" and get the last word. Glad I gave that up. I don't need to add to the circus.

 

[Andyoak]

Have to say I got some chuckles from this thread. There are more people than I thought that have to "be right" and get the last word. Glad I gave that up. I don't need to add to the circus.

But you just did couldn't resist.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I have nearly 1000 dives and have never used/carried a pony, except on the few solo dives I have done. I have not run out of air either. I do not dive solo as a rule, but on those few occasion I have, I did carry a pony, and I dove a 100 cu ft tank on a conservative profile. ( I normally dive 80's) If I ever dive solo again, I will carry a pony again. So in my view, no Pony necessary unless diving solo- then you must have a completely independent alternate air source. Otherwise, I do not bother.
DivemasterDennis

 

[doctormike]

I have nearly 1000 dives and have never used/carried a pony, except on the few solo dives I have done. I have not run out of air either. I do not dive solo as a rule, but on those few occasion I have, I did carry a pony, and I dove a 100 cu ft tank on a conservative profile. ( I normally dive 80's) If I ever dive solo again, I will carry a pony again. So in my view, no Pony necessary unless diving solo- then you must have a completely independent alternate air source. Otherwise, I do not bother.
DivemasterDennis

Love your books, but gotta call you on this one.

1) Pony is not for "running out of air", it's for catastrophic equipment failure, which is independent of profile.

2) Any dive can become a solo dive, especially given the OP's description of his buddy:

"And the situation that worries me the most, if you go back and read my comment about how my son used to just swim off with out signalling me, when I would look away for just a few seconds and he'd be hightailing it away from me chasing after something, separation."​

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have nearly 1000 dives and have never used/carried a pony, except on the few solo dives I have done. I have not run out of air either. I do not dive solo as a rule, but on those few occasion I have, I did carry a pony, and I dove a 100 cu ft tank on a conservative profile. ( I normally dive 80's) If I ever dive solo again, I will carry a pony again. So in my view, no Pony necessary unless diving solo- then you must have a completely independent alternate air source. Otherwise, I do not bother.
DivemasterDennis

If you are diving solo, you can dive a SMALLER tank. Why take a larger one?

If you are solo you need enough in your tank to make it to the top. If you dive with a buddy, you need enough to get TWO people to the top. Yes?

 

[T.C.]

If you are diving solo, you can dive a SMALLER tank. Why take a larger one?

If you are solo you need enough in your tank to make it to the top. If you dive with a buddy, you need enough to get TWO people to the top. Yes?

Wow.

Did I really just read that?

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Wow.

Did I really just read that?

He's not wrong. The main drawback to solo is that redundancy comes from two tanks on one diver rather than two tanks on two divers; the main advantage is that for gas planning only one diver is breathing from either of those two tanks. Solo OC deep dives are a lot easier on gas planning than well planned team OC deep dives.