Recreational divers, post your rig here, let's share good and bad ideas

[LI-er]

You feel comfortable with a reserve of 500 psi in a 19 cuft pony?

You clearly don't understand my gas management plan. The 500 psi reserve only happens when I choose to extend a dive and at that point it is the end of the dive. I am at, near or on the way up the line, not inside a wreck ( or anywhere near the recreational depth limit of 130 ft) and I have 700-800 psi in the primary tank that I know is working fine as I just used it for the entire dive right up to 10-15 minutes earlier.

 

[Blackcrusader]

You feel comfortable with a reserve of 500 psi in a 19 cuft pony? That is 1/6 of the full pressure, so that is 19/6 which I could round to 18/6 which is 3. You carefully consider all your options and then come to the (stoned) conclusion that 3 cu-ft is enough to get up from what? I don't know, over 100 feet?

Not what @LI-er wrote. He comes shallow and uses his pony to extend dive times then switches back to his AL80 to do a safery stop. Safety stop would mean not exceeding NDL necessarily but a light back gas deco which is clear on ascending is certainlly possible. Do we agree that the pony is used for this? No.
Do a lot of people disagree that he calls his Pony a Stony bottle which he claims combines a stage bottle and a pony bottle? Yes

But then again if he is diving solo it's not like he has a dive buddy who will complain.

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

@Blackcrusader Not trying to be that guy, but I think you have a double negative here:

Do a lot of people disagree that he calls his Pony a Stony bottle which he claims combines a stage bottle and a pony bottle? No

 

[LI-er]

I don't get it. Why doesn't he just dive doubles or SM instead of this weird, nonsensical setup?

Because most if my diving is off charter boats that supply single tanks. Double tanks are typically not available and even if they were, they'd be too heavy and cumbersome. I wouldn't use most if that gas as I'm not a tech diver.

By adding the pony to the configuration I have the safety of redundancy and the extra gas to extend my dive, and it weighs a lot less.

Doing what he is doing merely gives the illusion of having contingency for emergencies, but it is just that—an illusion. He is lying to himself.

Right. The full 19cf bottle that I carry for the entire dive isn't adding to my safety and the 700-800 psi in my main tank and at least 500 psi in my pony is imaginary gas will never get me to the surface from 100 ft when I'm already near or on the line.

Thanks for breaking through my barrier of self delusion I guess I owe you my life.

 

[Blackcrusader]

@Blackcrusader Not trying to be that guy, but I think you have a double negative here:

Yup sorry I see my error and changed that to a yes lol Typing no just comes more naturally

 

[Nemrod]

Why new cam bands ??? The cam bands look used, but are in perfectly serviceable condition … faded … but with a patina, softness and comfort from use and wear that new webbing would take years to develop. I would suggest you keep the cam bands.

Some “Cinderella sensitivity” comments …

I noticed that the neoprene webbing covers on your shoulder straps have the seams facing your skin, I always wear my neoprene covers with the seams on the outside, so I don’t feel the seams against my skin.

I also noticed that your cam bands appear to tighten in opposite directions … is there a reason for this ? It makes my head spin . My cam bands are always set to tighten in the same direction. This opposite directions thing I would just find difficult for me. My muscle memory and routine is always in the same direction, pushing closed (or pulling open) with my dominant (right) hand facing the BC with the tank behind the BC. i.e. leaning over the BC and tank as you would on a dive boat.
Maybe you’re ambidextrous ?

Do the counter rotational forces from the cam bands tightening in opposite directions make the tank lean to one side because of the distance between the cam bands?

The cam bands are opposite to keep the tank from twisting and also to allow me to have the weight pouches tucked under opposite sides to prevent rolling. The trim weight pouches act as chocks, tucked way under between the plate and tank. One of the cons of soft plates, the tank can tend to roll. Yes, I am partly ambidextrous if that matters, I can do things with both hands, even complicated things. Part of being a mechanic I suppose. I have never noticed any difficulty keeping the tank straight and aligned correctly.

That is a new rig, aside from the twenty years old cam bands, of which one has actually a crack in it and is due replacement. The neoprene covers I use because I often wear only a rash guard, have just not been adjusted yet, they are very soft even including the stitches.

Good questions, thanks. I do not think there is a Hog rule in the books regarding cam band orientation, If there is I guess I am in violation, I am probably goiung to stay opposed for all my rigs.

 

[Nemrod]

When I see D-rings in that location on a Freedom Plate I am reminded of @Akimbo ’s initial post (linked below where he suggested using a piece of PVC pipe and a D-ring to create a semi-adjustable harness for a Freedom plate.

That does not appear to be the case here. The webbing is through both slots and the additional two D-rings are behind the plate. I was just curious about it. Nothing more, the question was not a criticism, just curious.

 

[LI-er]

but my preferred connector for gear is generally a bolt carabiner.
View attachment 887457
It's extremely simple, virtually impossible to screw up (with

is easy to open/close, even with gloves on, provided one does not over tighten, and since it closes in a screwing fashion, runs into less of a "jamming" issue than a standard clip. I

I refer to them as "quick links" and use then to attach the round rings to my shoulder D rings to make it easier to clip/unclip my GoPro tray during the dive. See first post.

I was told by at least 2 members here that those metal to metal connections are extremely dangerous and I'm just asking for a deadly entanglement. Well it hadn't happened yet...

I wouldn't count on being able to unscrew them at depth from your rig especially while wearing gloves.

 

[Blackcrusader]

@LI-er I recently wrote about taking video of an instructor doing a training course so he could teach the PADI deep diving certificate. Part of the course means him clipping on the pony underwater and then demonstrating it's use. He got is clipped in put the regulator in hos mouth and got no air. His facial expression was that instand surprise wtf this isn't giving me any air. He had forgotton to open the valve. A good learning experience. But a pony is just that, for an emergency.

I understand what you are doing. For me if I want to extend a dive time I simply ask for an AL100 when there is no time limit for a recreational dive. If I bring a pony it's not for extending a dive.

 

[LI-er]

@LI-er I recently wrote about taking video of an instructor doing a training course so he could teach the PADI deep diving certificate. Part of the course means him clipping on the pony underwater and then demonstrating it's use. He got is clipped in put the regulator in hos mouth and got no air. His facial expression was that instand surprise wtf this isn't giving me any air. He had forgotton to open the valve.

I did exactly that when I was doing my solo checkout dive off the Australia liveaboard last month. Under the watchful eye of the DM I calmly and slowly removed my primary reg, laid it in my shoulder, reached down, took the pony reg and placed it in my mouth, then casually took a breath and got nothing. He probably noticed that my next move was to open the valve. Wasn't a big deal. Except for the mouthful of sea water as I neglected to purge or breathe out first.

This was my first open water dive with the bottle slung vs back mounted. In that orientation I always had the valve open.