Short and Fat/Long and Thin? Pony Tank Preferences

[jim T.]

I've been "trying on" 30 cf pony bailout bottles. Depending on brand, some are shorter and fatter, some longer and narrower.

What do you prefer when you dive a slung pony 30? Would you rather have a narrow bottle stick out a bit behind you or have a nice "fatter" tank tucked under your arm without it sticking out behind you?

Does it even matter? I figured everyone has their own ergonomic preference.
Or do you buy whatever's the best deal price wise?

Thanks

 

[OE2X]

I like a 40 slung that can be used for deco.

 

[jim T.]

Well...I'm looking at 30's for now. Did you have a preference for bottle girth vs. length when you shopped for your 40 or if you use bottles from different manufacturers?

 

[divad]

Long and thin. But that's just my preference, in general (except in apartments).

 

[OE2X]

Well...I'm looking at 30's for now. Did you have a preference for bottle girth vs. length when you shopped for your 40 or if you use bottles from different manufacturers?

Hmmm. I don't remember that there was much of an option when I bought my 40.

I don't use it as pony per say... I use my buddy for back up gas.

On the rare times I dive solo - I use it for redundancy. Otherwise it's for deco.

I think your reasoning is good for the most part. The only flaw - if I may be so bold to offer my opinion - is that should you go down the road towards deco diving your 30 will become obsolete. You will use either a 40 or an 80. Slinging the 30 is an excellent idea. This will get you practicing techniques that you can build on later as you progress into more advanced types of diving.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

If you sling the pony, there is not muh difference between a 30 and a 40. Bothe are the same diameter, the 40 is just a few inches longer.

Thin is preferable as it then does not get in the way of your arm as much and is easier to reach over or under.

I agree in principle if you plan to go the tech route that a 40 is theoretically preferable to a 30 for the extra capacity, but a 30 will still give you more than enough gas for a lot of deco. They are not as common as 40's for tech diving, but they are still very useful and frequently used. And the math is dirt simple with a 30 - if you have 3000 psi, you have 30 cubic feet, if you have 2200 psi in the tank, you have 22 cu ft, etc.

 

[Amphibious]

So you want a pony for diving solo? If you're buddy diving the pony concept becomes just wasted gear. your redundancy should be swimming near you.

I use an AL30 slung like a stage for a solo diving bailout. seems to work fine.

 

[jim T.]

Thank you guys,
I'm not at all certain at this point in time whether or not I'll do tech. dives or (purposeful) decompression dives. ( I DO have the interest/fantasy for sometime in the future...) For the present I would use a pony as bail out/back up insurance when diving with new/unknown buddies. I'm still meeting and getting together with buddies for the lst time.

Even with experienced buddies who are good buddies, there are moments when we are separated a bit (not by my choice!) and I just like the idea of knowing that I could go to my pony reg on my way over to letting a buddy know that a problem exists, then opting to air share or surfacing together with me on my pony.

By the same token, because I may eventually do AOW and deep diving I wouldn't mind getting comfortable with slinging a pony now.
I'll keep looking at 30s vs. 40s as I'm not in a big hurry to purchase yet, but I figured a 30 would do me for a long time to come...if the length of a 40 sort of "disappears/is unoticeable compared with a 30, I'd be open to that.
On dive charters, I occasionally find myself diving "solo" due to a "just met" inattentive buddy. So, all in all, I think having a pony will be a good path for me now and to get skills ready for down the road.

DA Aquamaster, could you explain what makes the math using a 40 more complicated than for a 30?

Regarding thin/vs. "fat", my initial feeling was that it was nicer to be able to bring my arm in closer to my body and maybe find that less obtrusive/tiring over the length of the dive...
Thanks again for the advice and info. I have decided for sure to include a pony in my rig so now it's a matter of deciding on which size and capacity.

I still will depend on buddy teamwork first, but from what I've been seeing, unless I am lucky enough to have truly teamwork oriented buddies ALL the time, I want a pony too.

 

[jim T.]

DA Aquamaster,
After re-reading, I understand why the math is so straighforward for a 30. Could you please tell me how to figure the same for a 40? Thanks. Jim

 

[Web Monkey]

So you want a pony for diving solo? If you're buddy diving the pony concept becomes just wasted gear. your redundancy should be swimming near you.

It's a nice idea, but in practice means that you'll either be diving with a buddy you trust, or not at all.

For those of us who frequently dive with new buddys and new divers, it's nice to know that you can handle your own emergency.

In fact, with the level of gas planning (almost none) being taught in many OW classes, sharing air with your buddy in an emergency could easily mean two fatalities or injuries instead of one.

Terry