SPG or not

[KenE]

This is not true, and it makes me question your knowledge and experience in this regard. I can certainly reach my main tank valve, I've done it once or twice when I splashed with the valve off. The same cannot be said for a backmounted pony which sits too low for most or all divers to reach on their own.

Your statements about a backmounted pony versus slinging it because of injuries don't make sense either. A slung pony can be clipped on just prior to splashing at the entry point, and removed immediately upon reaching the exit point, be it boat or shore dive and carried separately to reduce weight, whereas a backmounted pony is much more problematic to separate from the rig so it usually isn't.

And finally to say a backmounted poiny being superior to no redundant source, while being true, does nothing to support the argument that backmounting is a better way to go versus slinging it.

You can rationalize and justify your decisions to yourself any way you want, but don't expect them to go unchallenged by those who know better.

It is much easier to carry a pony on the back then in the hand. It cannot be slung when out of water due to pressure on the left side. Once the rig is on my back I can't tell the difference if it is there or not other than a bit of weight. Adding something else to carry from truck to water is a problem with poor arm strength.

I was not saying that one is superior to the other. My response was to someone indicating that a redundance source is not needed and definitely not if back mounted. So, I agree with you, slung or back mounted, a pony is safer than nothing. I don't care if someone wants to back mount or sling, it is up to the diver.

I am not rationalizing or justifying anything other than I have tried it all, and this works for me. It was the other comments that are trying to justify that slung is the only viable option.

 

[gamon]

It is much easier to carry a pony on the back then in the hand. It cannot be slung when out of water due to pressure on the left side. Once the rig is on my back I can't tell the difference if it is there or not other than a bit of weight. Adding something else to carry from truck to water is a problem with poor arm strength.

Ok.. your situation is a bit different. I get it.

 

[Nick_Radov]

One less failure point.
One less hose to replace every few years.
One less thing clipped off.

When they do fail, they fail the wrong because they stick, indicating you have more gas than you do. AI fails in a safe manner.

Since you have to check the SPG every 5 – 10 minutes anyway, it should be obvious when it's stuck. When using double back tanks with an isolation manifold then if you see the SPG reading appears stuck that can also indicate that your isolator value is closed.

If you don't trust the air integration, then why use it? Stick to an SPG.

My fins could break, I don't carry an extra. My mask could break, my wetsuit, et cetera. I don't carry extras.

Proper fins with spring straps really can't break. Masks with proper straps aren't really breakable either, but can be knocked off and lost so it's always a good idea to carry a spare. Takes up minimal space in your pockets.

If I were exclusively a solo diver I wouldn't carry an extra second stage either. Redundant first stage makes the most sense.

If your SPG gave a you a drastically different reading than the AI, what would you do?

Start with a flow check, of course. Depending on the results then most likely abort the dive, and possibly also take a teammate's long hose to start sharing gas.

 

[KenE]

First of all, I did not say that my opinion is ‘the only correct answer’. Please try to not be defensive, this is a friendly dive-related discussion both for your benefit and for the benefit of people reading now and going forward that might have similar questions or ideas.

Second, you said:

“I have tried all the options you mentioned and several others”

That’s a little hard to believe because there are not ‘several other’ options beyond what I mentioned. I guess there’s free diving, rebreathers, and surface supplied. But if you’ve tried a slung pony, with the assistance of a trained professional who knows how to rig, carry, and deploy one, and you didn’t like it, fine. It’s your diving, you can do what you want. But you’ll never convince me or others who have more experience than either of us that it has anything to do with injuries or physical limitations.

The ‘is a pony safer for recreational diving’ discussion is a big one, I have been involved in several threads in past years if you have any real interest in my opinion. The bumper sticker version of my opinion is that diver judgement and behavior is what primarily determines safety, not carrying extra equipment. This includes clearly understanding the limits of recreational diving and dive training. If you feel that you need a bailout bottle in that environment, it’s worth asking yourself why, and I mean specifically. Because clearly the most comfortable gear set up for you would be a single tank only, unless there’s something strange about your injury that makes strapping an additional metal cylinder onto the side of your tank, dealing with the extra weight out of the water and the balance in the water, the extra entanglement risk, and managing an extra 2nd stage hose that you cannot physically trace to its source, ‘more comfortable’ for you.

That’s all I have to say on this topic. Best of luck.

To answer your question, there is side mount, small doubles, slung left, slung right, inverted back mount. Side mount caused issues with carrying tanks to water, small doubles had issues with valve access. Slung left had issues with slinging due to weight on arm and movement. Right slung was in the way. Both slung had the issue with carrying to water. I could go on, but you get the point.

Beyond 60-70 fsw I have difficulty making a safe ascent without gas. I don't rely on buddies when my life is at stake. So, if the dive is planned for shallow I don't bring the pony. Any dive planned beyond 60 fsw I add the pony. So, there is nothing else I can do to mitigate the risk other than adding equipment. I agree that diver skill and actions should be first, but if that cannot mitigate the risk, then adding equipment is necessary. You can take minimalist to a certain point, then you need equipment.

My point is very simple, just because it works for you does not mean it will work for everyone. There are many kit configurations because we are all different and enjoy diving in different ways. I agree that some are better than others for most folks, but not all. I have tried and will continue to move towards the better configurations that will work for me. I like the discussion and have tried to point out the answers/reasons to the questions/suggestions that arise. I do tend to take offense when someone implies that I am less than honest/sincere in my responses. I want to educate folks that some of us dive configurations for specific reasons, not just because we don't know any better.