Tips for backmounting an AL19 pony?

[afieldofblue]

Dudes, what's with the requirement for extra unnecessary cam bands unnecessarily

View attachment 895622

You've been looking at a single low attachment boss, I also use these with other single low tank band BCs

View attachment 895623

and the part of the bracket that sits against the tank just slips behind the tank band as you're assembling

The Auxilliary bottle can be moved around and non rigid with some give is just how I like it without issue
having smashed them around for a couple of decades at least and I have seen no one smash more than I

This an interesting solution, thanks mate. I need to see what I can source down here in Japan.

cheers

 

[Wibble]

Kent Tooling makes pony brackets.

Kent Tooling pony brackets

 

[hedonist222]

Hello all,

I’m looking for tips on how to backmount a Luxfer AL19 pony tank on my primary gear, which is an Apeks Black Ice back-inflate BCD - The tank strap is quite low on this model. I have a standard tank strap, not the Griplock shown here, and also weight pockets are the back.



I’m looking exclusively for a backmounted solution, as I shoot underwater video, including macro which requires me to get really low, and do not want anything in the way on the front or sides, so no sling type solution for me.

From what I’ve gathered, the options would be to clamp/bracket it to the main tank (typically steel 10 to 12L or AL80 style aluminium tank), or some sort of pouch/hoster or strap solution.

What would you say works best for an AL19 cylinder?


Thank you!


PS. yes, I do know a backmounted set of doubles or sidemounted set of twins is a superior “solution”, but this is not practical for what I do.
I will be using the rig on shallow (20m max) solo shore dives with the camera, for which I prefer minimal redundancy in the rare case of a critical air loss. This is to bring me back to the surface, and yes, I’ve done the maths.

Shark mounting system: Home - Shark Manufacturing, LLC

I've used one for about four years now. Great.
The ingenious design here is two fold. First there are two independent mounting points and one of them (the J hook neck) completely prevents the unit from disconnecting from your primary unit.

 

[afieldofblue]

I'd like to thank you all for your input, it's very helpful.

To sum up so far, the suggestions for a backmounted rig seem to be:

- the Shark system, which hooks onto the valve and with a band that clips around the tank:

- a Trident-style pin released mount, which hooks on a single cam band:

 

[afieldofblue]

- A slider system, either half DIY or Kent Tooling:

- Or a simple Zeagle Dual camband strap system:

 

[afieldofblue]

One thing i'm a little worried about with the Shark system (which I can maybe get here as they seem to have a distributor in Okinawa, BUT it's on-base, so off-limits... not sure) is the compatibility with local Japanese cylinders.
Not the pony, which is a standard (but recertified) Luxfer AL19, but the actual primary tanks, which come in shapes a little different from AL80 style long tanks.
With the non-adjustable bar + valve hook, it seems pretty set on long cylinder designs like and AL80 or AL100, and not sure how it would fare with Japanese tanks like these for instance:

This is by far the most common steel tank here for instance, chubby, short, the works.

Other Japanese models include:

Size / format-wise, i'm not sure how compatible a set-length contraption like the Shark would be with tanks like these.
They do have AL80s in some places, but it's not always a given.

cheers

 

[34109411]

I don't think you understand how unobtrusive a correctly side mounted pony is. Even an AL40 or LP50 disappears.

i do carry a AL30 ok my side and i barely noticed it.

 

[gamon]

I don't know, maybe i'm picturing it wrong, but frankly if your sling looks anything like this:

No, my setup doesn't look like that. My bottle sits higher, only the valve protrudes from under my arm and it's right up under my armpit not slung low like that one, which appears to be much bigger than a 19cf.

Also there are numerous other advantages of a slung bottle besides not having to monitor the gas during a dive because the valve is off. When you start putting on the years, you will appreciate not having to lung around a full kit including bottle back and forth on the boat, up the ladder, handing the entire rig up to a crew person on a zodiac, and even flipping the bcd to another tank between dives. Yes I know the backmounted pony bottle can be removed but it's not nearly as easy as simply unsnapping two clips.

It's also easier to squeeze in between tight spaces such as entering a compartment in a wreck. I can't tell you how many times I caught the pony valve on something, also the main tank but with only one tank behind you there's more wiggle room.

 

[landphil]

No, you only think it does.

I backmounted a 19cf bottle for years, over hundreds of dives. I carry a camera with video lights on all dives.

I finally decided to try slinging it under/behind my left arm, and now I feel like a freaking idiot for not doing it sooner. The main advantage for me was that slinging eliminated the problem whereby the bottle would not allow full inflation of the bladder on that side, and I'd need offsetting weights to compensate for the negative buoyancy of the bottle, those two things made it impossible to get my trim exactly right, and also sometimes I wouldn't need weight at all with large steel tanks yet I'd have to add 2-3 lbs to offset the bottle.

You should at least try slinging it. The needed hardware is minimal, you can probably do it with what you've already got available. Don't waste 2 decades like I did only to say "Damn I should have done it this way in the first place".

I backmount my AL19, but could see all of these being an issue for me if I was wetsuit diving. But in my drysuit I’m running 10 lbs of trim weight on my upper cam band. Throwing in 4lbs instead of 5 on the pony side balances me out perfectly. And as a bonus, the full weight pocket makes it so I can’t rotate the pony close enough to my wing to keep it from inflating (never really use my wing outside of surface floatation, though) Fortunately, I only wear a wetsuit when I have to do a sketchy beach entry for some survey work, or when I’m on vacation; and all of those would be without a pony.