What size pony do you use?

[gcarter]

I am considering buying a pony to provide an additional measure of safety over and above the buddy backup. Cold water diving down to 6c - 7c, and to a depth of up to 130 feet. My regs are good cold water regs, Apeks, but of course that is no guarentee.

What size pony do folks typically use?

 

[wedivebc]

I carry a 40cuft for shallow dives and 80cuft for deeper dives

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

19 cu here.


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[ektess1]

A slung 30. Usually it is a richer mix that I can clean up on. I call it my 'little yellow buddy.' It has never let me down, and I have been glad to have it. It is nice having enough gax not to worry about rate of ascent and safety stop while still being small enough to be unobtrusive
Ed.

 

[fisheater]

Slung 19.

 

[lowviz]

Since I don't know how you dive, I would suggest that you do gas calculations for all the scenarios that *you think* deserve a measure of risk reduction. Your pre-dive planning will then indicate the pony size to take.

Things to consider: Can you always ascend directly or do you need to reach an upline, exit point, shore? Will your buddy be carrying a pony also? How fast do you burn through gas when stressed? Add your own here...

Sooner or later, you will end up wanting both a big pony and a small pony. (and a bunch more ) But for now, a 40 cuft is a big pony for recreational dives but it is also a nice size for stage bottles if you start to stray towards tech. Additionally, a 40 is a convenient place to keep O2 if you get Advanced EAN, but now you lose it as a pony...

For me, either a 40 or a 19 work nicely. Your end result could very well be different and a better choice for you.

 

[ajduplessis]

Luxfer AL40 is a good size, they "float" nice and is not to heavy. The 80's are very heavy!

 

[lowviz]

...//...For me, either a 40 or a 19 work nicely. Your end result could very well be different and a better choice for you.

Forgot a favorite, my list is: 0, 19, or 40 cuft.

 

[Orlando Eric]

I went with the AL 40. Slung it floats fine and is really easy to manage. The 19 seems fine for most diving I do however since I can use the 40 for so much more I use them for everything.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I like an 80 as a stage/deco bottle, and when slung properly it's very unobtrusive. Not sure where the "very heavy" part comes in... a single slung 80 adds a relatively miniscule amount of negative buoyancy and only an extra ~40 to carry around on deck.