What size pony do you use?

[BlueDevil]

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

Sorry, but it just seems a little odd to me to refer to an 80 as a 'pony'. If I needed a backup supply that large I would just stick it on my back and use it as twins.

As for my pony I use a steel 25. It is a really good size as far as exterior dimensions go and capacity is fine for most recreational no stop diving. Steel can be a little problematic due to its negative buoyancy but you do get used to compensating without even thinking about it, so not a big issue really. However if I needed to replace it I would probably go aluminium. The downside being the external dimensions are bigger than steel. If I went ally I would probably go down to a 19 to keep the size down.

I also have a 40 that is really intended as a stage bottle, but could be used as a pony for deeper dives if I needed to. But If I was doing dives that required than much back up gas I would be close to the point where i would go for twins.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

13 cu-ft is what I use.

[video=youtube_share;r-L9extLDZQ]http://youtu.be/r-L9extLDZQ[/video]

 

[ajtoady]

I use a slung 30 for dives beyond 60'. It becomes part of my plan on certain dives and when I dive it my buddies know the where, why, and when it is used. It currently has a HOG D1 /cold water kit and D1 2nd on a 40" hose. Works very well for my applications.

 

[halocline]

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

I do something like this too, except they're not ponies, they're my primary tanks. An 80cft pony is kind of ridiculous, why not just call it what it is, doubles in some sort of bizarro back mount/side mount hybrid.

If you need anything more than 19cft you're not really talking about recreational diving anymore IMO. Of course this is a controversial topic, as will clearly be seen by the responses this post gets. In fact, a very good case can be made that many, many recreational divers who carry ponies are not increasing their safety margin at all. I have definitely seen this on multiple occasions. If you want increased safety in recreational diving, dive with better buddies and be one yourself, and be very careful about the limits of your diving. If you want to push those limits, get good training so that you will be prepared for all the risks associated. Just carrying extra gas is not a good solution, IMO.

Okay, i'm now putting on my flame-suit.....

 

[herbdb]

I used a slung 30 for deeper dives, my sons who are better on air use 19s.

I do a lot of solo photography dives when we travel by air to warm water destinations so I use a smaller bottle for those trips. I have a 13 equipped with an H2Odessy combo valve first stage that I can throw in a bag. The nice thing about this rig is that it is light weight and it comes with a fitting that lets you fill your pony from another tank.

Fot travel, I remove the valve and put a piece of clear tape across the neck. No problem with TSA and no issues with a dive shop about visual inspections since I fill it myself.

 

[spectrum]

I use a 19 but I also have a 40 and would take that if going past 100'.

That being said I never really bring a pony if I am with a competent buddy and I have no plans of passing 100 alone or with a poor buddy.

Pete

 

[wedivebc]

I do something like this too, except they're not ponies, they're my primary tanks. An 80cft pony is kind of ridiculous, why not just call it what it is, doubles in some sort of bizarro back mount/side mount hybrid.

.

I guess some may call a rebreather with bailout system a bizarro back mount/side mount hybrid but I prefer to call it essential life support equipment. My point is if you need bailout gas you need enough to do the job

 

[halocline]

I guess some may call a rebreather with bailout system a bizarro back mount/side mount hybrid but I prefer to call it essential life support equipment. My point is if you need bailout gas you need enough to do the job

It takes special training to use a rebreather safely. It is hardly what anyone would reasonably call recreational diving. You have specialized training to use the gear you're carrying. My point is that if you are a recreational diver diving in a situation where you need personal bailout gas, you are probably either in a technical diving environment or you are diving in a questionable recreational manner, and more training, not simply more gas, is likely to be the best safety practice. Of course there are exceptions.

 

[gcarter]

I am most interested in covering off cold water free flow situations. I do not do penetrations or cave diving, no interest in tech or trimix. In warm water I am ok with my buddy.

In the cold water my concern is the potential for free flowing my buddy's 1st with two breathing off of it. Really just looking for enough gas to do a normal ascent and safety from 130 feet. I believe that a 30 is sufficient for this (my) purpose, perhaps even a 19,just looking for a sampling of what others do.

Appreciate all the replies / opinions.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

You might want to see if there's really that much difference (trim, weighting, and effort-wise) between slinging a 30 and slinging an 80. If you need extra gas, you have to carry a tank, an attachment system, and another reg. The bottle size itself just doesn't matter much once you're in the water, IMO, and if you have an 80 you can use it for other things on dives where you don't need it for redundancy. Conversely, I can't think of anything I'd use a 30 for aside from an O2 tank, and they don't cost much less than an 80.