What to look for in a decent pony system?

[george1098]

For the record, I dive MK25/S600 as my primary regs also, and love them dearly. I would NEVER take them ice diving, however. The MK25 is known for having issues with extremely cold water, and it could very well freeze up and freeflow on you. You'll want to give serious consideration to using a different 1st stage (such as the MK17).

I believe I have heard the MK2/R190 combo works quite well as cold water pony regs.

I've heard the same thing about the mk2/r190. Its either that set up or a few extra bucks for a mk17. Have you ever used the mk17? when I bought my regs I was considering it, but my LDS owner (who is also one of my OW instructor) said for every day use the mk 25 is a better reg, so i chose it.

 

[hecker-the-wrecker]

Just my 2 cents; i use a al40 strapped to my back while under the ice. I have it as a seperate redundant system complete with its own spg. My choice of reg is mares proton ice, and i have never had a problem yet. I have my pony setup hooked to my drysuit. This way the regulator on my pony gets used on every dive. (it's nice to know it is gonna give me a breath if i need it) Joking aside, this also uses a little bit of air. After 4 or 5 dives i have it re-filled. I think it's better to cycle the air in and out of the tank. Having the pony hooked to your drysuit really doesn't use as much air as you might think for ice diving. When we dive under the ice, it tends to be out more than down. Usually a max depth of 30 to 50ft. I hope this helps, I usually try to pay attention to what everyone else is doing and make my own decisions.