Since Don wants to be flamed, I'll give it a try. You farm pond, scum sucking, stock tank diving ......
. Did you ever retrieve your gear from the frozen stock tank?
Seriously, lets look at your response, Don.
"1) If you monitor your gauges properly, why do you need a pony."
That one is simple. Redundancy. While it definately isn't as good a choice as doubles, it does provide a measure of redundancy. It's also more convinent and can be passed off to your buddy if rigged accordingly. You take it in case of the unexpected, not as a means for more air to use.
"2) If you hadn't abandoned what you were taught in OW you wouldn't need a pony."
Also simple. Sh*t happens. You can easily get caught up in something and run low on air, be it a physical entanglement or a mental one. Your primary air source could also fail and the pony would provide you with enough air to get you back to the surface in most recreational diving situations.
"3) The best possible alternative air, spare air, whaterver you want to call it is your buddy. If he/she isn't around then you made a bad equipment choice."
That's true, but buddies aren't always reliable. We've all dove with buddies that we'd rather not have after the fact. We've all been on boats and been buddied with a complete stranger whom we know absolutely nothing about. True, it may be a bad choice to do so, but it's a fact of life if you're traveling alone and want to dive. It's nice to have the means to help yourself if need be.
"4) They promote a reduction in learned skills."
Not sure I grasp that one unless your refering to buddy skills. In that sense, I guess they do. They also promote a different mindset. Example being a diver that normally would not drain his/her tank to unsafe limits may do so if they get accustomed to the pony and rely on it for bale out. But that's bad judgement on the individual divers part. The diver should use a pony for emergencies only. That's what they are for.
"5) They make you buddy independant."
No argument on that one. That's very true. I doubt seriously that any diver with a pony would first look to his buddy in an OOA. Why would he when he has a pony? Isn't that the very reason for carrying one, to be dependant on yourself?
I think ponies have their place in diving. They may not always be the best choice, but they do have benefits. Just as there are situations where they are inappropiate, there are also situations where there a viable option.
BTW, what happened to all the humor here lately?
