Zeagle Pony vs Generic Pony

[Farty]

I had a chance to play with Zeagle Pony Bottle yesterday in 20ft water. I also tried SpairAir which is a somewhat useless and I don't want to even discuss it here.

My question is Zeagle Pony vs Generic Pony as a backup system for non-deco dives up to 100ft

I was trying to compare both. If I ignore Zeagle BCD and the zipper bla bla bla which probably works on generic pony anyway, I think generic system is better because it uses standard parts - pony with standard yoke (easy to refill and easy to inspect) and standard regulator which I can use with bigger bottles if I start doing deco dives or if I send my reg for inspection. I am guessing that the overall annual/semi-annual inspection(s) is going to be cheaper for generic pony as well.

is my view oversimplified?

 

[Scared Silly]

You have the basics. The all in one valve reg is nice and small but as you have figured out a regular reg work just as well and has some advantages. Having a spare reg is nice when the other is not usable - not just in emergencies but when traveling and your primary has a problem. Better than having to rent one (but that hardly happens).

 

[deepwater]

My pony is generic, but don't tell him it'll make him feel bad.

 

[FritzCat66]

Another option is to buy just the Zeagle Razor first stage/valve unit and mate it to whatever bottle you want (and whatever second stage you want).

That's what I did, putting it atop a standard Luxfer 19cf tank. The 20cf Zeagle tank they sell as part of the whole kit is shorter and fatter than the Luxfer 19, which might be advantageous in some situations (slinging perhaps), but I wanted something sleeker for backmount.

If you get the Razor first stage/valve, just make sure you keep the yoke fill adaptor handy. However, it's good to know that the Razor valve, while it looks weird for scuba, is actually just a standard paintball valve, and many fill stations have a paintball adaptor or even a separate paintball whip handy which can fill a Razored tank just fine.

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

I have the zeagle pony and have to say I like it a lot. The fact that it is so streamlined is very nice, plus the fact that it's always together with the bottle and you don't have to assemble it everytime is a big convenience. That way I just grab the pony, make sure it's full and go----also no worries about the o-ring on the tank valve getting damaged or leaking. Either way works but personally I'm a fan of the clean, streamlined zeagle pony.

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

As a side note too, I have to say Zeagle has AWESOME customer service. I bought a used pony that was who knows how many years old, took it to my LDS to get it serviced but it had a wobbly tank valve. Zeagle ended up replacing the whole thing even though I was not the original owner and it was a couple of years old----I think it might have been a recalled lot but either way that was pretty cool.

 

[gcbryan]

My vote would be for generic.