Pony Bottle ????

[goesman]

I am thinking about getting a pony bottle in near future. I think it would be a great investment in the case of an emergency. What i want to know is what size would be good, and how should i set one up. I see bottles with regulators built directly on to it. I guess one of those could be kept in pouch or bc pocket. Now im not talking about a spare air bottle. I am more thinking of one that straps to my tank with its own regulator. One more thing i would like to know, where should i keep the regulator. I keep my octo cliped to a d-ring on my right side towards the bottom of my ribs. Probaly one of the most commin places for it. Where would i keep my pony bottle regulator to keep it apart from the octo. I guess this kinds of leans me towards tech diving kind of setup witch i find very interesting. I have noticed that many of you are into tech diving so i found this a great place to ask this.

Thanks.
Dan

[theskull]

I will give you some answers, beginning with you probably do not need a pony bottle. A pony is indicated for solo diving or minor penetration wreck diving. It may also give you some comfort if you do a lot of deep dives past 100 ft., but not into decompression diving. (Note: You should not be diving solo or into wrecks without the proper training.)

To really be useful, a pony should be at least 20 cu. ft., and 40 would be better. If mounted to your tank, the best configuration is to remove your octo entirely because the pony regulator becomes your backup reg. In this case your pony reg could be located where your octo would have been on your ribs, but would be even better located on a bungeed necklace hanging below your chin.

On the rare occasions that I dive with a pony in a recreational setting, I opt for a 40 cu. ft. bottle which I sling from my left shoulder as a stage, with the reg bungeed to its tank. I also own a Spare Air, which I like for travel since I can take it on the plane (empty) and have a little bit of redundancy since I may get paired up with a "Same Ocean Buddy" on a charter.

theskull

[goesman]

Yes solo diving is nit a good idea. So i figure that a pony would not be some thing i realy need. At least until i get in to deeper diving.

Thanks for the info.

Dan

[theskull]

So, put that couple hundred bucks toward something that will provide more value for you right now--say, a camera or a quick trip to the Florida Keys, or perhaps a good training class.

Happy diving,
theskull

[goesman]

I would love to have a housing for my camcorder. Yeah thats what im going to get.

Thanks,
Dan

[juls64]

On some of the charters here, if you do winter dives, ponys are Required. For instance the Lender in Milwaukee requires them due to the cold water and susceptibility of free flows. Yes even if you are diving with a buddy.

Just another reason you may need one.

Julie

Before getting one, remember the cost associated. It will still need an annual VIP, hydro every 5 years and the cost to fill it. Also, make sure you practice using it. Just having it, and not being able to reach it doesn't help much.

[theskull]

On some of the charters here, if you do winter dives, ponys are Required. For instance the Lender in Milwaukee requires them due to the cold water and susceptibility of free flows. Yes even if you are diving with a buddy.

Just another reason you may need one.

Julie

Before getting one, remember the cost associated. It will still need an annual VIP, hydro every 5 years and the cost to fill it. Also, make sure you practice using it. Just having it, and not being able to reach it doesn't help much.

Good point. I might add to it that if one were going on such an excursion as a one-time thing, rental or borrowing of a pony would do the job--with some prior practice, of course. A steady customer would definitely want to own one, though. Pony (or doubles) is also a requirement for North Atlantic Ocean charters.

theskull