How to rig a pony bottle?

[uncfnp]

Hey Luke.

It still amazes me that pony bottles generate such passionate opinions and lengthy threads and BTW welcome to the darkside of redundancy!

Yes, at your number of dives "perfecting" the basics should be paramount but the reality of low viz diving means that you could very well be on your own despite adhearing to the buddy system. We all know that it only takes seconds for even the best of buddy teams to be separated.

So learning to be self reliant with your own redundancy while still working on your basics is reasonable, not that you need our approval. And having an instructor/mentor available to guide you in this process is great.

I think you will find most of us sling. The most common reason I hear to tank mount is to keep that area uncluttered for spearfishing but otherwise I think slinging offers more advantages then tank mount,

As for slinging, I use the system linked by CuzzA. Don't worry about rigging it like sidemount. It would just add a level of complexity given your current BCD. When you get you bpw you can rethink the rigging then.

There really are a ton of threads on SB about ponies and how to use them. I will see if I can find a few others to link too.

Keep us posted on your progress...

 

[Luke Fosburg]

Luke,

My pony is setup for back mount, but that's because I need the front of my body clear for the type of diving I do. However, it sounds like you're simply doing some exploratory diving and therefore I would just sling that 30 cuft. bottle you already own. Here's an illustration to get you started.
DIR-diver.com - Stagebottle rigging

I would also get yourself familiar with "rock bottom" diving.
DiveNerd - Rock Bottom Calculator, Imperial U

Good pics on this first page (maybe more behind it)
Used the 13 cu-ft pony this weekend

Good links and pic on this one as well
Configuration of a pony bottle

These are great pics! I get it now. Doesnt look so bad.

 

[Luke Fosburg]

Hey Luke.

It still amazes me that pony bottles generate such passionate opinions and lengthy threads and BTW welcome to the darkside of redundancy!

Yes, at your number of dives "perfecting" the basics should be paramount but the reality of low viz diving means that you could very well be on your own despite adhearing to the buddy system. We all know that it only takes seconds for even the best of buddy teams to be separated.

So learning to be self reliant with your own redundancy while still working on your basics is reasonable, not that you need our approval. And having an instructor/mentor available to guide you in this process is great.

I think you will find most of us sling. The most common reason I hear to tank mount is to keep that area unclutter for spearing but otherwise I think slinging offers more advantages then tank mount,

As for slinging, I use the system linked by CuzzA. Don't,worry about rigging it like sidemont. It would just add a level of complexity given your current BCD. When you get you bpw you can rethink the rigging then.

There really are a ton of threads on SB about ponies and how to use them. I will see if I can find a few others to link too.

Keep us posted on your progress...

Thank you!

 

[uncfnp]

Skills For Carrying And Using A Pony

Pony bottle question

Do you dive with your pony valve turned on? Off?

Alot of info you don't need but some good kernels of information if you feel like wading through them.

It may have already been mentioned but if its not too late use DIN not yoke.

 

[2airishuman]

I really don't understand the appeal of the tank mounted pony, especially for a relatively new diver who may need it in a panic situation. A slung pony with a bungeed 2nd stage is right there, in front of you, easily accessible. Easy to manage on a dive boat. Secure. Sharable.

I believe it's mainly training.

I recently dove with a group of very experienced divers, including an instructor, who had recently (several years ago) lost one of their number to an diving accident caused by a pony regulator mixup. They were concerned that I was using a pony, as they had all shelved theirs after the accident.

But they'd never seen one slung, and one of them said something to me about the relative ease of identifying which reg was which with my setup.

The general refusal of the technical diving community to share technique piecemeal has contributed to this, I think. Slung stages originated with technical divers, and there are still people who think that it's a tech-specific skill that has no place in recreational diving.

And a single tank OOG emergency is a real consideration: Life Ending Seconds • ADVANCED DIVER MAGAZINE • By Curt Bowen

I think the most important message here is that you can have an OOA emergency for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with whether you're good at watching your SPG. While equipment maintenance plays a role, you can have a valve or regulator failure that results in an abrupt loss of gas even if you've done everything right.

 

[doctormike]

I think the most important message here is that you can have an OOA emergency for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with whether you're good at watching your SPG. While equipment maintenance plays a role, you can have a valve or regulator failure that results in an abrupt loss of gas even if you've done everything right.

Exactly.

 

[Peter69_56]

I use my 3 litre cylinder for oxygen, in case someone is bent. It was given to me free with a primary reg as we had it at work for some reason and they were cleaning up so going to throw it out as rubbish. Luckily someone recognised it as scuba and thought of me.

 

[Luke Fosburg]

Skills For Carrying And Using A Pony

Pony bottle question

Do you dive with your pony valve turned on? Off?

Alot of info you don't need but some good kernels of information if you feel like wading through them.

It may have already been mentioned but if its not too late use DIN not yoke.

I did purchase a DIN for my pony just for streamlining considerations.

 

[Luke Fosburg]

Thank you all for the responses. In my head i had it set that I was going to mount the pony onto my main tank..... prob because it "looks cool." After reading this I see a ton of advantages to the sling system so I ordered a sling this morning! Thanks again for all your help

 

[barth]

Yes I will have all of those people there. My instructor suggests that a pony tank is a good idea, and he said it would be a good training dive for it. Both of the instructors I have had so far have told me they always use a pony below 60 ft.

A pony doesn't make sense for normal rec diving. Almost nobody is using a pony tank here for rec diving here. We are also diving cold water, poor visibility etc.

I have just dived a few times with a buddy who was using a pony tank. Last dive with a buddy who was using a pony he was at my longhose at the end of the dive. His pony had a regulator failure and because his poor gas planning his single tank was almost empty...

I think most of the people who are using a pony are not able to make a good dive planning and gasplanning and/or have poor awareness...

The same for buddy line, a lot of people here think they need to be connected by a rope of a few meter if the vissibility is poor....