Pony bottle question

[uncfnp]

Lobstering and sticking your hand into a hole up to your shoulder to get that bug. Finding out your hand is now slightly wedged in that hole and your regulator is half out of your mouth in 5 to 8 foot viz in 80 feet of water. I dont want to be fussing with that valve and if the rest of that reg gets knocked out of my mouth - I want one smooth motion to get some gas...

I forgot you Northerners like to risk life and limb for dinner. Us enlightened folks in the South (in this case Florida) prefer tickle sticks and lobster loops.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I forgot you Northerners like to risk life and limb for dinner. Us enlightened folks in the South (in this case Florida) prefer tickle sticks and lobster loops.

Those bugs dont even have crushing claws - you got to give them a fighting chance...

 

[lowviz]

Playing the devils advocate - if it is ok to let your bungeed reg stay charged (assuming no inline shutoff) - why not let the pony do the same? Seems the same risks and physics apply to both? Not sure I understand the logic - but then I am not incurring any deco either.

Not a deco thing, it is more of a muscle memory thing. Travel and deco bottles are charged and left off. I sling my pony the same way so I just use the same procedure.

I've come to see that "Stop Think Act" can be replaced by "Act" when it comes to the one thing you always need, something to breathe.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Not a deco thing, it is more of a muscle memory thing. Travel and deco bottles are charged and left off. I sling my pony the same way so I just use the same procedure. I've come to see that "Stop Think Act" can be replaced by "Act" when it comes to the one thing you always need, something to breathe.

Ok - you told me how - now why? The why behind charging and leaving off?

In a cave or with deco it could be catastrophic if I lose my gas? It is the way I was taught and I am not changing it? Just trying to understand your why... then I can understand why it is better for you to charge it on and leave it off. In understanding your why I can then see if it applies to me and if it would be a better option...

 

[scubadada]

I dive with a slung 19 cf pony as a solo diver. I have the regulator and a full size SPG right in front of me. I always dive with the tank on, I would easily see if I was losing any gas. This charged and off thing has always been impossible for me to understand. I'm supposed to watch the pressure and recharge it is it goes down? What about button SPGs, much more difficult to monitor, may not even be visible?

 

[uncfnp]

Those bugs dont even have crushing claws - you got to give them a fighting chance...

That's true no heavy, awkward claws to weigh them down and make them an easy grab. You got to work for our little bastards. I've even had a few collapse from shear exhaustion after chasing them across the reef.

 

[lowviz]

Yes, if you leave a cylinder/bottle/tank somewhere you really don't want to leave it "on". So you charge it and then turn it off.

Only two things breathe freely: your reg in my mouth and my reg, around my neck, which is the one that you can't get. Suppose I need to go to one of my slung tanks for any reason whatsoever. Now I only need to identify the tank, the rest is already orchestrated in my mind, they all work the same way.

It is a small point and I'm not really selling it, it is best to do what makes sense for you. This makes sense to me.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

That's true no heavy, awkward claws to weigh them down and make them an easy grab. You got to work for our little bastards. I've even had a few collapse from shear exhaustion after chasing them across the reef.

Easy Grab? LOL - come on up north and we will show you how easy that grab is NOT! Going in blind with just your little digits and trying to pin down a lobster that does not want to be dinner can be a bit exciting the first few times... maybe even painful depending on who grabs who first...

Drop one of our lobsters in a water column and they can scoot pretty quick too but they don't like coming out in the open most of the time (night time is different - not supposed to hunt at night). "New Jersey is the last state in the northeast that allows recreational lobstering without a permit, a daytime-only rule, or a season." - NJSCUBA.NET

The Florida bugs - I thought you were supposed to be slow on the grab so they can't feel the water pressure as you sneak up on them?

 

[lowviz]

Glad that you didn't take a certain Southern Belle's bait, Carl.

Brings up another point (on topic), keep the pony off while you are crawling into those nasty, sharp, silty hidey holes...

 

[KDAD]

Glad that you didn't take a certain Southern Belle's bait, Carl.

Brings up another point (on topic), keep the pony off while you are crawling into those nasty, sharp, silty hidey holes...

D - You sure that is back on topic? My pony is always on and ready. Oh, it's also a little bigger!

Edit: Wait! What southern belle? Was I there for that dive?