Skills For Carrying And Using A Pony

[redacted]

I guess you could keep an eye focused on your pony to detect any leak quickly, but I can usually find much more interesting things to focus on UW. Using a detuned reg might also help prevent gas loss. I have seen enough leaking alternate regs, especially in high current situations, to know it is better to take simple steps to prevent it. It is really quite simple to operate the valve on a slung pony. It is a task quite similar to operating a safety on a firearm. But it does require practice.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

2) A diver entered the water, thinking he was breathing his primary regulator but actually breathing his pony regulator. When the pony bottle was exhausted, he removed the regulator from his mouth. Thinking there was a problem with his primary air supply, he decided to switch to the pony, then correctly located and identified and tried to breath from the pony regulator..

Was that diver me on the backside of Molokini off Maui? As I did that. I was about 50 feet down, not long into my dive. All of the sudden, I didn't have air. Looked at my dive computer (I have wireless). Full of air. WTF? Oh ****! I'm an idiot. Grabbed the wrong reg. Switched, and continued the dive. No big deal. Certainly not an emergency. This was the driving motivation to having my pony upside down the regulator hose strapped securely. It just isn't possible for me to make that mistake again.

I don't like to sling, as I like to have nothing in the way of my camera. But that's just me. As far as detecting leaks, that is what bubble checks are for and you can do them by yourself.

When I first started diving, I dove with a guy who told me to get rid of my alternate. It gave me an uneasy feeling, so I turned to the experts at here scubaboard, and it was a consensus against that. When I travel, I have the alternate air source integrated into my low pressure inflator, so I'd give my primary to my OOA buddy. Some people don't like those, but they work for me. Yes, in the case of an emergency, it is harder to deal with than a separate alternate air source, but I think I can manage. At home, I always have a separate alternate air source.

 

[KevinNM]

2) A diver entered the water, thinking he was breathing his primary regulator but actually breathing his pony regulator. When the pony bottle was exhausted, he removed the regulator from his mouth. Thinking there was a problem with his primary air supply, he decided to switch to the pony, then correctly located and identified and tried to breath from the pony regulator.

I did that once, but figured it out before I ran the pony down very much. Following that I first changed the second stage low-pressure line color, then eventually went to the running it on a bungie around my neck. No confusion which is which or finding it when I need it when it's always in exactly the same spot, it's easy to test at the start of the dive and there is no possibility of confusing it for the primary.

 

[CuzzA]

This guy did that too. Unfortunately he didn't live to tell the story.

Lessons For Life: Pride Can Be Deadly

 

[claymore]

I sling my 30 and will second practice unslinging it and re-slinging it under water with your gloves on. Slinging and unslinging under water with thick gloves can be challenging with out a fair amount of practice finding and hooking the D rings. Hook the top first when slinging and the bottom first when unslinging, that way the tank can not slip and fall down and behind you.
It is generally easier to unclip and hand up a larger slung pony when climbing a ladder into a boat or clip it off to a line over the side if there are side mount divers or stage bottles to hang.

 

[Dnaber]

Thanks for starting this post. I'm in the process of building mine and this info helps.

 

[Kairoos]

1) A diver lost his regulator during the course of a dive. Performing an arm sweep, he recovered what he thought was his primary regulator but what was in actual fact his pony regulator, which had not been properly secured. When the pony bottle was exhausted, an out of air emergency ensued.

This should really only be possible if you have the same second stage on your pony as you do on your primary regulator, or I guess if you're not paying attention... I sling my pony and the hose is looped on the tank, so this couldn't happen to me. My primary regulator is a Zeagle while my pony has a HOG regulator so even if somehow I got mixed up, I would notice when I put the reg in my mouth that it wasn't my primary regulator.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

All I can say is, spend some time perfecting your trim once you add your pony. May take a little bit for distributing the weight. I have some weight pockets on the left side of my tank with 2.5 lbs in each. Not including my BP and STA, I dive with 23 lbs total. On my left weight pockets, I have 18 lbs, and on my right, I have 5. With that I can hover still. It seems like I have a lot more weight on my left side, and some would say that doesn't make any sense, as the pony bottle doesn't weight that much (true, but it sticks out much farther, remember torque). But it works. You need to find what works for you.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

This should really only be possible if you have the same second stage on your pony as you do on your primary regulator, or I guess if you're not paying attention... I sling my pony and the hose is looped on the tank, so this couldn't happen to me. My primary regulator is a Zeagle while my pony has a HOG regulator so even if somehow I got mixed up, I would notice when I put the reg in my mouth that it wasn't my primary regulator.

That's one of the other changes I've made. My pony has a unique 2nd stage.

 

[The Chairman]

Wow... you guys are over complicating a pretty simple process. Maybe it's so automatic that I don't notice, but a 40 has no noticeable affect on my trim. I really can't imagine anything smaller than an 80 having an appreciable effect.

But I like the idea that you guys are going to practice diving them in a pool first. All my AOW students get to play with a 40 when they do their S&R dive. It's not that hard and they get to practice it over acres and acres of silt. But then, they have an instructor making sure that they can do it, before the get cut loose.