Pony bottle vs. Spare Air?

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whats the main difference between a small tank with a alternate reg on it and a spare air?

One is a useful piece of dive gear, and the other is a Spare Air.
 
Don't mean to hijack this thread, but since I am interested in buying a pony myself and I saw the above quote I am curious as to what an "hp40" is.

Thanks!

I read it as a High pressure 40 Cubic Foot.

Spare air's have their uses. Keep it in your car in case you go in the drink. Use it while 4x4ing in the event the depth of the mud puddle is misjudged. etc.
 
I read it as a High pressure 40 Cubic Foot
Me, too - but I couldn't find one on the net.

I can see going with larger staging bottles, but for bail out bottles, 40 cf sounds like over kill. Ok if it's the same weight as a 19 cf and same price, but I doubt it.
 
Me, too - but I couldn't find one on the net.

I can see going with larger staging bottles, but for bail out bottles, 40 cf sounds like over kill. Ok if it's the same weight as a 19 cf and same price, but I doubt it.

My AL40 sling bottle cost about $20 more than a 19cf and doesn't weigh too terribly much more. In fact, from a weight/distribution standpoint I feel it's easier to sling the 40 than mount the 19 on my tank. 19's aren't easily slingable.

Either needs a reg, so those are fixed cost and weight factors.

Lastly, I figured the extra $$ for the 40cf made sense if I ever got into deco/tech stuff, which I am now.
 
One is a useful piece of dive gear, and the other is a Spare Air.

Aren't those spare air things what you use to blow the pretzel crumbs out of your keyboard?????:rofl3:
 
First of all welcome to S.B. ! I have been in the same exact spot not just months ago. Your going the right direction to find what will work best for your diving situation. There has already been some great advice and a good case for a pony. That is where I ended up. For enviromental reasons, dive profiles, and piece of mind it never hurts to have a redundant air system! I challenge you to dive what ever you decide to go with! Train with it till you are totally comfortable diving and using it. It is great to have you aboard, enjoy. Keep....diving....keep training....keep learning!
 
I have both, I bought the spare air when I was new to diving just as a added safety measure. Most of my dives consisted mainly of dives 55' or less so that was just enough air to get to the surface if I needed it. I've since purchased a 19 cf pony and that makes me feel better especially as we've done some deeper stuff around 85-105' deep.
I always keep a scuba rig in my center console when we go fishing in case an anchor hangs up or something. This involves going in solo so having the totally redundant system makes me feel at ease. I don't advise diving solo but I'm pretty confident in my abilities and I stick to the line, free the anchor and come up the line as the boat drifts(with someone on the boat of course). Also when we dive from my boat I usually go in solo first to make sure we are on the wreck, tie in the anchor at the right spot and then come up. I would not do any of this without a redundant system.
Anyway I guess it depends on certain factors , mainly depth, weight issues & expense. If you are doing mostly dives in the 50' or less range a spare air is a good idea if you don't want the extra weight/cost of a PB.
Personally I wouldn't spend the $300 they want for a new spare air but you can find good used ones around at a good price. I actually have one for sale on the classifieds here for $90 shipping included. Sorry had to throw that one in there.
 
Hi Pirate Dave & welcome,

I'll add my 1.7 cu. ft. here even though I'm still new at this also.

But get this!! At no extra charge one can have a 1.7 CF Spare Air that weighs 1.2 pounds less. Is that going to give a full breath at 130 ft?

I don't think (hope?) that anyone would consider diving a Spare Air to 130 fsw as a redundant source but what if you are planning on flying to the Keys to tool around a 30 ft. reef using rental tanks. For one you could travel with the Spare Air and secondly it is much easier and more comfortable to take on those shallow dives - and a lot better than having nothing.

you just convienently reach for your pony reg(i dive a hp40-the same size as an al 19)

I'm not sure I follow this (19/3000 for an AL19 * 3442 for a full HP = 21.8?) but for those looking I know Faber makes a HP23 that's real close to the size of a AL19 (little skinnier and longer) that's around 4 or 5 lbs negative full with regs. I use this in a Quickdraw bracket and it's a great redundant source. Don't let the extra weight of a pony change your mind to not carry one since the weight came of off the weight-belt so you are climbing the ladder with the same weight as before. It is great piece of mind to know I can make the surface from better than 100 fsw at a normal rate plus a SS.

Welcome again, if you read and think about what you read you will be much wiser thanks to this board.

Willem
 
I don't think (hope?) that anyone would consider diving a Spare Air to 130 fsw as a redundant source but what if you are planning on flying to the Keys to tool around a 30 ft. reef using rental tanks. For one you could travel with the Spare Air and secondly it is much easier and more comfortable to take on those shallow dives - and a lot better than having nothing.
Uh, yeah - some do. Not many, I don't think - but I've seen some. Their reasons don't wash well, tho.

Travel? Do you know the TSA regs on these and ponies? They're the same, remove the valve.

On a 30 ft reef I think I could do a CESA by the time you got your 1.7 cf out.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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