Diving with a Pony

[CruisinScubaPilot]

i'm going to be completing my advanced open water soon and wanted to hear some thoughts on the subject.

i was talking to my cousin last week while i was on vacation (he is an instructor) about diving and where he's been lately. i noticed he had a 30cf pony in his garage with all of his equipment, so i asked if he dove with it as a redundent air supply. he said no, it's for O2. ok fine. i asked him if he had ever gone diving with a pony for a redundent air supply. he said that he wouldn't think of it, b/c he plans accordingly and would never run out of air. -i see where he is coming from and understand completly. especially about preparing and knowing bottom time and time limits.

now this is where my thinking comes in. i'm a commercial pilot by profession and redundency is just apart of my nature now. is it really that bad or looked down apon if someone dove with a pony (13cf or 19cf pony in my case if i get one) for that "just incase" or "there's always the chance" that something happens senarios. does it make you look inexperienced or look like you dont plan your dive? i dont plan on running out of air, but just like when you get in an aircraft; there's always that chance.

i guess i just want to know what people think.

i hope this makes sence

thank you!

 

[OldNSalty]

Not planning for an emergency is not planning.

I have heard way to many times the "I don't plan on running out of air-I plan my dive and dive my plan." Ask your cousin then to justify why he teaches his students to handle an out of air emergency?...or maybe he dosen't becasue they shouldn't plan on being in that situation.

 

[WVDiver]

Redundancy is a common practice among tech and solo divers and there is a lot of information here on the board for you to read and ponder. We even have a solo diving forum you can look through to get you on your way. I will move this thread into that forum for you as it will likely get more views and responses to your query.

 

[letterboy]

U sed to dive with a pony, then I jumped to doubles while all my buddies dive singles

 

[tlt]

Accidents are rarely planned, unless we're talking about the Government.

 

[captain]

You can dive whatever way you want. I have never used redundancy either buddy or solo.
I just don't think it is necessary within receatrional limits. That said, if it is what others think about you that matters then probably carrying the pony will get less comments then not carrying one depending on where and who you are diving with. Of course if you are solo who would be there to say anything.

 

[shoredivr]

A lot of these "should I carry redundant air" answers might best be seen through the lens of location: cold or warm water? (In terms of solo diving training, the answer is always dive with a redundant gas source. How much gas you need depends on your SAC and planned depth....do a search for this info).


I see you're in western New York, that's coldwater country. I dive with a 30 cuft AL slung redundant tank in the Great Lakes when I dive solo, especially in the colder months when water temperature at depth can be 40F and a freeflow would not be fun. YMMV

*edit* I see a moderator moved your thread here into solo. I actually don't think that coldwater diving and redundant gas sources are only the domain of solo divers, and maybe the mod should reconsider the location of the thread.

Even if I'm diving with a buddy and the water temperature at depth is 40F, 38F, or 35F -in August (not a joke, I dived the wreck of the Arabia in Tobermory at the beginning of August and the temperature at 110 ft was 39F) I'm diving with H-valved 108s (two first stages and two second stages, I can shut off one first stage and switch to the other if a freeflow happens) or doubles. I have seen a few freeflows happen.

I'd consider that you were being prudent if you had a redundant gas source on a coldwater dive.

 

[Siantis]

I always sling a 40cf bottle, whether I'm solo or buddy diving. It's sometimes a pain in the ass on the boat or especially long walks to the water whilst shore diving, but underwater I don't even notice it, and the extra layer of redundancy is a bit comforting.

I also don't ever plan on running out of air, but you never know whats going to happen.

 

[bronk]

I vote for redundancy. Use the pony or doubles as much as you can. I have had buddies wander off and then you have an instant solo dive.
During our adv nitrox / deco class we had just finished an exercise of sharing air at depth (100') and both my buddy and I ended up with free flows (39 degree water).
Having doubles made the recovery relatively easy. In a non-redundant situation it would have been pretty difficult (cracking valves to breath for both of us)

 

[wreckless1]

I always sling my AL40 when diving below 60 ft and sometimes on shallower dives. I'm sort of moving in the direction of always taking it. I always take it if diving solo. I don't notice it at all under water, except that I can rest my hand on the valve if I want to and I need to remember to pressurize the reg every once in a while.

With a buddy, it allows us to maintain rock bottom to surface only one diver, allowing for longer bottom times, my rationale being that two failures are extremely unlikely and in any case it's at least the same level of redundancy.

I too have had inattentive buddies and would now take the pony any time I was paired up with an insta-buddy. Death would be extremely inconvenient.

Just practice deploying it and make sure to turn it on every once in a while to keep the reg pressurized. (Some people keep it on all the time but you can slowly lose your gas that way.)