Spare air?

[Doc]

All these above impassioned arguments aside.... Go redundant

Another chance to whip this out....

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

ya I saw that in another thread.

 

[DandyDon]

Most divers will not bother with a pony of course. I suggest to my buddies that they stick with me like a puppy dog as they don't have a backup air supply, but most don't. I got mine after some boat-pick buddy experiences a decade ago, almost time for hydro again. I've screwed up in spite of it but mostly felt glad I had it.

 

[Warhammer]

Most divers will not bother with a pony of course. I suggest to my buddies that they stick with me like a puppy dog as they don't have a backup air supply, but most don't. I got mine after some boat-pick buddy experiences a decade ago, almost time for hydro again. I've screwed up in spite of it but mostly felt glad I had it.

How are you carrying it, Don? Slung?

I've been tempted many many times to get one, but always seem to come up with a reason not too. E. g. I won't use it that much... It would be a pain to travel with... etc.... Unfortunately, Insta-Buddies are what I usually end up with these days and they can be real bad sometimes. Wish I could find a good local buddy.

 

[herbdb]

In my old age, I have become more cautious and like to carry some independent air source.

I purchased a couple of 6 cuft H2Odessy systems. I had 24 inch miflex hoses installed to replace the fixed mask. This way you can leave it slung and have both hands free. I primarily bought them to have at least some back up when flying to a dive destination. It seems that pony bottles are hard to find at most resort destinations.

In a controlled test in our local quarry, I was able to do a normal ascent from 60' with a safety stop. My son had to switch back to his primary tank during the stop. If we were excited it would not last as long. Every thing is a compromise, but I think it would get me to the surface from most of my dives. I have also considered moving the valve/reg to 13 cuft bottles for the reasons mentioned here.

If I am driving to a dive location, I carry a 19 cuft pony bottle.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm sure you've said many times before, but to save me a lot of searching, what size pony do you have, Don? Do you actually use it that much, as in carry it with you when you travel by air? And how are you carrying it, slung?

I've been tempted many many times to get one, but always seem to come up with a reason not too. E. g. I won't use it that much... It would be a pain to travel with... etc.... Unfortunately, Insta-Buddies are what I usually end up with these days and they can be real bad sometimes. Wish I could find a good local buddy.

We should run a poll for pony divers only, not deco bottles, and see what the popular pick is - but as the only difference in price is the $10 increase for a larger tank, I settled on the 19 cf as it's about 1/4 of a standard 80, or the minimum I'd want to bail with from a deeper dive. A 30 could be 50+% more but at the time, I looked at weights and settled on the 19. I'd really suggest a 19 or 30 for recreational bailout.

Yeah, I carry mine slung so I can easily get to the valve, etc. as well as pass it to the captain on a small boat before existing. Some say it's good to carry that way to be able to pass it off to another diver, but I'm not going to carry that kit all over the place, service it annually, dive it every dive - and then trust someone else with it. If needed, I'll ascend with them.

It's an extra 10# or so to pack for a trip yeah, but no more pain than getting my camera ready after arriving.

 

[Warhammer]

I saw that you answered most of my questions in an earlier post above (if only I had just been paying attention) so I edited my questions. Sorry about that.

Anyway, if I were to get one, it would either be the 13 or the 19. Any bigger and I probably wouldn't use it. The 19 is almost 5 inches taller than the 13 and that would be the only reason I'd pick the 13 over it.

 

[DandyDon]

I saw that you answered most of my questions in an earlier post above (if only I had just been paying attention) so I edited my questions. Sorry about that.

Anyway, if I were to get one, it would either be the 13 or the 19. Any bigger and I probably wouldn't use it. The 19 is almost 5 inches taller than the 13 and that would be the only reason I'd pick the 13 over it.

Yeah, but if you ever need it, then you only have the equivalent of 500# of a Standard 80 - if it was filled to 3,000 and didn't leak over the trip. That's more bailout than most carry, but not a lot. The equivalent of 750# of a Standard 80, or the 19 cf, is my preferred minimum. That extra 5" is more behind you anyway.

 

[RonFrank]

The breakdown on costs to set up your own pony system from DivegearExpress.com is as follows if you were curious:

	13cf	19cf	30cf	40cf
Cylinder	$129	$139	$149	$159
Dir Strap kit	$43.75	$43.75	$43.75	$43.75
HOG Regulator	$263.99	$263.99	$263.99	$263.99
1.5" SPG w/ 6" hose	$76.94	$76.94	$76.94	$76.94
Total Cost	$513.68	$523.68	$533.68	$543.68

This is on the high end. You can sling the tank for the price of 2 clamps and a strap or rope. You don't need a hog Reg. I got a first stage for $60 from TDL and had a second. Had I needed to purchase a second I would have been looking at $60 more. A mini SPG will do the job for $35 but I have not priced this stuff in a while. Prices may have gone up, then again there is a solid used market that many ignore.

 

[DandyDon]

Here is a used one, current viz & hydro for $75 including shipping plus other bidding possible. Aluminum 2010 Catalina 19CUI Pony Scuba Tank Viz Inspect 8 - 2011 Din/Yoke | eBay You could set up a snipe at $75 plus shipping of $25 = $100 max.