Slung Pony, Second on a necklace?

[scubadada]

@scubadada I think we will need a poll for this. I dive solo and believe it is unnecessary, and likely problematic, to have a secondary on you back gas when diving solo as having 3 second stages just introduces unnecessary complication; but I may be in the minority here.

Hi @loosenit2

I leave my backup reg on my setup for flexibility and because I am too lazy to take it off and put it on frequently. Though the majority of my diving is solo, I dive with a buddy a fair amount of the time. I generally do not take my pony when I am diving with a buddy and discuss my primary donate setup with my buddy (ies). Just like I practice with my pony, I will switch to my backup reg once in a while.

 

[Boston Breakwater]

My pony is in Florida, I am currently in Pennsylvania. If you want, I can send you a photo on or after July 13

Great, Thanks.......sent you a PM.
Cheers.

 

[tbone1004]

I am calling out @tbone1004 because I think that he has talked about this. But I'll take info from anybody. I can say that I used the google search for "site:www.scubaboard.com tbone1004 pony necklace" but couldn't dig up the post I thought I had read. So I apologize if it has already been hammered out. I did try. I also didn't want to DM in case it might help others.

So, I am taking the SDI solo course. I intend to sling a pony (Sorry, tbone. I know it is not your favorite but sidemount or twins aren't for me yet. Sidemount probably someday.). And I would like to put the pony second in a necklace so that none or near none of my muscle memory would need to change if I ever needed to abandon the primary.

Am I going to be forced to buy a left hand second or are there cool tips and tricks to make it work in a more standard left side slung pony scenario?

PS, I will be talking with my instructor about this but SB always has a lot of angles to take on any given topic. I value y'all.
PPS, I am working on the side bungee as well.

I'm running around like mad this week, so haven't read the entire thread responses yet.

If you're going to do that, the "pony" becomes a left side sidemount bottle and I would highly recommend putting a loop bungee on your backplate so it hangs properly. If you do that, you find out what the right length is to come up in front of your left shoulder and behind your neck. Very similar to how DIR stages/deco bottles are handled, but that pony bottle is much more of a left-side sidemount bottle.
My left hose is 30" and I have a ball swivel on the regulator, however I have a large chest, so that is longer than most peoples which I think is around 24" or so. Will all depend on where you let the valve ride on your body and how big your chest is. I have a 52" chest, so that combined with my bottles riding really high means I need a long hose.

 

[johndiver999]

If you are going to sling the pony bottle, then maximize the benefit of that configuration - don't compromise it by routing a hose and a necklace to your head. The slung pony allows you to easily see the pressure, allows you to manipulate the valve and easily feather it if the second stage is free flowing. It is easy to unclip and re-clip in case you get tangled in line (if you don't have a hose going to your neck). You can also hand off the pony/stage more easily if the second stage is not bungied on your neck. Possibly to a buddy or to a deck hand before climbing out - if that is something you want to consider.

If you rig the slung pony right, you just reach down, grab the second stage, put it in your mouth and turn the valve. Takes about as long to do as reading this sentence. If that sounds difficult or scary, then you need practice or shouldn't be diving in situations that might require a pony. During the dive you can reach down and learn to locate the valve and second stage - entirely by touch, without looking. Doing this a few dozen times over several dives should build the confidence that deployment should be trivial when actually needed.

The slung pony and stowed second stage will also make solo removal and replacement of the main scuba unit easier and faster.

 

[2airishuman]

Suddenly losing all your back gas at once is not a very realistic scenario. If you go low on gas, even ignoring all preventative procedures, you will feel it coming and have time to deploy your slung stage.
If you would suddenly loose all your gas due to something mechanical happening to the valve(s) or 1st stage(es), you most likely crushed your head on something first. Anything short of that, you will still have a breathing supply for a while, so again, you can deploy your stage without having to rely on muscle memory reflexes to switch to your necklace.

There have been multiple near misses reported on SB where there was a sudden loss of gas due to mechanical problems with the tank, valve, or first stage. Among these:
1) Clogs due to large particles in the cylinder.
2) Delamination of the first stage valve seat
3) Rupture of the first stage primary diaphragm, or separation of part of the diaphragm from the edge of the regulator body where it is clamped in place.

In addition, spring failure has been held up as a theoretical, likely source of sudden failure.

Nonetheless, a capable diver should be able to switch to a stage in the time available.

 

[txgoose]

People! I very much appreciate all of the input. I have literally read every post and am ingesting all of your input. BUT
1) This isn't about a panicked feeling, or short comings in my mental fortitude. I'm just asking about all the options. Maybe I do it in other threads too, but some of you read way too much of that fear thing into my question.
2) Over thinking is half of what SB is about when we're sitting at home, dry, and wishing we were wet. Well, or it is for me. So yes, I am over thinking it now because I have free CPU cycles in my tinker and I want to think about my new upcoming skills and config(s).

My work day today is going to be crap so I have to run. I do appreciate all of the feed back. Sincerely. Well, except for the recommendations that I rethink my solo cert. I'll be back this evening with clearer thoughts.

Thank you!!

 

[johndiver999]

There have been multiple near misses reported on SB where there was a sudden loss of gas due to mechanical problems with the tank, valve, or first stage. Among these:
1) Clogs due to large particles in the cylinder.
2) Delamination of the first stage valve seat
3) Rupture of the first stage primary diaphragm, or separation of part of the diaphragm from the edge of the regulator body where it is clamped in place.

In addition, spring failure has been held up as a theoretical, likely source of sudden failure.

Nonetheless, a capable diver should be able to switch to a stage in the time available.

Exactly, all that and one of several LP hoses can explode and rip and if you are low on air, all supply will be gone in 10 or 20 seconds.

The whole idea of a pony is to handle a complete and instantaneous failure, if you assume that will never happen and you will always adequately monitor remaining air supply - then there is no need for redundancy.

 

[aviator8]

Good morning. Do you, or any of the other members posting have any photos of your pony setup?
Cheers.

Here is what my pony setup looks like. The EPDM elastic straps on mine seem really tight (DGX brand) I may switch over to some 9mm bungee instead. I setup a backplate bungee loop as @tbone1004 mentioned to keep the pony from hanging valve down. I have not dived that yet but it feels like it will work well to keep it up under my armpit.

 

[wstorms]

There have been multiple near misses reported on SB where there was a sudden loss of gas due to mechanical problems with the tank, valve, or first stage. Among these:
1) Clogs due to large particles in the cylinder.
2) Delamination of the first stage valve seat
3) Rupture of the first stage primary diaphragm, or separation of part of the diaphragm from the edge of the regulator body where it is clamped in place.

In addition, spring failure has been held up as a theoretical, likely source of sudden failure.

Nonetheless, a capable diver should be able to switch to a stage in the time available.

Ok, fair enough, there are some instances were it can happen.
But I think the chances of those events occurring, especially with well maintained gear, are so low they don't really justify using a pony in a complex manner. If you want to have that level of redundancy on a necklace, skip the pony altogether and go for (independent) doubles or sidemount. Or in the range of solo diving, use a H valve and 2 first stages to mitigate points 2 & 3 (1 will still be a factor, true).

For me, a pony is an add-on, a bit like a spare tire in the car. When you need it to get home it is really really really good to have it available, but taking a little bit of time to deploy it is fine.
With a bit of training, a slung pony can be deployed in seconds. That's quick enough for me. If you want anything more instantaneous than that, have a truly redundant system.

 

[Boston Breakwater]

People! I very much appreciate all of the input. I have literally read every post and am ingesting all of your input. BUT
1) This isn't about a panicked feeling, or short comings in my mental fortitude. I'm just asking about all the options. Maybe I do it in other threads too, but some of you read way too much of that fear thing into my question.
2) Over thinking is half of what SB is about when we're sitting at home, dry, and wishing we were wet. Well, or it is for me. So yes, I am over thinking it now because I have free CPU cycles in my tinker and I want to think about my new upcoming skills and config(s).

My work day today is going to be crap so I have to run. I do appreciate all of the feed back. Sincerely. Well, except for the recommendations that I rethink my solo cert. I'll be back this evening with clearer thoughts.

Thank you!!

Well, said.