Johnoly
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Just my 2 cents.......But I've used several on my pony over last 15yrs...Finally.....any to avoid or any recommendations?...
1)Some are more accurate than others. The most shocking error you will encounter (hopefully on dry land) is a bad or BENT gauge will read 300psi remaining after you remove it from the pony. I dive a small pony(but 100% use it every dive). What ever gauge you get Regularly TEST IT. It's simple > Turn on the valve, then Turn off the valve. Very slowly take tiny breaths off the pony reg and see how the gauge reading moves towards Zero. You don't have to drain the tank, just shut off the valve and watch it breath down. I do this because on my dive, if I'm in a panic cause I was stupid/distracted and ran way to low on air, I need to watch that tiny gauge to force me to slow my breathing until I surface. If you are at 50ft, in deco, and think you have more pony air than the gauge reads, it won't be pretty.
2) BENT gauge. I'm brutal on my equipment and my dive bag gets tossed everywhere including the pavement. The gauges are made out of very thin stainless and just the slightest knock and it will bend the gauge face. That will kill the reading accuracy and you won't realize it when needed U/W. So to prevent that, I DIY made a gauge "Collar" to protect it from damage in my bag & rinse bin soaking. It's a 1-1/2 inch PVC tee found in any plumbing aisle. Since your pony 1st stage will have a different hose layout, do the pvc cut-outs similar to what you see in my picture. It's a press fit so the collar stays on. You can whack the 1st stage and it won't harm the gauge. It's really critical cause you always want to check your pony pressure before every dive just like you do with your main tank. If you are jumping in with a bent & stuck gauge giving you a false reading, then it's just like diving an empty main tank.
3) Many gauges being sold. Like I said I've gone thru atleast a dozen of them in 15 yrs. The one I like the best is Dive Rite # DR-RG-270 at about $23. It's face is easy to read and they have always breathed down to zero in testing and been really accurate.
Sorry for the long answer, but hopefully you can learn from my mistakes that I've made before you, to save you some pain. Great job on getting and using a pony. In over 2000 dives, I've never been in the water without mine.