Do you actually see people diving with pony bottles?

[MaxBottomtime]

It's a private boat, not a commercial operation. I can refuse to allow any non required gear on my boat as I please. Since this particular diver has shown that he cannot be trusted to surface with gas left in his tank I can choose to not allow him to bring any gear which may tempt him to repeat that. In this very thread there have been several posts from those who say they use their pony for a safety stop. Some said they use it, then go back to their back gas. Some even said they use it to extend their dives. I consider a pony to be an emergency backup only, one that should never be used for anything but an emergency.

 

[KevinNM]

I recall I was in that group he described. Uncle Sam issued us all 210 rounds of 5.56. I had that fear of getting in a firefight and running out of ammo. So I had our SAW gunner break me off about 4 feet of 5.56 belt ammo and I stuck it in my ruck.

I talked to a Ranger at a course a few years ago. He said he made the first jump into Afghanistan with 12+1 mags. By his last rotation in Iraq he was down to 3+1, as he’d never used more than 3 magazines in 8 or so deployments and instead carried more med gear.

But it takes experience or trusting your NCOs know what the hell they are talking about to do that.

You see that kind of thing in inexperienced divers who look like Christmas trees, while more experienced divers are typically much less ‘well equipped’.

 

[lowviz]

...//... I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is no perfect solution ... only one that's a best fit for the individual ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Wow.

If I had any input, OWS would be the next cert past OW. Open Water Solo. 1:1 instructor to student ratio, instructor hangs 3' above in the 'death from above' position. Student does all the OW required skills without eye contact or any other form of emotional support. In it all alone. The first time I soloed, diving became real.

The foundation of OW, as taught, is that hope springs eternal. Somebody will always be there...

 

[Anthony Jones]

Wow.

If I had any input, OWS would be the next cert past OW. Open Water Solo. 1:1 instructor to student ratio, instructor hangs 3' above in the 'death from above' position. Student does all the OW required skills without eye contact or any other form of emotional support. In it all alone. The first time I soloed, diving became real.

The foundation of OW, as taught, is that hope springs eternal. Somebody will always be there...

I get "corrected" a lot of times by people I don't know who condemn the "solo dive" if it's brought up in conversation. Then I ask them, "Well, when we arrive at the dive site, and I take the anchor and jump in alone and go 70 feet to tie us into the wreck so you guys can all dive, isn't that basically a 10 minute solo dive?" For some reason the way they think it works is if I'm doing that, it's OK, but if I just go dive for pleasure to 70 feet for 10 minutes, then it's evil.

The other day when we got to the wreck there was another boat on our "spot" so we had to drive around a couple of minutes watching the sonar and find another place to tie in. I took the anchor and went in, but the cap'n missed the wreck. I walked around for a few minutes on the bottom with the anchor but saw nothing but sand, so I came back up and we tried again. Moved over a bit and did it again. This time we were right on the wheelhouse so I was able to tie in and come back to the boat. Basically that was 2 solo dives.

 

[lowviz]

I get "corrected" a lot of times by people I don't know who condemn the "solo dive" if it's brought up in conversation. Then I ask them, "Well, when we arrive at the dive site, and I take the anchor and jump in alone and go 70 feet to tie us into the wreck so you guys can all dive, isn't that basically a 10 minute solo dive?" ...//...

Just who you gonna call in an emergency? Nobody will know you had an emergency until your body is found.

Yes. Most def solo.

For some reason the way they think it works is if I'm doing that, it's OK, but if I just go dive for pleasure to 70 feet for 10 minutes, then it's evil. ...//...

I'd offer: "You tie in while I wait topside for once." Is that solo or just doing my job?

...//... This time we were right on the wheelhouse so I was able to tie in and come back to the boat. Basically that was 2 solo dives.

I can't think of any other word for it.

But, see, you are a disposable professional just doing your job. The rules are different.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Original question... do you actually see people diving with pony bottles?

Well, yes.

Started with a dive partner but partner ran low on air first. Since my air was adequate for a longer dive, took partner back to boat and stuck together during safety stop. Then took off with pony to finish dive.

 

[KenGordon]

Wow.

If I had any input, OWS would be the next cert past OW. Open Water Solo. 1:1 instructor to student ratio, instructor hangs 3' above in the 'death from above' position. Student does all the OW required skills without eye contact or any other form of emotional support. In it all alone. The first time I soloed, diving became real.

The foundation of OW, as taught, is that hope springs eternal. Somebody will always be there...

Maybe where you were taught. Here the conditions are such that more than 2:1 is not really safe and once qualified a diver will only see their buddy on a dive. Once that buddy is another new diver there is only their mutual support within the buddy pair. There is no 'grown up' to make things better.

It is not unusual that a student can only tell you are ere because you hold their hand. In those circumstances teaching a skill like mask clearing is a bad idea, but they do get to learn about coping with less than idea conditions. Oh and not to touch the bottom...

 

[Lorenzoid]

Seriously? To don it I clip 2 clips. Same with doffing it. I fill it when I get to my destination off a full tank - maybe a couple minutes at the beginning of a week or two of diving. I practice with it on my last dive to empty it for transport. Hydro? Vis? I do the vis before I reinstall the valve. Since I fill it myself and know the entire history I know if it really needs a hydro. When/if it does it's no more problem than any of my other tanks and once every 5 years is a burden? . . .

Yes, seriously. For YOU, it's no bother at all. You have a lot of experience. You own other tanks. Not every diver even owns a tank. I will stick my neck out and guess that the vast majority of divers don't own tanks. A pony is a whole new ballgame for divers who have never owned a tank but are considering it because they have gotten the impression it's what experienced divers do to help improve their safety. Owning a tank is a minor commitment. Just something for newer divers to consider before they decide their first tank needs to be a pony. There IS more stuff to do when you own, use, and travel with a pony than what most divers are accustomed to having to do. Like anything else that one adds to their diving toolkit to help improve safety, it is yet one more thing to deal with. Clipping it on and off sounds simple, but we see divers jumping in without FINS on, etc.! I don't use a camera--or at least not yet--but I do carry an SMB and cutting tools and have used them. I might need to use my SMB once in every 50 dives. One has to weigh the inconvenience of a pony--however minor it may be to people like you--against the estimate that it might need to be deployed once in, say, 10,000 dives.

 

[uncfnp]

I think it may be time to restate that there is a difference between diving with a pony in buddy dives or even in group guided dives and diving solo. I would never discourage any solo diver from the “inconvenience” of carrying a pony bottle. And one hopes if they are diving solo they have the experience and skills to manage the limited task loading and maintenance associated with pony bottles.

 

[boulderjohn]

Not every diver even owns a tank. I will stick my neck out and guess that the vast majority of divers don't own tanks.

I didn't own a tank until I got into technical diving. I was then an instructor. None of the dozen or so instructors in the shop where I worked at the time owned tanks. I would guess that only a handful of them had ever even seen anything other than a rental AL 80, which is what probably 80% of the world's divers use.