Pony bottle vs. Spare Air?

[Pirate Dave]

well ive decided and i dont need a pony or a spare air becasue i dive with good friends that i KNOW(from experience) i can put my life in their hands

maybe a new gun is in order though : )

 

[LG Diver]

A pony bottle clipped on like a stage bottle can be passed off if someone else needs it. This preserves your own gas and helps to ensure your own safety. I have had to hand mine off to a frantic diver whom I am sure would have used far more of my own remaining gas to allow me a good safety stop and reserve. I also like to keep 40% nitrox in a pony in case I accidentally over stay my welcome and have a deco obligation (never happened). If I have to use it for a quick ascent, I should only need a breath or two before I can safely breath from it.

My own $.02

So, if a panicked OOA diver swims up to you at 130 ft, you're going to hand them off a bottle of 40%? Yeah... that's only a PPO2 of 2.0. I'm sure one or two breaths of that won't kill you.

 

[micklock]

I like my pony bottle it makes me feel safer and I always show my dive buddy how to pull the pin and lift it off the hindges in case he needs to borrow it. Air is like money it's no big deal till you run out. Spare air is for Baywatch!

 

[String]

I carry my "pony" as a stage. Sometimes i use it as a proper decompression bottle with 50%/100% in sometimes i use it as a redundant air source depending on dive.
However, its *mine* and im not giving it to anyone else. If im deep diving my buddy will also have his own redundant air source so wont need me to give it to him in any case.

 

[Adobo]

So, if a panicked OOA diver swims up to you at 130 ft, you're going to hand them off a bottle of 40%? Yeah... that's only a PPO2 of 2.0. I'm sure one or two breaths of that won't kill you.

John,

Got nothing better to do than poke a stick in the hornet's nest? Next time you feel so inspired, you otta go diving with me.

 

[micklock]

If I go deep I use my doubles and now I can take my pony also because I just bought a new Dive Rite Hurricane reg can't wait till the ice melts to try it out.

 

[micklock]

If I go deep I use my doubles and now I can take my pony also because I just bought a new Dive Rite Hurricane reg can't wait till the ice melts to try it out.

 

[DandyDon]

That's why I dive doubles

Sure, that why I won't dive with buddies I don't trust to catch my mistakes and keep the team on plan.

That's fine for you- I've got a wife and two kids and diving is a hobby for me. I want more from my non-diving life so I don't dive with people I can't trust to be there for me.

LOL- "Questioning" is exactly what I'm suggesting that anyone contemplating using a pony do. If you stop to think about what emergencies you're trying to address, and what additional complications you introduce with a pony you would realize that it's just as false a sense of security as a tiny spare air.

Haha, ok, you dive doubles and think that ponies are bad. Whateverrrrrrrrr.

Otherwise, we simply have different diving goals. Yours are fine for me, mine seem ok, and it's fine to discuss the ideas with respect here. We do discuss this subject very often on SB.

A pony bottle clipped on like a stage bottle can be passed off if someone else needs it. This preserves your own gas and helps to ensure your own safety. I have had to hand mine off to a frantic diver whom I am sure would have used far more of my own remaining gas to allow me a good safety stop and reserve. I also like to keep 40% nitrox in a pony in case I accidentally over stay my welcome and have a deco obligation (never happened). If I have to use it for a quick ascent, I should only need a breath or two before I can safely breath from it.

My own $.02

I have my pony filled with air even when diving Nitrox. I never plan to breach my MOD, but should I need to briefly, I'd like to change to air for that.

A quick ascent from deeper than 50-60 feet is very unappealing, I prefer to use the pony for the slow one, including all stops.

And I will not pass of my rig to someone else. If they need help, that's great - one of the main reasons I brought it, but they'll ascend with me. Sure, if he dropped it from the ladder and it was lost, it'd be his responsibility to pay for it, DAN dive insurance might even pay for it, but I don't want to become a bill collector.

well ive decided and i dont need a pony or a spare air becasue i dive with good friends that i KNOW(from experience) i can put my life in their hands

maybe a new gun is in order though : )

Okay, cool. Do not get over confident and it should work fine. Keep your back up plans in mind and practice your escapes now and then.

So, if a panicked OOA diver swims up to you at 130 ft, you're going to hand them off a bottle of 40%? Yeah... that's only a PPO2 of 2.0. I'm sure one or two breaths of that won't kill you.

Yeah 40% Nitrox is for stage bottles, not bail-out bottles.

 

[micklock]

Good point about passing off a pony, maybe I'll have to tell my buddy I'll rent it to him by the minute and if he drops it just throw him back in to go get it. LOL

 

[Adobo]

So you're opposed to redundant safety equipment?

You only dive with people you know well? Wow that would kill a lot of my trips.

Don,

I think what LG diver is saying is that redundant gas is not necessarily a pony bottle/spare air. Redundant gas can be sitting on your buddy's back.

My issue with pony bottles is that while it is arguably a good source of redundant gas, it is hardly a good substitute for a good buddy and good buddy diving skills. I use my buddies not only to make sure that I have gas in case I have an OOG emergency, I also use them to help me proactively avoid other issues.

Examples include..
- help in navigation
- help in avoiding and freeing myself from entanglements
- spotting gear issues like gas leaks
- spotting me if I lose visibility (i.e. I lose my mask and have to switch to my back up mask)
- help in shooting a bag if we are making a unplanned ascent due to some issue I am experiencing
- and so on and so on

Of course, my buddy relies on me to reciprocate.

While it is true that a pony bottle is one way to provide redundant gas, it is far from a good substitute to good buddy diving.