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How does doubles help in redundancy though? If they are manifolded this does not help if a reg, or first stage or even manifold goes bad in some way.
I know very unlikely, but there is always a chance.
I do not know much about doubles, but assume the manifold links the tanks together so you can have both tanks activated and breathe thru them both. I guess they have seperate first stages? So I guess you can shut one tank down if there is a prob?
My question would be - Why care about what others think about your personal choice to carry a pony for bail-out purposes?
I'm a fairly new diver and liked the idea of carring a small pony for a bail-out bottle. I researched this a lot on this forum and others, and found like you, that many were pretty opinionated on the topic. If they choose not to carry one, I have no problem with that at all, but no one should have an issue if I choose to carry one, it is a personal choice. I just returned from Bonaire and packed a 6 cu ft. I didn't use it on all my dives but I did use it on most. I attach it with quick snaps to my BC accross my chest and really don't know it is even there. (For me, because of where it is placed, it actually helps with trim in the water)
You will find numerous strong opinions on carry/not carry, bottle size, carry methods, etc.
Bottom line is - As long as it doesn't go against basic safety rules, do what you feel comfortable with.
For those deco dives and other purposes I fully understand the need for manifolded doubles, for most of my diving that is overkill and accomplishes nothing good for ME, in fact, doubles are a "drag" to put up with and are not optimal for my diving profiles.
This is one of the most beat to death topics in the universe.
N
Yes, it certainly is a dead horse.
I do agree, that for many/most recreational dives, doubles ARE over-kill. I take them for more complex recreational dives or when training. For easier recreational dives, I dive in teams where we rely on each other for OOG possibilities. We train for this often and as I've already said, I have more confidence in my buddies than I would in a pony. If you're solo diving (by choice or circumstance), and don't dive doubles, I can see the need for a pony (of adequate size). I don't solo so it isn't an issue for me.
I generally don't use the recreational or technical division of scuba. I don't accept the arbitrary separation. "Tech" is a fabrication that allowed deco and deep etc to exist without embarrasing PadI and other alphabet agencies that forbade deco etc. The artificial seperation allows them to save face by segregating dives into recreational to which all of their mostly stupid snorkel police rules apply and "tech" to which they pay lip service while keeping their lemmings on the path.
N