If there's a unit available in Sydney, I'm happy to show how sidemount can be much more efficient than this PonyPak. But trying is always good, so I'd be happy to do it just for the sake of discovering it.
Hi Patioux01
Thank you for your comments. The mis-perceptions are understandable, absent actually diving with it.
Okay, there we have it. 36" (~90 cm for other people in the world) is HUGE. I could get in their with 2 20l tanks easily. When wreck or "advanced" divers (I don't necessarily consider myself one of them, although I've been silly enough to get myself in places where both my bcd and belly were touching the wreck) talk about tight places, they have this kind of stuff in mind: At around 2', Steve Martin. There are of course other people doing that kind of stuff, he's just the first I've seen and I know where to get his videos.Take 2 minutes to see video #1... Half way through, you will see me (with full face mask tied into PonyPak) swim into a tube, only 36" in diameter. I barely fit.
A sidemounted tank is made to be able to be pushed forward and unclipped easily (one clip and it's gone), this is not the case with PonyPak. The only moment a sidemounted tank would be impossible to unclip is when you can't get your arm along your body to reach to your hip, a fair bit tighter than those 36".A short time later, I come out the other end - having done a complete equipment ditch - inside the 36" tube.
That scenario is impossible, with a tank mounted pony and nearly impossible with side mounted. It is 100% impossible, when diving with a full face mask - without PonyPak and its gas block.
I agree that if you have a pony mounted on your tank you wont be able to get away with it.
But it makes the whole diver "thicker" and he now has 2 places that could be very dangerous to hit. If you have just a tank on your back, crawl on your belly, who cares about your wetsuit. If there's a tank on your back AND on your belly, trying that might result in breaking a reg getting you in 0 vis.Admittedly, the photos distort the perspective. In fact, the "area" is no more larger, than if you folded your arms naturally across your chest.
As far as I know, PSD or commercial divers want to be completely free, hence they often don't mount tanks in the most proper way because they don't care, they want it to be out of their way.Understanding that the "clear chest" is really a non-issue, only comes with diving the unit. Public Safety Divers will affirm that.
All this being said, I simply can't see how this could compete with any of the redundant rigs already available. Adding a tank for anyone is a matter of 2 clips, some thought, and a piece of bungee.