Opinions Please-Pony Bottle

Benny-c

Folks;

Do many of you use a Pony Bottle & is it worth my while purchasing one (along with the obligatory Reg.)? & seeing as Mr. Claus is in transit....:D

I intend doing my Leading Diver next year, there are a few deepish dives & are they really necessary (?), a few of the lads in the club rarely use one and opions are mixed vis a vis regular weekend diving.


Thanks in advance,

Benny

scubagit

No one will ever tell you that a pony bottle isn't neccesary. They are a self contained alternative air source, so should the brown stuff really hit the fan, then you have a better chance of bail out.
The only problem as far as I can see they can throw you off balance a bit, so you might considershifting you weights around on the opposite side to balance you out. The other thing is they will obviously add more weight to your kit.
Good luck in the leading diver next year. I did it last year and have not looked back. It's well worth doing and although not easy, it's great craic and you will meet a lot of cool people.

scubagit

Meant to say earlier. Dont worry about the 40m dive on the LD weekend. It's only a bounce dive with monkey tricks to make sure you don't narc easily.

rick_fantastic

originally pony bottles were a mandatory piece of kit for diving with club. this changed tho went certain diver accidently opened his @ 30mtrs and shot straight to the surface.

they can be dangerous....

as an alternate air source wouldnt really recommend. questions like when did you last wash out the bladder in your bcd? how comfortable would you be bleeding air into your bcd and breathe at the same rate so as you dont shoot to the surface.

if they were really necessary then clubs would require you to use one when you dive.

dave_r

Could be some confusion here between pony bottle and mini cylinder. A pony bottle does not involve breathing from BCD or a risk of rapid ascent.
I think that the main reason to opt for a Pony are self rescue if your buddy is not alert or far away. It is also for the situation of a panicked, out of air buddy grabbing your octo or reg and gulping down the air in your main bottle in a matter of minutes, leaving you both without air. It gives you an independent air source for a reasonably controlled ascent.
I hang a 3L pony bottle from D rings in front of my BCD, rather than attach it to my back. Either way can be a bit awkward at first.
The reason for front mounting is that I usually dive from a RIB. I can detach the pony myself and hand it up to someone on the RIB separate from the rest of the BDC. This reduces the weight that the person on the RIB had to lift in one go, and the risk of back injury to that person. I can also see the contents gauge (button gauge) and fix any problems if it is in front.
Buddy BCDs often have a 0.4L mini cylinder that can be used to inflate the BCD in an emergency.

seadeuce

A viable alternative to a pony is a H-valve.

This would replace your pillar valve as is, and you could then attach a second regulator. Simple redundancy, without the balance problem.

Of course, if it's the extra 3ltrs you need, then maybe your H-valve should be fitted to a 15L instead of having 12L + 3L.

I believe Beuchat have just brought out a new one. Should work out cheaper than a pony in any case.


Seadeuce

Benny-c

Thanks guys,

Plenty to chew on.

Benny

bigfeller

If you are looking at deeper dives then you need to look at how long 3L will last at 40m. I've gotten a twinset and my buddy has a 7 ali. The ali is nice and light, as close as you can get to neutrally bouyant. Side mounted it's easy to switch on and off. Can you can unclip it easily to pass it back to the boat.

My €0.02.

Scuba.ie

Pony bottles can be very handy, but I have heard of people mixing up the regs of the main cylinder and the pony cylinder (assuming both are turned on) and breathing off the pony for the start of the dive. Of course they go OOG very quick!!