OK, please no screaming, no yelling DIR, and no rude comments about backplates or lack of them. Anybody use a simple pony for solo diving they would like to share with us?

Seb~

I own two ponies a 13cu. and 19cu. both are fasten to my main tank by the Zeagle pony system. It's an easy on easy off that weighs next to nothing. By putting 2 pounds in the opposite pocket that my pony is on counteracts the pitch of the tanks. I used to use the 13 for dives up to 90ft. and the 19 for dives around 130ft. A mini gauge is directly mounted to the first stage regulator which I check before the dive. Since being certified tech I almost never dive with singles any more, prefer diving doubles all the time. :>)

Like stated in the other thread, I use a spare air when I'm diving solo.

Size: 0.4 litres
Air: 80 litres at 200 bar
Breaths: approx. 50 at the surface.

Pro:
small
neutral in water
completely independent system

Cons:
too small
easy to lose (improved with the newer models)
cannot be used to control air in BC

On deep dives I prefer doubles as well. I have a system from dive rite that can connect two regular bottles to my normal BC. My setup is:

on bottle one: primary and secondary regulator, gauge and spare hose to connect to BC.
on bottle two: primary, gauge and hose connected to BC.

Peter~

Am I safe in assuming that your doubles are not connected together by a isolated manifold? I believe they call your setup a "traveling double setup", where two rented tanks can be used as connected independent tanks. Do you breath one tank down to half than switch to the other??

jiminiŽ

Hi Jim,

No manifold, completely independent doubles. I switch after breathing down 1/3 of the tank. That is also better for the balance.

Hi Seb,

I dive with a 13cft carried upside-down in a nylon bag attached to my primary on the right side. The reg is on a bungie necklace. It is on all dives I make, whether solo or not. I had no problem last year bringing it to Bonaire or using it on about 40 shore and boat dives ove the 10 days.

I dive Nitrox exclusively, am a certified geezer at 54, and my profiles do not exceed about 100fsw/recreational only. NO caves,wrecks etc.

Randy

I pony really came in handy for me once. When
I as just starting diving, I dove off of New
Jersey (cold, low vis). My buddy turned my air one
and just cracked the valve. So when we got down
to 90', my first stage iced up. No air. But
luckily they required pony bottles there, so no
problem.

I think they are great, but I believe that traveling with them and filling them can be a pain.