Pony bottle, sling or bracket?

[SSpiffyDiver]

Discuss and opine.

I dive with a BPW, so either will work for me. What's your preference?

[CaptnJack]

Sling, where you can see leaks, check/monitor the pressure, and manipulate the valve as required.

You can't do any of those things when its on a bracket. While it was quite a number of years ago now, the mukilteo geodome is actually a memorial to a young diver who was unable to do those things and when he went to his pony bottle it wasn't adequate for him.

Slinging is also cheaper, 2 bolt snaps and some cord vs a ~$100 bracket.

Ps while not part of your original question, a good (canister) light is actually as useful or more so than a pony since you can signal your buddy and either get air or get help addressing a non-air related problem (entanglement, loose tank, loose weights, etc.) If you can, put the money you don't spend on a bracket towards a good light.

[Jeremy]

Solid advice! A good light is one of the best favors you can do for your buddy.

[Joshua Smith]

Sling it! Sooo much better than a bracket.

[kdupreez]

+1 on sling it.

[cardiver]

+2

[Dusty2]

Although I have never done it that way I have frequently thought about it and the reasons given here are enough to convince this old dog to change his spots. For a buddy in an emergency or even your self a pony that is free and in reach is a sound idea. much easier to deploy or hand off and much less likely to get tangled in tight places. None of the bracket mounts are very easy to deploy in an emergency and what if you forget to turn it on. Don't ask me if that has ever happened to me.

[Jimothy]

I'm of the sling persuasion.

[Jeff Pack]

Sling it, and get the biggest light you can afford.

Advice from a former member of the I hate can lights club

[Gdog]

Postby Jeff Pack » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:20 am
Although back on topic, if a light canon is such an important thing, why is it I see only a small subset of divers with them?

Sorry Jeff, couldnt help but recall back in time when you were can light resistant!


I dive a pony on a bracket, I liked it that way kind of out of the way; however, the reasons to sling are strong. There is no way I could turn it on without removing my kit, and if I was OOA, thats no bueno. A leak? Id never notice. Pressure? Best check it before splash! Gonna have to take more notice of how you handle a slung bottle, and make the change.

[Tom Nic]

Sling, where you can see leaks, check/monitor the pressure, and manipulate the valve as required.

Make sure that the sling is tight to the D rings and doesn't have lots of "slop" in it. Check out hose routing and length appropriate to your bottle that the tech guys use. There are reasons for the choices.

One added bonus - get a travel sling and sling aluminum 80's in Bonaire or other warm water destination! Great for additional gas on the deeper walls or extended double reefs where 77 cu ft of gas is... shall we say... a bit inadequate.

[John Rawlings]

Sling. No question. It will always work for you with a minimum of fuss no matter what you choose to dive - single, doubles or CCR, plus it's one heck of a lot easier to haul down to the beach or to deal with on boats that are less than roomy.

[Jeff Pack]

Postby Jeff Pack » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:20 am
Although back on topic, if a light canon is such an important thing, why is it I see only a small subset of divers with them?

Sorry Jeff, couldnt help but recall back in time when you were can light resistant.

The irony of that sentence didn't escape me either ;-)

[Nwbrewer]

Buy 2, sling them both?

[Tom Nic]

Buy 2, sling them both?

Sidemount!!!

[pogiguy05]

Solid advice! A good light is one of the best favors you can do for your buddy.

Sling it and Jeremy and I know first hand what a good light to get your buddies attention can mean when someone (cough cough) got seriously narc'd out at 120fsw.

I would also include PRACTICE deploying it regularly so that IF the need arises it will be like instinctive.

[spatman]

Make sure that the sling is tight to the D rings and doesn't have lots of "slop" in it.

A small loop of bungee can help keep the valve tight to the harness.

[CaptnJack]

Buy 2, sling them both?

LP45s or 50s are pretty dreamy sidemount tanks. Although a bit beyond the typical "pony" concept.

[Nwbrewer]

Buy 2, sling them both?

LP45s or 50s are pretty dreamy sidemount tanks. Although a bit beyond the typical "pony" concept.

I still need to try that, though my 72's pretty well disappear underwater. I can image those are like freediving.

[CaptnJack]

Buy 2, sling them both?

LP45s or 50s are pretty dreamy sidemount tanks. Although a bit beyond the typical "pony" concept.

I still need to try that, though my 72's pretty well disappear underwater. I can image those are like freediving.

The 45s start to float up a little in back in salt water. Which causes the tank to rotate on its axis a little and sometimes the neck bungie slips off. Not a huge deal, but they are much better in fresh water.

[Norris]

SLING!!!!!

[GearHead]

Not to go against the prevailing recommendation of slinging the pony bottle; I'd like to offer some extra info.

The first pony bottle that I carried was an Alu 19. I first used the QuickDraw bracket with the tank valve up. This was the easiest way to carry it with my old jacket BCD. As already noted, this requires opening the valve before the dive. I was never happy with the options for storing the second stage with this setup.

When I tried slinging the 19, it had a nasty tendency to ride up in my face, since it was too short, and the ring on my BC were not well positioned.

Finally I switched to an Alu 30 and BP+W. This was a much better setup, since the simple harness let me place the D-rings where they needed to be. Since then I've gotten in the habit of slinging a 40.

Bottom line is slinging a pony on a simple (Hog) harness is probably optimum. However a smaller bottle on a bracket with a jacket BCD is better than nothing.

[CaptnJack]

I had a 19cf once and if you do the math on how much you might use on the bottom and ascent its really pretty dinky. Most people <think> they will get onto their pony and off the bottom expeditiously. The reality I have seen is that:
1) people very very rarely die while diving in a way a pony would have done anything to help. (who knows how many unpublished pony "saves" there are)
2) pony or not, stressed divers use way more gas then they ever planned on using. 1cf/min SAC is not very conservative.

30cf is alot more the 50% more than the 19, if that makes any sense.

[coulterboy]

Discuss and opine.

I dive with a BPW, so either will work for me. What's your preference?

What is the size of the pony bottle you were planning to purchase?

[SSpiffyDiver]

What is the size of the pony bottle you were planning to purchase?

I just received a new Al 19 as a gift, so I'm thinking about the eventual setup. I was leaning toward slinging, mainly because it's essentially free, and this discussion seems to support that method.