Snorkeling and Scuba Diving Discussion

[WileECoyote]

Going to be a few months out still, but very soon I plan on taking dive lessons to get my first certification. Then, maybe after about a year or two, go for my advanced certification.

Anyways, there is so much hatred towards "pony bottles"? I get the ones that are only 6cu.ft or 13cu.ft are pretty useless, but at least a 30cu.ft would give a better time for chances of survival in a oh shit moment. All depends on depth, divers ability/usage of control breathing, etc etc etc I get all of that, but in the end, I just don't understand the hatred or even the frowned upon to someone that dives with a pony bottle?

I was just talking to a co-worker the other day that has dived since 17yrs old and he is now 50'ish, but he doesn't dive with a pony? He more or less stated that you can typically tell when it's a new diver and it almost seemed to be a frowned upon type of setup??? I guess I would need to talk to him further on the reasons?

The conversation all started because I found out he dives and I asked if I could ask questions from time to time because I'm going to go for my cert here soon. Pretty cool guy though.

I'm more interested in river and lake diving because I metal detect as well so my dives will be fairly shallow dives.

Anyways, if anyone here dives, why the hatred with the ponys? I was told because "more gear", which I get that as well, but it's just a tank with it's own regulator? I've seen some setups and it looks fairly compact to me? Maybe until I start diving I won't understand until then?

I've been doing quite the research and this setup by Shark Manufacturing is one of the best setups so far. My plan is for a 30cu.ft pony setup with a typical 80cu.ft main tank. So not too bulky of a setup, but at least I will have a decent backup spare.


Essentially this is what my setup would look like.

Btw, even having a snorkel as part of your setup seems frowned upon? I used to snorkel back in the day as a kid and mask/snorkel I had wasn't a cheap "setup" or "cheap" costing dept store mask setup. Considering that it was just a snorkel setup, it wasn't cheaply made crap. I don't remember what manufacture it was as that was YEARS ago...I just remember that it wasn't cheap plastic or dept store bought crap. That is where I can understand when it comes to quality with your gear.

 

[HavingaGoodTime4x4]

Going to be a few months out still, but very soon I plan on taking dive lessons to get my first certification. Then, maybe after about a year or two, go for my advanced certification.

Anyways, there is so much hatred towards "pony bottles"? I get the ones that are only 6cu.ft or 13cu.ft are pretty useless, but at least a 30cu.ft would give a better time for chances of survival in a oh shit moment. All depends on depth, divers ability/usage of control breathing, etc etc etc I get all of that, but in the end, I just don't understand the hatred or even the frowned upon to someone that dives with a pony bottle?

I was just talking to a co-worker the other day that has dived since 17yrs old and he is now 50'ish, but he doesn't dive with a pony? He more or less stated that you can typically tell when it's a new diver and it almost seemed to be a frowned upon type of setup??? I guess I would need to talk to him further on the reasons?

The conversation all started because I found out he dives and I asked if I could ask questions from time to time because I'm going to go for my cert here soon. Pretty cool guy though.

I'm more interested in river and lake diving because I metal detect as well so my dives will be fairly shallow dives.

Anyways, if anyone here dives, why the hatred with the ponys? I was told because "more gear", which I get that as well, but it's just a tank with it's own regulator? I've seen some setups and it looks fairly compact to me? Maybe until I start diving I won't understand until then?

I've been doing quite the research and this setup by Shark Manufacturing is one of the best setups so far. My plan is for a 30cu.ft pony setup with a typical 80cu.ft main tank. So not too bulky of a setup, but at least I will have a decent backup spare.
View attachment 82976

Essentially this is what my setup would look like.

Btw, even having a snorkel as part of your setup seems frowned upon? I used to snorkel back in the day as a kid and mask/snorkel I had wasn't a cheap "setup" or "cheap" costing dept store mask setup. Considering that it was just a snorkel setup, it wasn't cheaply made crap. I don't remember what manufacture it was as that was YEARS ago...I just remember that it wasn't cheap plastic or dept store bought crap. That is where I can understand when it comes to quality with your gear.

To find the time

 

[WileECoyote]

To find the time

Still going to be a while yet for me... Initial cost is going to be quite a bit.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

Pony bottles are really more ideal for really deep dives if you want to carry it for insurance. They’re just not needed for shallower dives (lets say under 50ft). I used to carry a Spare Air on a carabiner attached to my BCD after I got certified because I was paranoid I’d need it but eventually stopped carrying it. You still have to do a yearly visual and hydro test them every 5 years and it cost the same as a full sized tank so it’s not practical. My buddy would use a pony tank and got over the extra bulk/ weight pretty quick too. We never had to use the Spare Air or pony bottle.

I ran an octopus as a secondary regulator so I’d basically have both 2nd stages connected to my main tank. I figured I was more likely to have a regular o-ring blow out or get sand or debris and it stop working and need the octopus, than I was the second oxygen source. If you’re diving relatively shallow and run out of air it’s on you. You should be monitoring your psi your entire dive, and moreso as you get under 1,000 psi, IMHO.

As far as snorkel goes, I would use mine every dive to get out to the area I wanted to drop down and use my tank’s air. It maximized my bottom time that way. Keep in mind, majority of my dives were night time from 5ft-40ft of water. Depended on surf and visibility conditions since I was hunting for lobster.

 

[WileECoyote]

Pony bottles are really more ideal for really deep dives if you want to carry it for insurance. They’re just not needed for shallower dives (lets say under 50ft). I used to carry a Spare Air on a carabiner attached to my BCD after I got certified because I was paranoid I’d need it but eventually stopped carrying it. You still have to do a yearly visual and hydro test them every 5 years and it cost the same as a full sized tank so it’s not practical. My buddy would use a pony tank and got over the extra bulk/ weight pretty quick too. We never had to use the Spare Air or pony bottle.

I ran an octopus as a secondary regulator so I’d basically have both 2nd stages connected to my main tank. I figured I was more likely to have a regular o-ring blow out or get sand or debris and it stop working and need the octopus, than I was the second oxygen source. If you’re diving relatively shallow and run out of air it’s on you. You should be monitoring your psi your entire dive, and moreso as you get under 1,000 psi, IMHO.

As far as snorkel goes, I would use mine every dive to get out to the area I wanted to drop down and use my tank’s air. It maximized my bottom time that way. Keep in mind, majority of my dives were night time from 5ft-40ft of water. Depended on surf and visibility conditions since I was hunting for lobster.

Thank you for your insight.