Pony Bottles

[LKunze]

Man, you were digging Joe.  An almost 5 year old post!  FWIW, since I started this thread I should follow-up and say that while I never did invest in my own pony bottle setup while I dived singles I did get to borrow a pony setup on a couple occasions to try out.  It seemed to trim out fine and wasn't overly bulky.  I had the chance to use a 30 cubic foot tank slung like a deco bottle.  I think the pony does have it's place for single tank diving particularly in our local dive conditions.  I've seen them used in real situations, passed off to other divers that did not have them during a freeflow, etc.  It's a good system although those that have them should really practice with them.  It's not just another piece of gear that you clip off and can forget about until s**t hits the fan. Learning to unclip them, reclip them, deployment, restowing underwater etc. is key.  In the end I ended up just going to double 85's for all of my diving around here which eliminates needing a pony.  I have noticed more and more local divers diving pony rigs now though.  I think some shops do actually require pony's for their PADI deep diver specialty classes.  Not a requirement per PADI but just a shop requirement.