twin or pony?

[scapaman]

hi its me again.
i`ve been diving for a few years i claim to be the most experenced diver in the world but i`m not to bad for a fat bloke.
as the title say twin or pony? i currently dive with a pony but i`ve been looking at getting a 12lt twin,but still unsure and it will cost a fair bit so i would like some advice pls. pro`s and the cons from you nice ( but strange people ) thanks......

[thehappychappy]

Im new to this but here is my answer.

Get the right tool for the job.

Do you need that much gas for your dives?

Can you carry twin Cylinders (I moved to them and f*ck me they are bloody heavy!, I have a sore back for a day after every dive now).

Can you accomodate twin's with your existing BCD / WING? (I couldnt had to buy a new setup)
Can you get your twins where you need them? Shore dives? (eek they are heavy!)
Can you fit them in your car / RHIB? (yes just! However I have a single tank adapator for my wing, just in case)


A ponys real purpose is to provide you a fully independant bail out air supply, if something goes wrong when your diving you can use the pony to abort the dive, providing 3 litres at 232 bar of whatever mix you have in it is useable at the depth your at and will last long enough to get you through safety stops / deco stops (although if your doing deco dives you probably shouldnt be doing them with a pony as your only alternative supply, however its better than not having anything!)

IMO and its not that educated you should only really go onto twins when you need that much gas to do the dive.

Ive seen people say that the advatage over a pony is worthwhile as with a pony you have everything the same as indipendant twins apart from the volume of gas so you may as well have the larger volume for the same task loading.

For info I went to twins after I dived with a pony for a while as I am moving to deeper diving and mixed gas diving although after last weekend I may have changed my mind.


Getting a pony can be a good first step as you could then use it to hold a richer mix gas and use it for accelerating deco when you do move to twins.

There is something to be said for just having fun in a shallow relaxing bimble.

[DIVE BUDDHA]

yes me too mate !

i have found that after a few years of diving a twin set is beconing and yes

the cost is large if ya buy new althgough ive noticed there is plenty of good

quality second hand stuff knocking about just a case of looking !

anyway good luck with whatever you decide and safe diving

[frosty the snowman]

They're really for two different sorts of diving and you have to be very sure sure of what you want to do. I have both and use whatever is suitable for the dive I want to do. I should say that for many years I just used a single cylinder, then got a pony when they started to come onto the market and have had years of safe enjoyable diving with that setup. Without knowing what diving you've done and what you want to do it's impossible to give a definitive answer but in an average club diving situation, I've honestly never felt a single and pony restricted my diving.

[sexydivebuddy]

[scapaman]

i do a fair bit of sea diving and hoping to do a bit more feed up with stoney and capernwray. (not that there is anything wrong with them , it`s just that i`ve out grown them.) i don`t have a wing but can borrow the kit but i need to get my own.but thanks for the advice will take on board the info.
and to all you lot going to farnes (seahouses) i`ll be the goodlooking one so i`ll not be hard to find. cheers..........

[Mark Chase]

I dived single and pony then mooved on to a twin set. The twin set offeres a better safety package with comfort and trim adavantages so now I have baught twin 7ltr tanks and a small wing for the single tank dives.

14ltrs over two cylinders offeres me enough redundancy to perform the sort of dive i used to do with a singel 12 and pony. Its not that much heavier as a set up and its much nicer to dive.

The down side is when i dived a pony id put 36% in the pony and dive what
ever as back gas. This sped up getting out if needs be.

ATB

Mark Chase

[chrisch]

It depends on what you want to do. Stay shallow - single tank is fine, go deep you need twins. In the middle bit you might want a pony if you don't trust your buddy and think your regs might shit out.

I'm lucky and have a regular buddy that I trust. (The missus).

Chris

[Digger]

Originally Posted by chrisch

I'm lucky and have a regular buddy that I trust. (The missus).
Chris

And who will benefit from your death When I say benefit, I mean financially, obviously she'd miss you a bit at first.

[Wacker]

Originally Posted by scapaman

i currently dive with a pony but i`ve been looking at getting a 12lt twin,but still unsure .....

Do you want them as a fashion statement or do you need them?
It all deepends on the type of diving yor intending to do, lots of people go to twins coz they think they are cool and trendy then find that they are not quite what they expected.
I would say that anybody who needs twins knows they need them! if you are unsure then I would stick with your pony untill your diving demands a twin set.
This might sound elitist but its just what I see happening quite often.