Imagine you are in the middle of a dive 30m below and are so engrossed in the surroundings that you have neglected to check your air frequently. You finally glance at your air pressure gauge and realize you have run out of air. Your buddy is nearby, his back turned to you, busy lining up his camera at an anemone. Too engrossed and not near enough for you to signal that you are out of air. You know you don’t have enough air to surface, and performing an emergency ascent at this depth would be risky. Even if you did manage to signal your buddy for air, the chances are that they, too, would be low on air. And with two of you using the air, the tank would run out fairly quickly.
However, if you run out of air and have a pony bottle, you do not need to worry about immediately getting your dive buddy’s attention and attaching yourself to his air supply. You switch to your pony bottle and are self-sufficient as you ascend to the surface. Pony bottles are a great way to be self-reliant and prepared for eventualities rather than rely on someone else in case of an emergency.
Pony bottles are also invaluable redundancy air tools when performing deep dives. Many dive operators will suspend a drop tank for deep dives at 3-5m (10-15ft). However, many may not, and even if they do, you have to locate your drop tank to use it at your safety stop. Sometimes, you aren’t near the dive boat when you run out of air. This is another situation where a pony tank will help you successfully perform your safety stop.
While you get spare air tanks that attach a mount on your back beside your primary air tank, it’s best to get one that can clip under your arm instead of a tank mount. This way, it doesn’t add drag and gives you excellent access to the valve and regulator. This allows you to hand it over to your buddy should he be out of the air. These days, pony bottles are compact and easy to use, and they have sophisticated compact regulators.
H2Odyessy sells excellent pony bottle kits that can easily be used on any tank of any size. The H2Odyssey Extra Air Source Station Kit Package comes with a six cu.ft Tank, Balanced 1st Stage, with Station Kit, Pressure Gauge, and EAS Bag. It allows divers to attach the pony easily to their BCDs. The tank is easy to fill, and one can even fill the tank off your primary tank with the help of easy air-fill adapters. The 6-cu.ft pony bottle weighs just 4 pounds and is as large as a water bottle. Divers can opt for a more significant 13 cu.ft tank that is 13 inches long and provides twice as much air as the six cu.ft. One.
