Maggie, I've been beaten to death on the pony bottle issue, but I still
maintain Cobb's Axiom As Pertaining To Pony Bottles:

IF you are doing diving where:
-you think that you need a pony, then what you really need are doubles.
-you don't think you need doubles, then you don't need a pony.

But now that I have kids I understand the psychological benefits of a
"blankey" i.e. pony, and I see that new divers feel better if they have
their "blankey" down there with them. So if you must have your blankey, then
at least rig it as a stage and clip it off to your lower D-ring for God's
sake and don't hang it off your back like some sort of goddam hunchback of
Notre Dame.

"a bunch of embolized, panicked newbies flailing around on the surface far
away from the boat."

Sounds like a typical summer weekend down here on one of the local cattle
boats. The funny thing is, half of this crowd is usually wearing ponys.

   Jim
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
 Learn About Trimix at http://www.cisatlantic.com/trimix/

> From: Maggie Owens <mmowens@pa*.co*>
> Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 21:22:35 -0400 (EDT)
> To: Jim Cobb <cobber@ci*.co*>
> Cc: Jim Cobb <cobber@ma*.ci*.co*>, Cam Banks <cam@ca*.co*>,
> Techdiver Mailing List <techdiver@aquanaut.com>
> Subject: Re: Dual OMS 45's
> 
> Well, Jim, it sounds like we pretty much agree here. Except for one
> thing...
> 
> If I was going to waste my money buying two tiny tanks to make into
> doubles, I would definitely go with the OMS 45's. With AL40's, I'd have to
> wear weight. And if I was going to break apart the set, the 45's would
> make good O2 bottles for cave diving. Or I could sell them to a stroke
> who wanted to use them for ocean deco. <g>
> 
> There is one other thing, come to think of it. Although I would not use a
> pony bottle again, I am not so sure that pony bottles are anything other
> than an evil necessity. Whether we like it or not, new divers are going to
> get into the water and hoover all the air out of their singles, dive solo,
> or fail to follow propper buddy procedures. With a pony bottle, they can
> at least have enough air to ascend at a reasonable rate and do a safety
> stop. Should something be done to teach them not to do this? Of course,
> but until there is some kind of radical change in the industry, they're
> better than a bunch of embolized, panicked newbies flailing around on the
> surface far away from the boat.
> 
> Maggie;
> 
> 


--
Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'.
Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.

Navigate by Author: [Previous] [Next] [Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject: [Previous] [Next] [Subject Search Index]

[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]

[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]