Differences between 500SE and Omega 3

[Kharon]

Someone PM'd me about the Hollis and asked for an opinion once I dove it. What follows is what I sent them:

Got a chance to dive the 500SE yesterday. Wow, WOW, WOW!!! Ok, first I got it for the side exhaust. I was happy with my Cressi XS2 and the way it breathed. Used it cold (low 40's) and used it deep (130') and it breathed easy. The 500SE doesn't breathe easy - it breathes so smooth it's not real. It's like there is NO cracking pressure. As soon as you start a breath you get air immediately. It's like breathing at the surface sitting on your couch. I don't think you could over-breathe it.

Also, the exhaust extending to the side balances the reg in your mouth. With the Cressi the hose was always twisting it somewhat so I had to grip the mouthpiece some. Not so the Hollis. It just sits in my mouth unnoticed. Some of that is from the mouthpiece. The grips are at the back so your molars naturally grip without any real pressure.

And, no bubbles. I actually had to stop and look for them. The side exhaust is totally great. All the bubbles go to the side and behind my vision. I have terrific peripherial vision and I had to conciously look for the bubbles.

I can't tell you how happy I am with this reg. I bought only the 500SE 2nd stage. I'm using it with a Cressi AC2 1st stage. It's an unbalanced piston type - which I like because they are simple, very reliable, bulletproof. I'm not sure there could be any improvement with the Hollis 1st stage but I could be wrong. Any improvement would have to be very small - not enough to move me from the unbalanced piston design.

In short - I'm happy, happy, happy.

Added for BurhanMuntasser: Yes it absolutely uses standard hoses/connectors.

 

[Zee Pet]

Silly question: Can you go inverted, look up, stand on your head, etc. without it flooding/free flowing like a normal reg? I tried to do that in one of my OW dives and quickly learned that its a bad idea with the regs we had......

 

[Kharon]

Silly question: Can you go inverted, look up, stand on your head, etc. without it flooding/free flowing like a normal reg? I tried to do that in one of my OW dives and quickly learned that its a bad idea with the regs we had......

That's funny because on my last trip to Bonaire I did all of that just to test my weighting and trim and never had anything but normal breating. And, I don't think it's because of model of reg. I was using a very inexpensive Cressi XS2 (first and second stage cost $150 together). My guess is that happens because of how the reg is tuned. I had to detune my octo (on my pony) slightly to prevent occasional freeflow.

 

[Zee Pet]

Cool. Well my regulator had positive pressure throughout the dive and it was only 15' so that might have been why it free flowed and flooded when i looked up. If i ever buy a second stage, i would love for it to be a side exhaust. How are they on maintenance, service is most likely limited where I live?

 

[Akimbo]

... How are they on maintenance, service is most likely limited where I live?

I literally went 27 years with some very hard diving and didn't do anything to my original Omega other than through rinsing and inspection. The mechanism is very simple yet elegant.