Hollis Ride vs. BP/wing differences

[Nomihodai]

What are the significant differences between the two? Is the Ride a wing or a back-inflate? To my amateur eye, the Hollis Ride could be a donut wing with bungees, a Hollis Solo harness and backpad.


A BP/wing can be disassembled and parts can be upgraded in modular fashion. I suspect that since it can be disassembled the BP/wing can be packed flatter than the Ride.


I just purchased an Aeris Jetpack as a travel BCD for warm water and haven't used it yet but maybe I'll return it and go for a BP/wing setup instead, hence the questions.

 

[victorzamora]

The Ride is kind of a back-inflate BCD. It's also kind of a semi-modular soft-backplate BP/W. It dives very similarly to a BPW, but you don't have as much stability with it as a proper BPW.

As far as packing flat, they both pack VERY flat for travel. They pack "big" in 2D, but super flat otherwise. The Jetpack may be better in terms of packing for a trip, but not much better. As for disassembling the BPW for travel....I don't know anybody that does that. I certainly don't. I'm not saying you shouldn't, but packing it disassembled isn't that much smaller than packing it assembled. You might end up pulling the wing off and tucking it in the side towards your back for packing.

My wife has an Aeris Ex Lite, which is similar to the Jetpack without the backpack aspect of it. She likes it, but has put a crotch strap on it. She (begrudgingly) likes the BPW I built for her better. If you have a chance to switch it out, I'd suggest it....but that's because it's my personal preference to do so.

 

[Agility]

The Hollis Ride is a back inflate BCD by definition but it feels like a BPW setup. I have dived mine with single tanks and with doubles. The only reason I own a SS backplate is that I like to dive without weight pockets and a weight belt will not stay where it belongs . The Ride is great for travel by plane.

 

[DM_cappie]

I have a Hollis BP+W, and a Hollis RIDE.

Just to add a little to what Victor and Agility have already said.

The wing of the RIDE is not modular. It is attached to the softplate. To put it simply think about a regular donut wing, increase the width of the
wing itself, and stiffen the inner material. That would be the core of the RIDE’s wing/softplate combo.
The harness, while it looks just like the SOLO harness, isn’t. There are two separate straps, one for the right side and one for the left side. The solo harness is one continuous piece.

I found this out the hard way, I had ordered my BP+W and RIDE bcd at the same time, planning on switching the solo harness of the Ride out for the Elite 2 harness of the backplate. Only when I had it in hand did I realize this wouldn’t work. I was able to put the Elite harness on the RIDE, but ended up using the hardware from the RIDE’s original harness to make a Hog style harness for my BP.

 

[Nomihodai]

Thanks to everyone for your replies! They've been very helpful wrapping my head around this stuff!

I'm a warm water travel diver so my having consistent gear that's not too heavy are my priorities. The physics and stability of a bp+w are appealing over a back-inflate. I guess the Ride is somewhere midway between a back-inflate and a bp+w setup? Seems like the Ride would be pretty similar to a soft plate bp+w setup I'd prefer, definitely more so than the Aeris Jetpack.


Like Agility I prefer to dive without weight pockets but how much of the physics of a bp+w is compromised by sticking to a weight belt? I usually strap on about 7 lbs with a 3mm full suit and a regular jacket BC so it's likely I'll need less weight with a Ride or bp+w? Should I aim to put the bulk of the weight with the BC?

 

[Agility]

so it's likely I'll need less weight with a Ride or bp+w?

That depends on the BP
A soft-BP + wing will likely require more lead to sink than a Ride with the padding removed.
An Al or SS BP will definitely require less.

 

[DM_cappie]

The way I have my SS BP set up it is 7 lbs negative. so in your example, you would need no extra lead when diving just a 3mm wetsuit. however when diving the RIDE you would need to add that lead either through a weight belt or integrated weights.

As far as the ride goes I've tried two different methods, first I tried using the integrated weight system from Hollis. it worked fine, but I felt like I lost the comfort and balance I was used to having from my BP. my second outing with the rig I removed the integrated weights and wove lead into the harness itself. this settup matched my BP+W almost perfectly. There were some suttle differences that I only noticed on the surface but that was mainly due to the loss of the SS plate.

I do like the Ride BCD alot, however its still not a true BP, or softplate for that matter. the biggest drawback for me was the wing, it has no internal bladder you can replace if you find a leak, and since the wing is incorporated/attached to the softplate you cant ever replace the wing without buying a completely new BCD. and for that reason it sits in my dive locker as a backup/rental BC for myself and friends.

The Hollis HTS 2 is a true softplate and allows users to change out wings for whatever size/shape they desire.That rig would offer you the weight characteristics of the Ride, with the modular characteristics of a BP+W. in my mind its closer to the halfway point of BP+W meats Back-inflate BCD, with the Ride being more centered in the travel BCD range.

 

[ams511]

I do like the Ride BCD alot, however its still not a true BP, or softplate for that matter. the biggest drawback for me was the wing, it has no internal bladder you can replace if you find a leak, and since the wing is incorporated/attached to the softplate you cant ever replace the wing without buying a completely new BCD. and for that reason it sits in my dive locker as a backup/rental BC for myself and friends.

Not all wings have internal bladders. Apeks comes to mind as well as the bladder used on Zeagle's Express Tech. Most BC's whether jacket or back inflate use single bladder wings so the design is well proven. I would not recommend using a single bladder wing for technical dives but for recreational diving I don't see a problem.

---------- Post added April 2nd, 2014 at 07:00 PM ----------

I don't know anybody that does that. I certainly don't. I'm not saying you shouldn't, but packing it disassembled isn't that much smaller than packing it assembled. You might end up pulling the wing off and tucking it in the side towards your back for packing.

You should disassemble a BP/W for cleaning, storage, and transport. Tobin from DSS has mentioned in his experience that most wing punctures are caused by "pinch flats" when something heavy and hard (ex. a plate) hits the wing. That is why DSS wings disassemble easy for travel and storage.

---------- Post added April 2nd, 2014 at 07:11 PM ----------

What are the significant differences between the two? Is the Ride a wing or a back-inflate? To my amateur eye, the Hollis Ride could be a donut wing with bungees, a Hollis Solo harness and backpad. A BP/wing can be disassembled and parts can be upgraded in modular fashion. I suspect that since it can be disassembled the BP/wing can be packed flatter than the Ride.

As mentioned, a back inflate will dive similarly to a BP/W although the tank is not as stable. On of the advantages of a BP/W is that it is modular. You can use a steel plate, aluminium plate, or even a fabric plate if you want. With a Ride you are limited to a fabric plate. All wings do not pack down equally, some wings are very stiff and bulky to pack. some are very flexible. Some require a single tank adapter and others don't.