Scubaforce or Hollis

[Thrutch]

As one of the few people on the forum that has had one, I would discourage the blade. There’s a reason it’s often discounted.

Manufacturing quality questionable
The top dump is exposed
The way the dumps and inflator elbow joins with the wing cover meant two of my three dumps had issues or are liable to poke through (SF replaced them, the seal of the flanges depended on the poorly made wing cover)
There is no baffle in the wing so it balloons and the lift bubble is too high
Installation of loop bungees (as per the setup guide) mean the length of the bungees change when the wing is inflated
Weight “plate” or weight pockets do not let the weight sit in the center
Inflator parts aren’t compatible with the OEM inflator most others use
Harness plates aren’t shaped well
The way the dumps pull out of the OPV if you’re running it over your shoulder makes it more like to fray.

If it was the only SM wing I could buy I would make my own using an MSR bag, but hey maybe Horst improved it

Yikes. Good to know.

 

[Alexander Nygaard]

As one of the few people on the forum that has had one, I would discourage the blade. There’s a reason it’s often discounted.

Manufacturing quality questionable
The top dump is exposed
The way the dumps and inflator elbow joins with the wing cover meant two of my three dumps had issues or are liable to poke through (SF replaced them, the seal of the flanges depended on the poorly made wing cover)
There is no baffle in the wing so it balloons and the lift bubble is too high
Installation of loop bungees (as per the setup guide) mean the length of the bungees change when the wing is inflated
Weight “plate” or weight pockets do not let the weight sit in the center
Inflator parts aren’t compatible with the OEM inflator most others use
Harness plates aren’t shaped well
The way the dumps pull out of the OPV if you’re running it over your shoulder makes it more like to fray.

If it was the only SM wing I could buy I would make my own using an MSR bag, but hey maybe Horst improved it

Thanks for the answer. That doesn't sound to promising!
What SM wing do you use?

 

[Alexander Nygaard]

If that’s a major factor in your decision that’s an issue. Nothing in diving is cheap. You try to be a cheap and you’ll end up either buying something else eventually or you’re going to look like half the people diving ow sm with your tanks below your knees and a beach ball on your back.

It's not the biggest factor, but ofc, it means something. If I could get a good deal on a great wing, I would definitely do that, instead of just spend my money without any thoughts

 

[grantctobin]

Thanks for the answer. That doesn't sound to promising!
What SM wing do you use?

I have a Katana2 and a homemade one with a DECO bladder.

While paying retail hurts, the K2, Razor, XDeep Rec with tec harness (I don’t believe most people need a Tec, but the Tec is an alternative) are hard to go wrong with. I haven’t put the Nomad Ray or the Nomad LS on the list as I haven’t dived them and they’re harder to find in the EU.

The choice amongst the above has more to do with who is teaching you your class and why you’re using sidemount. Someone that hasn’t ever setup a Razor is probably not the person you should learn Razor SM from.

 

[Alexander Nygaard]

Hello,

The inflator hose on the Scubaforce is quite long. I would have to replace it. The knob on the right dumb valve tends to get caught under the tank. The loop bungee is harder to adjust than on a xdeep. I was so at least on the one I saw (may have been configured incorrectly). The bladder comes quite far forward. This is also a problem with the xdeep tec. So if you're thin, you won't have much room for D-rings.

Best wishes Jens

Thanks for the answer.

 

[Alexander Nygaard]

I have a Katana2 and a homemade one with a DECO bladder.

While paying retail hurts, the K2, Razor, XDeep Rec with tec harness (I don’t believe most people need a Tec, but the Tec is an alternative) are hard to go wrong with. I haven’t put the Nomad Ray or the Nomad LS on the list as I haven’t dived them and they’re harder to find in the EU.

The choice amongst the above has more to do with who is teaching you your class and why you’re using sidemount. Someone that hasn’t ever setup a Razor is probably not the person you should learn Razor SM from.

I'm probably going to by the xdeep tech

 

[grantctobin]

I'm probably going to by the xdeep tech

You do you

 

[lostsheep]

If that’s a major factor in your decision that’s an issue. Nothing in diving is cheap. You try to be a cheap and you’ll end up either buying something else eventually or you’re going to look like half the people diving ow sm with your tanks below your knees and a beach ball on your back.

Throwing money at the problem will almost certainly get you where you want to be faster but we shouldn’t be discouraging people who are on a budget.

I’m doing better now but I’ve had to do a lot of hustling , trading, classified watching, fabrication , and good old fashion mistake making in the past.

If the option is learn the poor way vs not learning, I’ll take the poor way everytime.

 

[rddvet]

Throwing money at the problem will almost certainly get you where you want to be faster but we shouldn’t be discouraging people who are on a budget.

I’m doing better now but I’ve had to do a lot of hustling , trading, classified watching, fabrication , and good old fashion mistake making in the past.

If the option is learn the poor way vs not learning, I’ll take the poor way everytime.

I'm not discouraging. Sounds like he's just basing his decision on what people here respond with and price. At the end of the day, all of us with years of exeperience have bought the wrong thing and paid twice. When I see people trying to save money on dive gear by placing cost as a major factor, it makes no sense to me because we spend $1000s on diving. So trying to save a couple hundred dollars and ending up with inferior gear makes no sense.
If you'd rather "learn the poor way" that's fine for you. I look at that as a waste. If I want to do something I'm going to do it the right way in order to not have to buy more stuff further down the line or have to constantly tweak a piece of gear if its not right.
I'll always go out of my way to find what I want cheaper if I can. But I'm not going to select my gear with price as a major deciding factor. Done that, not worth spending money twice. If the OP likes the cheaper option cause it works for him, that's great. But the decision should be based on how the gear works for him not that it was cheaper. I'm in no way saying pricier=better. I'm saying buy once cry once, but I try to avoid saying it since its about as annoying as "a gear solution to a skills problem."

 

[lostsheep]

We are mostly in violent agreement except I didn’t say I’d RATHER learn the poor way.

I don’t spend money I don’t have.