Hollis Tec gear question

Hello, I am new to diving but am looking to purchace basci tec gear for future endeavors. I am a Undergrad student currently studying population dynamics in humback whale populations, and will be doing coral reef research in a couple years, so i wanted to get gear that was in line with scientific diving. Now some people on this forum have been very helpful in pointing me to the back plate wing desgin. So I wanted to ask you tec divers if what i was looking to buy is good or can i get away with something good just cheaper (diffrent brand name, not trying to skimp on quality). I am looking to purchace Hollis Elite back plate for 130.00; Hollis x37 wing for 175.00 (I am 155 pounds, is a 37 lb lift capacity bladder is that to much or not enough for me?) Scuba Pro G250V with MK 25 for 600.00; and am still looking for gauges and a secondary reg. (if you have input on a reg set up that i can get for les that would be great, i have a certain amount and the remainder i would like to put towards my Advanced Open water and Search and recovery diver certs, if possible).

You can do well with very similar gear that is more competitively priced - take a look at the Hog gear, for instance.

With regards to what you're looking at, it would be good to know what you hope to do with your equipment. Not being a scientific diver myself, it's hard to say that what you're looking at will be sufficient for that, but you mention AOW and S&R certifications - which are non-technical certifications. Are you looking at doing dives that require diving single tank or double tank setups? It might be helpful to know a little more about how you intend to use the equipment so that we can make some specific recommendations.

I am currently free diving in Hawaii taking fluke ID photos of humpback whales, when i graduate I am trying to get into shark research, which i know is not easy to do, but i have my goal. I am looking for something that is versatile for a broad spectrum of diving. I am trying to get into coral reef research, which may include just simple monitoring, transects, coral farming, etc. eventually i would like to work for a shark research position. so I wanted something that will work for my current rec diving, but will also work a year or two down the road when i move into the science side of diving. trying to stay away from buying new gear in a year or two

mathauck0814:

You can do well with very similar gear that is more competitively priced - take a look at the Hog gear, for instance.

With regards to what you're looking at, it would be good to know what you hope to do with your equipment. Not being a scientific diver myself, it's hard to say that what you're looking at will be sufficient for that, but you mention AOW and S&R certifications - which are non-technical certifications. Are you looking at doing dives that require diving single tank or double tank setups? It might be helpful to know a little more about how you intend to use the equipment so that we can make some specific recommendations.

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---------- Post Merged at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:00 PM ----------

Also maybe something that can convert to two tanks, attach a sidemount etc, if possible. and i am a college student so im on a budget, but i also want to get gear that is durable and going to keep me alive.

Hollis is overpriced. Purchased a hog backplate on amazon, a dive rite basic harness, scuba pro single tank adapter, and a Hollis wing. I am an instructor so I bought stuff where I could get it cheaper. Find a hog or diverite dealer and get them to price out a whole backplate wing setup.

weitodive:

Hollis is overpriced. Purchased a hog backplate on amazon, a dive rite basic harness, scuba pro single tank adapter, and a Hollis wing. I am an instructor so I bought stuff where I could get it cheaper. Find a hog or diverite dealer and get them to price out a whole backplate wing setup.

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Jim Lapenta can probably package something up for you - he's a HOG dealer.

Failing that, check out Randy's site at Piranha Dive Mfg. - you can package this stuff there.

Get a hold of Jim Lapenta on this board. He's a Hog dealer, but more important, he is knowledgeable and will not do you wrong. Check with him first before you order from somewhere on line.

---------- Post Merged at 11:40 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:37 PM ----------

Maybe I should refresh more often... What mathauck0814 said...

Hey thanks everyone, i really appreciate the help.

TigerDiver8:

(I am 155 pounds, is a 37 lb lift capacity bladder is that to much or not enough for me?)

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I don't think anyone touched on this part of your question. For the most part, people are pretty much neutral in the water, so your weight / size is irrelvant for the wing selection. What matters is everything else that you dive with - how much gear you are carrying to some extent, but mostly what exposure protection you are wearing, and what type and number of tanks. Your BC needs to be able to float everything on the surface obviosly, but also be able to bring you up from your deepest depth.

The question can't be answered without understanding where you will be diving, and how.

For instance - in the tropics you tend to not need much exposure protection, and will dive wet, generally also with Ali tanks. As there's not much neoprene, you don't need as much weight to get down. There's also less of a buoyancy swing, as neoprene compresses at depth, and loses it's buoyancy. So you need a smaller wing to offset that. You might see wings from 18# to 25# being used in warm water.

Where I dive, it's colder, so more neoprene (if wet) so more weight, more of a buoyancy swing, so I use a 32# wing here.

If you look at the HOG range, they have 4 wings - a 23# "warm water" singles wing, a 32# singles wing, a 35# Doubles wing designed for Ali tanks, and a 50# doubles wing designed for heavy double steels. Hollis make some incredibly large wings, I really don't understand who they are targetted at.

There' actually a really good excel calculator on this board -> http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...ems/158370-ultimate-wing-lift-calculator.html

There's also the concept of the "balanced rig", which basically means that at any time, if your wing fails, you need to be able to ditch enough weight to get back up to the surface. This might not be possible if diving heavy steel cylinders, in a wetsuit, at depth. But that's a whole other topic

I feel your pains, your student pains that is. For a regulator, I would keep my eyes on the scubaboard marketplace. A used regulator is as good as a new one, just get it serviced. I suppose that the scientific diving you are doing does not require you to carry a bunch of extraneous stuff like I used to so a simple webbing would be the cheapest for you. HOG is really good quality from what I have experienced and the price is real low, thats what I would go with if I was still a starving student and looking to buy new.

I was going to purchase a hog wing but I was ended up buying a Hollis s25 for 200 bucks after scubatoys price matched for me. I love it!