Hollis Vs Dive Rite?

[triminx145]

I am in the market for a new BCD.
Needs to be light (ish) OK for teaching Open Water students and assisting IDCs, good for side mount and able to take a light weight Tec rig (11lt alu twinset & 1 small deco). Currently looking at Hollis SMS100 and Dive Rite Nomad XT.
I do understand that these BCDs tend to be a bit "jack of all trades and master on none" but the work / travel situation that I currently find myself in, makes me think this is the way to go that best suits my needs right now.
They are similar prices, Hollis looks more cool but apart from that, I really can't decide.
Please help, especially if you think one would suit a slim female frame better (170cm tall 60Kgs approx).
Many thanks.

 

[DevonDiver]

D) None of the above.

(especially for tropical diving..)

 

[GillScales]

Standard AL BP/W , with the optional tech butt plate kit (for side mounting) from dive rite.
unlesss the shop you're teaching for wants you in their gear.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Zeagle Express Tech. Will fit just about anyone, rugged as hell, and easily customized.

 

[triminx145]

Thanks for those suggestions.
A friend has since drawn my attention to this very question, posed on Scuba board a couple of years ago. The thread was a very long and informative discussion.
I wonder by the few (and somewhat curt) responses here, if I upset folks by repeating the question. This wasn't my intention.

 

[DevonDiver]

I doubt anyone's upset

Hybrid backmount/sidemount rigs tend to be a dog's dinner - jack of all, master of none. Likely to be a very false economy. I personally think the SMS100 falls into that bracket. I've dived it maybe 20 times, and taught students who've brought it, and IMHO it's an irrevocable failure, especially for the tropics. Diving sidemount should bring about benefits of streamlining, minimized bulk and a 'sense of freedom' in the water. The SMS100 is like strapping a main battle tank to your back.

I'll say it again, hybrid back/side-mount rigs are a false economy. You just loose to much of the 'essence' of good sidemount...and inherit a low-performance back-inflate also. They're also a P.I.T.A. when it comes to travel. You can wrap up a dedicated sidemount rig into a laptop-sized shoulder bag. The hybrid stuff needs a team of porters to lug it around.

It's also worth being aware that certain rigs perform better (read: are designed for...) either cold-water (steel tanks) or warm water (aluminum tanks). The Nomad was certainly designed with cold-water diving in mind. There are far better warm-water rigs available: namely the Stealth 2.0 and Razor 2. Both tick all the boxes for flexibility, reduced bulk and exceptional in-water performance with aluminum cylinders. The UTD Z-Trim comes in a close third.

Then there's the Hollis SMS50... a tropical sidemount rig that (somehow) was designed for cold-water diving (steel tanks). It's an acceptable off-the-shelf option IF (big 'IF') you are prepared to research and make the necessary modifications... and are intimately familiar with techniques of warm-water sidemount, so that you can use if effectively.

 

[buddhasummer]

Thanks for those suggestions.
A friend has since drawn my attention to this very question, posed on Scuba board a couple of years ago. The thread was a very long and informative discussion.
I wonder by the few (and somewhat curt) responses here, if I upset folks by repeating the question. This wasn't my intention.[/QUOTE]

You're fine, no one's upset, it's easy to misread "tone". The number of times a question is repeated is very high and if people didn't ask the same questions we'd have nothing to talk about not to mention over time things change, design, features et etc. Good luck with your search.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I for some reason missed the sidemount requirement. I still stand by the Zeagle as a teaching rig. Hands down. But unless you mod it heavily like Netdoc did not for sidemount. For that the SMS 50 or the Dive Rite Nomad LT tech. I have the Dive Rite. I got rid of the ring bungees and added simple heavy bungee cord and I like it. Alot. Still have some.minor mods to do as I get experience but it's what I would use for traveling. True the razor is nice but for what is there the price seems nuts to me. I have actually waterjetted plates for people to make razor clones and they put the rig together for much less than half of the retail price. My DR was a good deal thanks to being an instructor and having a good relationship with another shop. The DR and the Zeagle could both fit in a decent backpack and you'd have two bc's that would do what they were designed for fairly well. And not break the bank doing it.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[triminx145]

Thanks everyone for your response. I'm really stalling on this problem.
The Zeagle looks good, not to big, not too bulky.
The Stealth looks like a really nice recreational BCD. Can it really be suitably modified to take sidemout?
The Razor 2 looks like a dedicated sidemount system. DevonDiver, are you suggesting that it's better to get these 2 BCDs for their separate purposes? Also I haven't found a retailer for any of these BCDs in Thailand
This problem is part budget, part availability, part travel weight and space, (I'm currently working as a freelance instructor so I need to carry kit between dive shops - my recreational BCD died a while back and I haven't needed to replace it till now). It does seem to me that both Nomad & SMS100 are a good idea in principle but the wings are oversized for tropical diving with alu tanks. Having said that there is a good chance that I would bring equipment back to the UK to dive with a drysuit and twinset. So one of these would save space and weight (compared to separate backplate, harness and wing) for working locally and traveling internationally.
I understand that they are far from perfect but they are available where I currently live.

 

[DevonDiver]

I'd definitely suggest a 'try before you buy' - especially to compare the characteristics in sidemount config. For travelling, I think you'd hate the SMS100. Especially when you saw how a Razor packed/transported. Same for the cold-water/warm-water characteristics.

I don't teach OW any more (all my courses/dives in sidemount only, except the odd backmount doubles), but if I was in your situation, I'd personally opt for a 'cheapo' BCD for OW classes and a decent sidemount for everything else (and travelling).

I wouldn't "settle" for something less than optimal just because of convenience of purchase in my local area. I've got similar problems to you with respect online purchases/shipping/taxes etc. That wouldn't lead to compromise and buy junk. I'd rather wait until an opportunity arises to buy something ideal - a trip to HK, a customer or friend flying in from the USA or Europe... or just balance a good online deal against the extra cost to import.

For what it's worth... I just made my own sidemount