@Octopusprime
I've been at this game for a while, not as long as some, but longer than most. I've tried to stay unbiased and reasonable without getting heated, but you are clearly trying to get us to validate your choice to spend money on the Hollis, and I can't in good conscience do that, so I won't.
here's my issues with Hollis, this is nothing new, and it is nothing that can't be validated by many people. Call up Cave Adventurers, ask to speak to Edd or John and get their opinion on why they are the largest Hollis dealer in the world for their sidemount rigs but almost never sell a single one of their regulators in favor of HOG, Dive Rite, and now Deep6. I can guarantee you it isn't because the margin is better, they'd make a boatload more money if they sold Hollis regulators instead of the ones above
- horrifically overpriced for what they are *read knock offs of Apeks and there are others that can be bought at half the cost*
- no customer service so to speak *until you get to Nick personally which is ridiculous*
- refusal to sell parts to customers
Those are facts, not opinions.
My issue with the price is that it is $1400+ for Hollis. Not that it is $1400. I will spend money on quality products if I have to, but I damn well better be getting everything that I expect from something that costs that much. You asked about lighter second stages, and the Xstream is one of the lightest on the market. You claim it is $300 more, but it isn't. It's actually the same price as the LX200 set. The Poseidon Xstream sidemount set on DGX is $1489 with both inflator hoses, elbows, and all braided hoses. Only $80 more than the Hollis but comes with both LPI's *$40*, and angle adapters *$30*, so basically the same price when all is said and done.
With that you get the following vs. the Hollis set from DRiS.
- Military grade quality control-the QC from Poseidon on their regulators is incredible. It is one of the only regulators in the world qualified for deep, cold, military diving by the Norsok test and it is also qualified for US Navy diving. Hollis can claim neither.
- Same price so you're paying for a top of the line regulator, but you're at least getting one, so at that price point, it represents a much better value.
- Customer service in the US is fantastic now that Poseidon USA has been established. Parts are available *not something Hollis can say*, they ship quickly, and if there's any issues, James and his team are going to bend over backwards to make it right.
- Ability to take the service course as an end user and purchase whatever parts are necessary to service your regs regardless of affiliation with a shop.
You can ask many on here that while it is known that I am a HUGE Poseidon lover and that I own well over a dozen of their regulators, I very rarely recommend them because there are regulators at significantly lower price points that are better for most divers. It came up here solely because of the second stage weight.
With all that above, yeah, I have an issue with Hollis regulators because they are overpriced for what they are, and I have an issue with the company as a whole which is part of why it almost went bankrupt and had to get sold to prevent it from getting there. That is nothing new, and they have yet to disprove me in the near decade I've been diving. I was given a Hollis Katana and I feel it is the best sidemount rig on the market, outside of that, they had some nifty computers prior to the acquisition, but the only product they sell that I could ever recommend is the Katana. Everything else they have has competition that is better performing and lower cost, so you get nothing by having the red H on your gear except a lighter wallet.
There is literally nothing that you can factually state that would ever make the Hollis regulators a good value. You can throw literally anything you want at me and I can flat out guarantee that unless it has something to do with "I like it", or "my shop likes them", both of which are valid reasons to purchase something as long as you understand that you did it based on an emotional variable vs. a factual one, that I can shoot it down with another option that is either better at that price point *did it with the Poseidon Xstream set above*, or better performing and significantly lower cost *did it with the Deep6*.
On your jaw problems and why you are concerned about second stage weight. What hose configuration do you currently use in your singles setups? If you are not using a setup with the hose behind your neck, i.e. 5' or 7' primary, that configuration will more than likely solve any issues you are having because the regulator is supported by your neck. Part of why I no longer dive any single tank configurations with a short hose.
