Zeagle Express Tech vs. Hollis Ride Wing

[HJ]

Hello,

It's time for a 2nd BCD - I'm a recreational diver and at times I will wear up to 7mm but not dry suit (though that might happen at some point).

Currently I have Zeagle Lazer and what I realized from various diving trips is that it is easier to unbuckle weight belt and hand it to the boat rather than try to climb up weighed down or pass the whole BCD to the boat, especially if you're diving from a boat that doesn't have a very good ladder (or no ladder) or the sea is rough.

So what I'm looking for is a very light weight back inflate BCD for travel. It's never going to do tech diving. It needs to accommodate different wetsuit thickness.

Based on this I'm looking at Zeagle Express Tech or Hollis Ride Wing. They seem similar other than crotch strap and Hollis Ride Wing seems slightly lighter and is a bit cheaper.

Any feedback would be great! Thanks.

 

[runsongas]

need to make sure they give you enough lift. with a 7mm and hooded vest, my zeagle express tech wasn't quite enough lift deeper than 100ft. i was running 22 pounds of ballast and a single hp100.

 

[BoltSnap]

The Hollis Ride has an option for 37lb wing but the question is the Ride still available from Hollis? You need to verify if it still is available first.

 

[triode12]

I own the Hollis Ride (37lb) version. The crotch straps gets in the way of removing the weight belt easily, although you can get around this if you add the optional Hollis Quick release weight pockets on the front of the unit (at an extra cost). The good thing about the Ride is that it can be configured to take doubles easily.

While it is a great BC, if I was starting out from scratch, it would be the Zeagle Tech as you have options to configure it with the Ripcord weight system. You can use and pass up the yellow mesh weight pouches (extra cost) to the boat hands. I also own the Zeagle Ranger BC, with the Ripcord system, you will not lose the yellow weight pouches like you would with the QR systems that most other manufacturers use esp if you fail to clip in the pouches correctly.

 

[Kairoos]

I have a Zeagle Express Tech with the 24# bladder (all I need) and I absolutely love it. I've added a bunch of d-rings to it, a crotch strap (there's a mounting point made for the crotch strap) and changed the waist buckle to a weight belt style buckle, which stays much better than what it comes with it.

The Express Tech can take Zeagle's 30# donut bladder and I'm pretty sure it can also take Zeagle's 34# horseshoe bladder. You can probably get a shop to order you it with the bladder you want.

 

[Johanan]

Does Zeagle still make the original Expres Tech? I would buy one.

 

[Kairoos]

Does Zeagle still make the original Expres Tech? I would buy one.

No, just the deluxe. The deluxe parts should come off very easily. I have the deluxe (because that's what was available) and I don't mind all the padding. It's nice for shore dives when there's a long walk, and in the water it doesn't matter.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba.]

The Hollis Ride was discontinued over a year ago. The new light weight version is:
http://www.diverightinscuba.com/l-t-s-light-travel-system.html

The Express tech is also discontinued around the same time and they only now have the Deluxe version:
http://www.diverightinscuba.com/techequipmentbackplatesandpads-zeagle-expresstechdeluxe-p-2485.html

Both are very similar, and you can't make a bad decision between the 2. They are both very minimal and light weight....hard to really pick off too many differences without getting nitty gritty like tank band locations, rip cord weight release vs. independent pull, color....very similar and both great choices.

One difference is that the Express tech is one size its all, while the Hollis is size specific.

 

[claymore]

The Express Tech can de ordered with several size wings, 24#, 35ish#, 44#. You can also buy just the back plate and add a wing, webbing, D rings, triglides ect. as needed. Piecing it together would probably be more expensive than ordering the Deluxe with a different wing. All the padding can be easily removed and the deluxe webbing replaced with 2 pieces of webbing and a buckle.

The ET does feel much more secure with a crotch strap.

 

[The Chairman]

I love the Express Tech. I love the Dive Rite Hunter Pack, which is what I'm currently diving. I'm not familiar with the Hollis product so I can't comment on it. The sliding webbing feature is the best solution/feature put on BCs in recent memory.