We know many of you are curious how to choose YOUR Hollis Buoyancy System, for the exciting new range, and the answer is surprisingly simple! What type of diver are you today?
It’s been said, assembling your own dive kit can be tricky, but we’ve always made that easy with our friendly advice, multi brand support and free assembly service for all products we ship, but with tons of components, varying dive styles and priorities that differ from diver to diver, it can be hard to sort through all of the options to find the right kit, and worse still if you listen to all the ‘informed voiced’ on social media you will end up in a real mess.
For years, Hollis has been synonymous with elite, superlative technical diving components and equipment, and we’ve been right there working with them, in fact we were Australia’s first Hollis dealer of the year. The team has spent time at the factory facilities, and our service team is factory trained. We update annually at the DEMA conference in the USA.
The combinations are nearly endless, but in all of the swirl, it can be frustrating, because each diver’s needs are unique. As such, there’s no such thing as the “best” setup—only the setup that is best for you.
That’s why we built the Systems: to allow you to access our deep bench of elite components, but without all the guesswork.
Thus far, the response (and demand) has been incredible! And with the general dive community’s anticipation growing in reaction to our new buoyancy Systems, we thought it was high time to review the details of how best to find the right setup for you.
CHOOSING A HOLLIS BUOYANCY SYSTEM
Great For: Single-tank Divers, Streamlining, Decluttering, Minimalists, Warm water (ST Travel), Cool Water (ST System)
We designed the ST System for minimalist-minded divers who prioritize streamlining their kit, for the ultimate in traditional simplicity. So if you’re concerned about unnecessary bulk and pieces of equipment failing, the ST eliminates those factors.
The foundation for the ST system starts with our new backplate 2.0 with geometry and material choices tailored to your style of diving. We then added our continuous-weave solo harness. It has no buckles that can fail, and no extra parts that you don’t need. An ultra-streamlined single-tank ST Wing rounds out the system with a perfect balance of horizontal trim and surface floatation. It’s all one simple, ultra-rugged design made for technical dive utility.
The ST comes pre-assembled from the Hollis factory and includes unique components depending on your desired configuration. For warm water and travel destinations we have the ST Travel System, which includes the Aluminum backplate 2.0, Delrin cam bands and the Backplate backpad 2.0.
Or those diving in colder waters can choose the standard ST System, which includes the ST35 wing, Stainless Steel Backplate 2.0, Stainless steel cam bands and the Backplate backpad 2.0.
Great For: Single-tank Divers, Comfort and Stability, Full-featured Luxury, Warm water (ST Elite Travel), Cool Water (ST Elite)
Similar to the baseline ST, the ST Elite brings together our most popular single tank components into a single system. However, instead of the solo harness, we added our luxurious and adjustable Elite 2 harness, yielding a result similar to what you’d expect from a full-featured BCD.
So if you’re coming from the recreational world of single tank diving using a traditional BCD, this gives you that same harness style, but on a backplate for added stability. The ST Elite System also gives you a ton of options to customize depending on your diving style, in case it changes over time.
For warm water and travel destinations, we have the ST Elite Travel System, which includes the ultra streamlined ST22 wing, Aluminum backplate 2.0, Delrin cam bands and Backplate backpad 2.0.
And those diving in colder waters can choose the standard ST Elite, which includes a go anywhere ST35 wing, Stainless backplate 2.0, stainless cam bands and a backplate backpad 2.0.
Great For: Double-tank Divers, Simplicity, Minimalism, Decluttering, Cool Water
The DT System is minimal and simple, and designed for the rigorous demands of the discerning doubles diver. Made tough, it comes with all of the components for your backplate and wing kit in one, once again pre-assembled from the Hollis factory.
This Hollis buoyancy system starts with our new stainless steel backplate 2.0, with geometry and material choices tailored to your style of diving. We then added our continuous-weave solo harness. It has no buckles that can fail, and no extra parts that you don’t need.
Rounding out the DT system is our new DT50 doubles wing and, with a radical redesign, it’s ideal for various sized double cylinders and colder waters. The DT50 also promotes greater lift towards the divers hips for better horizontal trim.
Last but not least, it includes our new Backplate Backpad 2.0, which is designed to pivot out of the way when installing your kit on a set of doubles. Be sure to add a set of cam bands for the occasional single tank dive.
