A trip report on how much tweaking the Hollis needs to use would be much appreciated. I am trying to figure out if the shop I am working through should stock them, or whether we should just help people home brew.
With about 20 +/- dives on the Hollis now, perhaps I can comment on what I like/don't like, and have tweaked.
- I like the donut wing. I dive the single bladder SMS100 (however, dive buddies with dual bladders just keep the 2nd inflator tucked under the right shoulder loop, and a 2nd 9" inflator hose on the right bottle 1st stage). I keep a 50lb. lift bag (and spreel) clipped off on the rear crotch strap d-ring, for buoyancy redundancy.
- The Hollis definitely runs a bit large (I'm 5'9", 34" waist, 185lbs. wide shoulders, narrow hips, and I'm in a SM/MD -- fits perfectly).
- The dual bungees (as opposed to single continuous that some like, across the back) are pretty serious, and I like having two. Clipped to the top back d-ring, and upper shoulder d-ring, they keep the tanks tucked in nice and tight. No changes there.
- I haven't yet switched the inflator to the bottom dump (jury's still out on that for me), however, as is, the bottom left dump (it's on the right bottom in the dual bladder) is very accessible. Haven't had *any* issues dumping, and I'm using the bottom dump *much* more often than with my single rig (getting used to more micro-buoyancy adjustments with a more negative profile with the dual steels). I'm sure with time, that'll minimize.
- All attach points are good and solid. I added two d-rings to either side of the waist strap. It came with the 2" tri-glides already mounted, but not the rings themselves. I can see using these with more floaty tanks, like AL80's, towards the end of the dive.
- The rig comes with nylon parachute cord for the backup valve snap-bolt connections. I added 1" webbing w/ 1" tri-glides around the tank necks, connected to the included snap-bolts with the parachute cord.
- The door handles on the butt plate are nice and wide. However, for me, they're a bit tough to reach when doing bottle detach/attach in-water. I'm going to add different handles with a 90 degree outward reach. As an alternative, I might end up cinching up the cam bands a bit, using the waist d-rings *all* the time, and using the door handles for accessory connection points. Another 'time will tell' decision.
- The shoulder webbing *is* softer than typical 2" webbing, however I haven't found it to create any issues at all. The sternum strap keeps the straps where they should be.
- I would have liked the backplate to have been just an inch wider (and would have mounted the Nomad weight pocket accessory). As is, I use two XSSCUBA weight pockets with 1-lb. trim weights attached to the rear shoulder straps. I've already got the cam bands as low as I can get get them for trim (I'm foot heavy).
- I like that you can run the bands through the backplate for single tank back-mounting without a STA. If you're traveling, you can easily switch configurations with no modifications (except to your reg setup).
Bottom line, minimal mods so far. I'm *very* pleased with the rig, and would buy it again.