Hollis vs. Razor vs. XDeep SM Products
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@Mike.D
379,- to 399,-
Bought separately it sounds much less affordable. I have seen the complete system sell for 399,- (list price around 550) but cheaper wings are not available separately very often.
---------- Post added July 26th, 2014 at 07:29 PM ----------
I went diving several times with someone who was using a Hollis SMS100 and had been taught by Steve Martin and Tom Steiner.
He was easily one of those with the best tank positioning I have ever met using an SMS100 - I could not see anything to criticize.
He is using 2x 80cft aluminum, by the way.
Anyway he bought a Stealth recently.
Dove it today for the first time with me and his girlfriend (also in a Stealth and coming from the Hollis before).
Great! Just great.
Even when diving with the same people.
Everything was so fast and effective.
It was more like playing around as part of a group of very young birds practicing flying than it felt like diving.
I get carried away easily while diving, but this time...I felt like flying on the inside and outside, I felt drugged.
If he had a great tank position before it could now only be called 'perfect' if I had to compare.
It took next to no time for him to adjust everything while submerging.
Next thing he was hanging sidewards and backwards, always keeping perfect tank positioning with two around 80bar (of 200) filled 80cft aluminums.
I do not want to say the Stealth or a Razor is 'better' than an SMS100/75/50.
But it was proven to me again how much an experienced sidemounter is held back by such a limited system and I again witnessed firsthand the 'explosion' happening when those skills are released by a system that gives the necessary freedom (and don't get me wrong: depending on the diver that could be any system, in my opinion!).
Even though one of my first stages exploded an o-ring halfway into the dive I had more fun than I had in weeks (and I had a lot of fun diving those same last few weeks, after a long phase of unsatisfactory dives).
btw: When this happens to a group normally something close to panic ensues (even at the 4 meters of depth it happened to me this time).
As we are all sidemounters nobody bat an eye.
I switched regulators and dry suit inflator, removed the first stage completely from the valve, found the problem unfixable (inside o-ring burst on the DIN-thread), bundled up the whole thing and we continued diving as if nothing had happened (lost 20 bar in the inaccessible tank experimenting and still had more than enough in the other one - made another short dive with the saved air later).
While I was doing that the others continued with backkick practice, buoyancy tests and played around with their (also new) computers (we communicated a bit here and there, but nothing much).
Nobody (and no water moved by fins) touched ground in 4 Meters of depth on a steep green and sandy slope while doing that
(but I have to admid a few minutes before I had stuck the back of my head firmly into the dirt (as if I did not know better
) swimming backward and inverted while gawking (I really need a rearview camera )).
Sidemount is so much (more) fun!!
379,- to 399,-
Bought separately it sounds much less affordable. I have seen the complete system sell for 399,- (list price around 550) but cheaper wings are not available separately very often.
---------- Post added July 26th, 2014 at 07:29 PM ----------
I want to share a strange experience I had today.
I went diving several times with someone who was using a Hollis SMS100 and had been taught by Steve Martin and Tom Steiner.
He was easily one of those with the best tank positioning I have ever met using an SMS100 - I could not see anything to criticize.
He is using 2x 80cft aluminum, by the way.
Anyway he bought a Stealth recently.
Dove it today for the first time with me and his girlfriend (also in a Stealth and coming from the Hollis before).
Great! Just great. Even when diving with the same people.
Everything was so fast and effective.
It was more like playing around as part of a group of very young birds practicing flying than it felt like diving.
I get carried away easily while diving, but this time...I felt like flying on the inside and outside, I felt drugged.
If he had a great tank position before it could now only be called 'perfect' if I had to compare.
It took next to no time for him to adjust everything while submerging.
Next thing he was hanging sidewards and backwards, always keeping perfect tank positioning with two around 80bar (of 200) filled 80cft aluminums.
I do not want to say the Stealth or a Razor is 'better' than an SMS100/75/50.
But it was proven to me again how much an experienced sidemounter is held back by such a limited system and I again witnessed firsthand the 'explosion' happening when those skills are released by a system that gives the necessary freedom (and don't get me wrong: depending on the diver that could be any system, in my opinion!).
Even though one of my first stages exploded an o-ring halfway into the dive I had more fun than I had in weeks (and I had a lot of fun diving those same last few weeks, after a long phase of unsatisfactory dives).
btw: When this happens to a group normally something close to panic ensues (even at the 4 meters of depth it happened to me this time).
As we are all sidemounters nobody bat an eye.
I switched regulators and dry suit inflator, removed the first stage completely from the valve, found the problem unfixable (inside o-ring burst on the DIN-thread), bundled up the whole thing and we continued diving as if nothing had happened (lost 20 bar in the inaccessible tank experimenting and still had more than enough in the other one - made another short dive with the saved air later).
While I was doing that the others continued with backkick practice, buoyancy tests and played around with their (also new) computers (we communicated a bit here and there, but nothing much).
Nobody (and no water moved by fins) touched ground in 4 Meters of depth on a steep green and sandy slope while doing that
(but I have to admid a few minutes before I had stuck the back of my head firmly into the dirt (as if I did not know better
) swimming backward and inverted while gawking (I really need a rearview camera )). Sidemount is so much (more) fun!!
Last edited:
AngieSeaAnemone
Registered
I had a SMS100 and ditched it for a Stealth. I dived dry with both aluminums and steels with the SMS100 and it was just way too large on me (5'2, 110lbs). The Stealth is super adjustable, streamlined and comfortable. I haven't dived steels with it yet but my boyfriend does and he loves his too.
Not with large steel tanks in freshwater, it sucks big time.
Sidemount_Stu
Contributor
I'm a new user of the Xdeep Stealth, I dive dry with 2 x 12l steels and I love it! Hasn't been too difficult to adjust, feels very balanced in the water and is very streamlined too. Plenty of lift, I'm a very Happy customer, definitely wouldn't swap it for a razor. The lack of ease of adjustment makes it a non starter for me!
New to the stealth as well. Just completed 10 dives with ally 80's and one stage al40. Absolutely outstanding. Easy to setup, easy to dive, small, compact and very streamlined. Can't rate it highly enough.
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