Any opinions about the Hollis C60 LX Dual Wing?

[Gozo Diver]

Hi guys,

First of all, I hope I'm posting this in the right place!

So, I've been considering the Hollis C60 LX Dual Wing, but can't find any reviews / opinions about it. And of course it would be nice to hear what users of the system have to say. I can't seem to find any reviews about the non-dual (i.e. single bladder) version either (although, mind you, the one I'm specifically considering is the dual bladder version).

Does anyone here have any experience with this wing? I would certainly appreciate any feedback about it!

Cheers!

 

[tbone1004]

dual bladder isn't necessary, and 60lbs is too much lift for the vast majority of applications. Why do you need so much lift, and why do you think you need a dual bladder wing are better questions to be answered before we can comment on that wing specifically.

 

[Gozo Diver]

Hi @tbone1004 - thanks for your quick reply!

Well, I was hoping this wouldn't stray into a discussion about the merits of a single vs dual bladder wing, as I'm very much aware of the arguments for both sides of that discussion. But I understand that that's a question that's hard to avoid being asked So, to answer your questions, I'd be using this with back-mounted double 12-litre steels plus one to two stages (mostly).

Regarding the dual wing question, I like diving with a dual wing for redundancy. (Again, I should stress I'm well aware of all the arguments on both sides of the fence, e.g. diving with a balanced rig should not require a dual wing, considerations about keeping the secondary inflator disconnected, the fact that DIR is against dual wings, etc.)

To cut a long story short, having reviewed all the arguments, pros & cons, I have come to the conclusion that I would like to continue diving with a dual wing.

I have done all my training so far with a dual wing from OMS, which I found really good actually. I was simply considering the Hollis C60 LX Dual wing as an alternative option before buying my own wing - and was interested in hearing what people had to say about it in terms of quality, how it feels, etc. since I couldn't find anything on the web.

Hope that makes things a bit more clear

Thanks again!

 

[bumcikaz]

Quality is not bad, pretty nice wing actually, i have a single bladder, but customer service are far behind the quality

 

[tbone1004]

the Hollis wings are all basically the same in terms of build quality, which is good. You are unlikely to see that specific wing reviewed but if you want to learn about build quality as long as they are in the same series, it is all the same.

I haven't dove one, so this is my take on it based on looking at it on their website and the simply scuba video review *the single bladder, so I assume everything is the same for the dual just with 2 holes punched out out of the shell and an extra bladder shoved in

I don't like the shape. I think it has too much lift biased to the bottom which you don't need/want on twinsets. You have a heavy manifold with two regulators up top, compounded by stage bottles at your shoulders and you want lift pushed up there with a small amount on the bottom. This doesn't have any real shape to it at all.

I don't believe it has a full 60lbs of lift. If you put this on a set of doubles, it is highly unlikely it would be able to fully inflate to the 60lb limit that it is claiming. Dimensionally it looks much more similar to a wing with ~50lbs of lift, especially considering the massive crossover in the bottom that will just get squished by the tanks and your butt.

I don't like the dump valve placement, it is too high imho and not far enough out to the edge of the wing which means fully dumping the wing will be very difficult. If you look at something like the Dive Rite Classic wing you can see that the dump is basically in the bottom corner to give the best location for dumping gas.

All-in-all an OK wing in my book, but if I were trying to get a big dual bladder wing I would much rather have the Dive Rite Classic.

I personally dive Deep Sea Supply wings and plates and my twinset wing is the Torus 49 which I absolutely love

 

[runsongas]

@tbone1004, the dual bladder version has the dump in a different location compared to the single bladder where it should perform better

 

[tbone1004]

interesting. Either way it isn't a wing I would consider purchasing with other alternatives out there, but it isn't something that I would refuse to dive. If someone gave one to me I'd dive it, but if I was buying I would spend the extra $100 for the XT Classic Dual or save $100 and buy a DSS Torus 49 and a 50lb lift bag

 

[toby43]

Hi @tbone1004 - thanks for your quick reply!

Well, I was hoping this wouldn't stray into a discussion about the merits of a single vs dual bladder wing, as I'm very much aware of the arguments for both sides of that discussion. But I understand that that's a question that's hard to avoid being asked So, to answer your questions, I'd be using this with back-mounted double 12-litre steels plus one to two stages (mostly).

Regarding the dual wing question, I like diving with a dual wing for redundancy. (Again, I should stress I'm well aware of all the arguments on both sides of the fence, e.g. diving with a balanced rig should not require a dual wing, considerations about keeping the secondary inflator disconnected, the fact that DIR is against dual wings, etc.)

To cut a long story short, having reviewed all the arguments, pros & cons, I have come to the conclusion that I would like to continue diving with a dual wing.

I have done all my training so far with a dual wing from OMS, which I found really good actually. I was simply considering the Hollis C60 LX Dual wing as an alternative option before buying my own wing - and was interested in hearing what people had to say about it in terms of quality, how it feels, etc. since I couldn't find anything on the web.

Hope that makes things a bit more clear

Thanks again!

Hi there, I am guessing your'e diving on Gozo? I have dived there happily with the Hollis LX 45 plus stages and twin 12l steels in a 7mm wetsuit with Gozo Technical diving. I have the dual bladder version and I got this one because I had a 60lb Apeks previously and it was too big. Taco wing effect and hard to dump gas when horizontal as it got trapped easily.The 45lb is a good bit of kit and will do what you want. Its cold on Gozo at depth as I'm sure you know so you wont be diving the Karmela in a shortie anyway! Much of the technical diving there benefits from a drysuit . If I was living there with all those difficult shore entries, I would dive technical sidemount anyway, before I fell over and broke something.

 

[Gozo Diver]

Folks, thanks so much for your kind input; very much appreciated!

Hi there, I am guessing your'e diving on Gozo? I have dived there happily with the Hollis LX 45 plus stages and twin 12l steels in a 7mm wetsuit with Gozo Technical diving. I have the dual bladder version and I got this one because I had a 60lb Apeks previously and it was too big. Taco wing effect and hard to dump gas when horizontal as it got trapped easily.The 45lb is a good bit of kit and will do what you want. Its cold on Gozo at depth as I'm sure you know so you wont be diving the Karmela in a shortie anyway! Much of the technical diving there benefits from a drysuit . If I was living there with all those difficult shore entries, I would dive technical sidemount anyway, before I fell over and broke something.

@toby43 - I'm indeed diving in Gozo. So far I was diving in a 5mm wetsuit + 5mm overjacket, but after 45mins it gets way too cold at depth, so I'm actually switching to a drysuit. I was actually also considering the Hollis LX 45 dual, so I'm glad you brought it up! Quite a few people (including some very experienced tech divers) have commented to me that it would be better to invest in a 60lb wing right from the outset, so that I don't have to upgrade again when I need more lift, as I advance in my technical training. As you say, double steel 12L plus a stage or two should be handled well by a 45lb wing.

So I have to admit I'm not sure between getting a 45lb or 60lb version myself; the former was quite tempting, given the smaller size. What I'd rather avoid is having to rely on the drysuit and/or liftbag for backup buoyancy; I'm not a fan of that system, and in principle a drysuit should not be used a backup buoyancy device anyway, hence my principal reason for preferring dual bladder wings. Otherwise, I think I'd have opted for the Tecline Donut 22 Special edition which I think is quite well thought out.

I'm mostly interested in manufacturers who are represented in Malta/Gozo, e.g. Scubapro, Hollis, OMS, Tecline. (Halcyon, for instance are not. Neither are Dive Rite and Deep Sea Supply, to my knowledge.) I've been reviewing all the others' offerings. Quality wise, all seem good, but I haven't yet found the "perfect" solution. E.g. OMS have great quality (and I trained on them and quite liked them), but I'm not super excited about the bungees, especially since these can be frowned upon if I take a cave class, for instance. (There's the option of removing them, but then I've been told that OMS wings become quite large if they have no bungee restraint whatsoever.) Scubapro's dual bladder system also comes bungeed. I guess once you have a 60lb wing with a dual bladder, some restraint is required. The Hollis ones, for example, are also restrained, but by a cord that's placed inside the outer layer (so no risks of entanglement, although I've never actually read a single convincing case of entanglement issues with bungeed wings, but that's a whole other hot topic, so let's not go there ).

In summary, decisions can be really hard to make!

 

[toby43]

Yes indeed, I can only tell you of my own experience: got a 60lb wing, didn't like it, borrowed the 45lb Hollis (dual bladder) and loved it. Bought one and have used it in Gozo as I say. I am a technical and cave diver and I have used it for both applications with both stainless steel and aluminium backplates, wet and dry suits and been very happy. If you go to Gozo Technical Diving, I am sure Tom Steiner or Audrey would give you a good opinion on size of wing. Good luck.