dreamdive
Contributor
The new Explorers are coming with a black cover. We could play star wars: Good Stormtrooper/Bad Stormtrooper.......

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The new Explorers are coming with a black cover. We could play star wars: Good Stormtrooper/Bad Stormtrooper.......![]()
I really hope that divers are not picking gear simply because it looks like a storm trooper pack. Personally, I don't care for the Explorer. I'm not a fan of the layout of the machine with canisters and cylinders orthogonal to the swimming direction. It seems there should be a better setup for a rebreather like this. I do like the fact that you don't have to deal with O2, only nitrox. If you can't use it at your travel destination, it's not very useful, and a lot of destinations don't have the infrastructure to support CCRs.
Where I dive in Mexico, even nitrox is scarce, but it is available for a price if you know where to go. In the end, something like an Explorer is not worth it to me (not at this point in time anyway). I'd rather find ways to get more out of OC, than take on the risk and cost of a rebreather. If I can get a little more for less complexity, why would I opt for getting a little more for a lot more complexity and risk?
I prefer to use OC and optimize my rig for hydrodynamics and use efficient diving fins to get more out of a tank of air. To me that makes more sense than adding the complexity of the Explorer to get a little more economy out of the gas and then booger up the hydrodynamics with a poor layout. I hope the engineers at Hollis will see the error in their ways and do something about this in their next generation of recreational rebreathers.
The Hollis Explorer rebreather should be avoided at ALL COSTS.....it is trash....it gives you few if any REAL advantages of a rebreather yet it increases the risks you assume while diving.
I'm sorry to be so blunt and don't take it personally, I do know a little bit about rebreathers.
As your training allows I'd look at the "tried and true" rebreather list: REVO, Dive Rite Optima, JJ, Megaladon and Hammerhead.
As far as computers go there are just 3 computers to look at when it comes to tech diving:
1) Shearwater
2) Shearwater
3) Shearwater
Your Atomic is a good computer.....the shearwater is THE standard for tech diving with good reason.
If you PM me I'd be happy to discuss this with you, I'm not an instructor and I have no interest in the dive business so take that for what its worth.
The word "complexity" is used 3 times. The Explorer is NOT complex....