NEW Hollis SMS KATANA sidemount system SNEAK PEAK!

[bamafan]

Other than the dump valve location are there any major differences in it and the new Stealth rig? They look like a similar concept to me. Looking forward to seeing the pictures especially with a full load on it.

 

[tbone1004]

a couple minor ones with the bungee location and what not, but nothing significant. This one didn't have the right hand blanking plug/dump option but didn't have the centered rear dump. I'll work with Edd and Victor and see if I can't get some screen shots from it.

 

[kelemvor]

just wanted to continue this thread a bit. I'm waiting for the video and pix from my buddies, but I dove the final prototype of the Katana with Edd this past weekend in a 5mm wetsuit and HP120's. It has enough lift for that with 1 stage, and an O2 bottle, but barely. Not something I would be comfortable taking into open water since I was not able to keep my head above water without sculling, but it was enough to maintain buoyancy at depth and during deco. This one measured roughly 36lbs of lift and I used every bit that it had. If it had another 5lbs of lift, I would replace my Nomad with it in a heartbeat, and any of you that actually know me, know that I have a major aversion to Hollis....

I'm surprised both that it had enough lift, and that you'd want to use it in place of a Nomad. What specifically is attracting you to this bcd over the nomad?

 

[tbone1004]

I have a weird nomad in that the backplate is an extra long so the wing sits lower. This is great in that it restricts the lift in the top and it trims out much better than the stock Nomad XT's, but it comes at the cost of gas transfer since it is a horseshoe wing. It also gets some pretty beefy angel wings when it is inflated, which for a regular dive for me, is typically at least 30lbs of lift. This is great for stability, but it makes leaning on a DPV very difficult since when you're in good trim, the air does not want to move, or can't move from one side to the other, but is great for stability. The Katana moves the lift to the center of the body so it feels just as stable as the Nomad, but gas transfer is free which allows you to roll and hold that position quite well. The whole thing is just a lot less bulky as well. Dive Rite claims 50lbs of lift on the Nomad wing, but I think in real world, mine at least is somewhere around 40lbs. Which is fine, but right on the cusp of wetsuit diving with steel bottles. The LTZ is almost there, but they did something wrong with the baffles and it still inflates like a beach ball which stinks since that one is cheaper than the Katana and Made in the USA which I like.

The xDeep still doesn't have a top dump which is annoying. With top mounted stages, you can't reach the center rear dump or the side dumps, so that is a deal breaker for me, and it still uses the belly bands which are also a deal breaker. I don't care who you are, with 30-40lbs of lift in the wing, the belly band is not comfortable for long dives, especially in thin exposure protection.

The Katana is close, but they are toeing the line of making it any bigger for more lift and it will work great for guys over 6' tall, but not so great for those that are shorter. Life is full of compromises and I think for anyone diving in a wetsuit with aluminum bottles or lighter steels like LP85's, or drysuit without stages, then this would be a great option as a primary rig, but I just need a smidgen more lift. Much thanks to Edd for setting up and maintaining a true demo center where you can lay just about every sidemount rig out side by side, and bring them all to the water to dive back to back as that is really the only fair way to do comparisons

 

[johnnywulff]

Nice post I agree, in sidemount wing can't get they full lift capacity is there are well adjusted to your body that is a most for proper rig configuration

 

[victorzamora]

I have actually been very much hesitant about that rig since I first saw it. I wanted one as a Mexico-rig, but never considered it as a NoFl harness. The lift is a little borderline for big steels and a stage and an O2 bottle, but for caves or AL80s in the ocean it seems fine. Next trip down there, I'm going to see about putting Tom in a drysuit with some undergarments as that may well make all the difference. Even at 100ft in that 5/4 he was wearing, though, he was able to stay neutral with 120s and a stage....and he's a weirdly-sinky person.

 

[Chris Hunger]

Inspected one on the BOOT Show in Duesseldorf but this was 3 months ago.
Any news or updates when the Katana is going to be released?

 

[tbone1004]

the first ones are on their way to Edd's now, should be there this week.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I got a chance to put my first dive on the Katana yesterday. I bought it primarily as a travel rig, for warm water use. But the first dive was here in Puget Sound, in my usual undergarment (with the requisite weight) and double HP100's. And after diving it I might just sell my Nomad and keep this one as my primary rig. There was plenty of lift in the wing for surface swimming. I had to figure out a way to put 16 lbs of lead on it, but that proved easy enough ... and I've already thought of a better way since the dive. My only issue was the bungees ... they seemed a bit short, even at their longest length. Not sure what I'm going to do about that. Got the left one on OK, but once there was weight on the rig the right one just didn't want to come around far enough to loop around the valve handle. It's particularly an issue with drygloves on, where you can't feel what you're doing and with some difficulty reaching back far enough to find the loop. I've got some ideas for how to address that problem, but don't want to start making modifications till I determine that it's not just operator error.

Otherwise, love this rig. Last night was interesting in that I was also being video'd for an upcoming TV show ... not something I'd have preferred to do on my first dive in a new rig, but even from the first minute underwater this rig just felt so natural. I have to configure my tanks slightly differently than for the Nomad ... I suppose due to the differences in where the butt plate attachment points are located. But the adjustments will be slight, and I think another dive or two should have my tanks in the proper trim. Sometime before the Red Sea trip in August I'll try doing a dive with a deco bottle ... then two deco bottles ... then a stage ... and see if these provide any limitations I need to be aware of.

Really nice rig ... more so than I expected it to be.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Bennno]

I had to figure out a way to put 16 lbs of lead on it, but that proved easy enough ... and I've already thought of a better way since the dive.

Where do you put the weights?