I wrote up a review of the SMS 50 on my website, I'm copying and pasting here for anyone looking into ordering the sms 50...
This past Friday I finally got a chance to dive the Hollis SMS 50 (Sidemount System) the little brother to the SMS 100. I received the unit on Tuesday and after taking it apart completely and then re-weaving the harness, I started writing down a list of all the customizations I want to make to the harness.
The SMS 50 is Hollis stripped down version of their own SMS 100. With only 23lbs of lift, heavy steel tanks and stages are out of the question with the SMS 50. Geared more towards recreational/open-water sidemount (with limited Cave diving applications) the SMS 50 is designed and perfect for standard al80s. It reads that you can possibly use LP85s with it, but I would only do that in a dry suit that I trust for redundant lift.
Opening up the SMS 50′s packaging first thing I noticed and what I really do like about Hollis; it comes ready to dive. Everything you need (aside from regulators and a healthy assortment of accessories that I cant ever justify leaving in my gear box) to dive is in the bag. Cam bands, snap hooks, even nylon line to tie it all together. Even though most divers will have all the equipment they will need already in their kits. its a really nice touch with Hollis.
Side Note: I have been diving a home-made harness and wing along with a Dive Rite Nomad EXP for the last two years. Even though I do love my nomad and will continue to dive it with my steel tanks and for Cave/Wreck diving; Hollis does have the leg up on Dive Rite when it comes to the end-user experience when putting their gear together.
The Harness: Compared to a standard harness like those found on a backplate/wing combination the SMS-50′s is a dream to adjust. Its so soft and supple. Making adjustments was incredibly easy for the most part. Admittedly the first thing I did when I got the unit was to take it apart completely to see just how it all works together. Its not a one piece webbing like found on a Razor Sidemount System but all in all pretty intuitive and easy to figure out when making adjustments. I removed the Hollis back pad on mine, I felt that it really didnt serve any purpose except making it harder to weave the harness into the small steel back plate. (I did the same on my nomad. With all the weight taken off of your back while sidemounting, I didnt see any need for padding back there)
The Wing: The 23lbs wing is slick. Small, streamlined and pretty. Everything my homemade BCD is not. Just a couple of small problems. There are three weight trim pockets within the wing. Each says maximum of 3lbs. OK, no problem with that. My issue is that I cant fit 3lb weights in 2 out of the 3 pockets. The side trim pockets hold a 2lb lead block. (With a lot of wiggling) and the top shoulder trim pocket is the only one that can actually hold a 3lb soft weight. A quick addition of 2 XS scuba weight pockets on the waist band took care of the weighting issue but if you are going to advertise 3 lbs max, make sure that you can fit 3lbs of weight into it.
Aside from the weight issue, the Low pressure inflator comes from the bottom of the wing, protected on the inside coming up to the left shoulder D-ring. The attachment of the low-pressure inflator is a piece of string tied to a male plastic clip. A quick addition of a double ended snap hook and some bungee and bam! I fixed that issue.
Cylinder Attachments: Like the SMS 100 and the older generation Nomads, the 50 comes standard with 2 bungee with snap hooks, that come from the shoulder-blade area, under the arm and snap into the shoulder d-rings or the swivel d-ring on the harness, whichever you prefer. Personally, I do not like using these bungee to attach my tanks. I find that you can never get the bottle up and behind your arms where they should be with those bungee. Not the biggest concern with open-water sidemount, but I still dont like how the bottles lay with those bungee. I added loop bungee to my home-made harness and will be doing the same to the SMS 50.
The snap hooks that come with the SMS-50 are huge. Which is awesome if you are diving in cold water or have thick gloves on. For me personally I like smaller snap hooks on the top of the tanks and butterfly snaps on the bottom. With the larger snap hooks on the shoulder d-rings, it gets very busy up there quickly.
Diving the Rig: I took the rig out at Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay. It was dead low, so I had a long swim out to get any depth. Visibility was actually pretty good past the sea lettuce and silt. I dove the system in just a single tank since I forgot my tank bands for my right tank and didnt feel like trying to lasso in my long hose the entire dive. Getting trim in the water was a breeze, it took zero effort. With heavy fins and in only a 3 mil wetsuit, keeping level was not a problem.
Pros: Easy to don. Trim was fantastic. Very comfortable. Super streamlined.
Cons: Low pressure inflator was too short. Hard to reach with both hands, couldnt manually add air. The Dump cord is too short and hard to find. The webbing even though it is a dream to weave and make adjustments, with only one tank on and the sternum strap tight across my chest, the webbing was still pulling towards the tank and not staying in place. Venting air is a bit problematic on the surface, since you almost have to decend head first to get the air to come out of the dump valve on the bottom of the wing.
Overall I am impressed and happy with the SMS 50. A couple of changes based mostly on personal preference and I think Im going to have a fine open-water/travel rig.
This past Friday I finally got a chance to dive the Hollis SMS 50 (Sidemount System) the little brother to the SMS 100. I received the unit on Tuesday and after taking it apart completely and then re-weaving the harness, I started writing down a list of all the customizations I want to make to the harness.
The SMS 50 is Hollis stripped down version of their own SMS 100. With only 23lbs of lift, heavy steel tanks and stages are out of the question with the SMS 50. Geared more towards recreational/open-water sidemount (with limited Cave diving applications) the SMS 50 is designed and perfect for standard al80s. It reads that you can possibly use LP85s with it, but I would only do that in a dry suit that I trust for redundant lift.
Opening up the SMS 50′s packaging first thing I noticed and what I really do like about Hollis; it comes ready to dive. Everything you need (aside from regulators and a healthy assortment of accessories that I cant ever justify leaving in my gear box) to dive is in the bag. Cam bands, snap hooks, even nylon line to tie it all together. Even though most divers will have all the equipment they will need already in their kits. its a really nice touch with Hollis.
Side Note: I have been diving a home-made harness and wing along with a Dive Rite Nomad EXP for the last two years. Even though I do love my nomad and will continue to dive it with my steel tanks and for Cave/Wreck diving; Hollis does have the leg up on Dive Rite when it comes to the end-user experience when putting their gear together.
The Harness: Compared to a standard harness like those found on a backplate/wing combination the SMS-50′s is a dream to adjust. Its so soft and supple. Making adjustments was incredibly easy for the most part. Admittedly the first thing I did when I got the unit was to take it apart completely to see just how it all works together. Its not a one piece webbing like found on a Razor Sidemount System but all in all pretty intuitive and easy to figure out when making adjustments. I removed the Hollis back pad on mine, I felt that it really didnt serve any purpose except making it harder to weave the harness into the small steel back plate. (I did the same on my nomad. With all the weight taken off of your back while sidemounting, I didnt see any need for padding back there)
The Wing: The 23lbs wing is slick. Small, streamlined and pretty. Everything my homemade BCD is not. Just a couple of small problems. There are three weight trim pockets within the wing. Each says maximum of 3lbs. OK, no problem with that. My issue is that I cant fit 3lb weights in 2 out of the 3 pockets. The side trim pockets hold a 2lb lead block. (With a lot of wiggling) and the top shoulder trim pocket is the only one that can actually hold a 3lb soft weight. A quick addition of 2 XS scuba weight pockets on the waist band took care of the weighting issue but if you are going to advertise 3 lbs max, make sure that you can fit 3lbs of weight into it.
Aside from the weight issue, the Low pressure inflator comes from the bottom of the wing, protected on the inside coming up to the left shoulder D-ring. The attachment of the low-pressure inflator is a piece of string tied to a male plastic clip. A quick addition of a double ended snap hook and some bungee and bam! I fixed that issue.
Cylinder Attachments: Like the SMS 100 and the older generation Nomads, the 50 comes standard with 2 bungee with snap hooks, that come from the shoulder-blade area, under the arm and snap into the shoulder d-rings or the swivel d-ring on the harness, whichever you prefer. Personally, I do not like using these bungee to attach my tanks. I find that you can never get the bottle up and behind your arms where they should be with those bungee. Not the biggest concern with open-water sidemount, but I still dont like how the bottles lay with those bungee. I added loop bungee to my home-made harness and will be doing the same to the SMS 50.
The snap hooks that come with the SMS-50 are huge. Which is awesome if you are diving in cold water or have thick gloves on. For me personally I like smaller snap hooks on the top of the tanks and butterfly snaps on the bottom. With the larger snap hooks on the shoulder d-rings, it gets very busy up there quickly.
Diving the Rig: I took the rig out at Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay. It was dead low, so I had a long swim out to get any depth. Visibility was actually pretty good past the sea lettuce and silt. I dove the system in just a single tank since I forgot my tank bands for my right tank and didnt feel like trying to lasso in my long hose the entire dive. Getting trim in the water was a breeze, it took zero effort. With heavy fins and in only a 3 mil wetsuit, keeping level was not a problem.
Pros: Easy to don. Trim was fantastic. Very comfortable. Super streamlined.
Cons: Low pressure inflator was too short. Hard to reach with both hands, couldnt manually add air. The Dump cord is too short and hard to find. The webbing even though it is a dream to weave and make adjustments, with only one tank on and the sternum strap tight across my chest, the webbing was still pulling towards the tank and not staying in place. Venting air is a bit problematic on the surface, since you almost have to decend head first to get the air to come out of the dump valve on the bottom of the wing.
Overall I am impressed and happy with the SMS 50. A couple of changes based mostly on personal preference and I think Im going to have a fine open-water/travel rig.
