Question The Right Dive Tanks: Autonomy vs. Tradition

[Jim Lapenta]

I am going to buy a Hollis sms 100 to a friend.
Do you know it ?

The SMS 100 needs a fair amount of modification to be a truly effective sidemount rig. As it comes stock, it's kind of a pig to dive.

There are the Edd mods which require you to send the rig to Florida. BUT Andy Davis has some that you can do yourself.

Hollis SMS100 Sidemount Modifications

Hollis SMS100 custom modifications. Get the best performance from your sidemount BCD; especially for warm-water & aluminum cylinders!

scubatechphilippines.com

I have also helped a couple people with mods that I was able to do in about 15 minutes in the pool just using 5mm bungee that worked on a temporary basis for the diver.

 

[rick00001967]

I am going to buy a Hollis sms 100 to a friend.
Do you know it ?

i agree with jim's comments. ed at cave adventures could help with their special modifications. i am sure whatever andy recommends should be helpful as well. both are trusted and respected for their experience.

i have no personal experience using to sms100. my opinion is only based on what others have written online. the general consensus is that it is not a great sm rig out of the box.

i believe it is also designed primarily for use in colder waters with heavy steel tanks. ie: florida cave diving. so if you plan on doing that type of diving, can get it modified properly, and can buy it at a cheap price, i am sure it would be a good start.

 

[Njord fr]

The SMS 100 needs a fair amount of modification to be a truly effective sidemount rig. As it comes stock, it's kind of a pig to dive.

There are the Edd mods which require you to send the rig to Florida. BUT Andy Davis has some that you can do yourself.

Hollis SMS100 Sidemount Modifications

Hollis SMS100 custom modifications. Get the best performance from your sidemount BCD; especially for warm-water & aluminum cylinders!

scubatechphilippines.com

I have also helped a couple people with mods that I was able to do in about 15 minutes in the pool just using 5mm bungee that worked on a temporary basis for the diver.

Thank you for your message!
Edd Sorenson's solution is tempting, but the carbon footprint of my potential shipment would not be right...
Andy Davis's page is great, thanks a lot for the link!
However, he talks a lot about modifications for warm waters, I'm personally a cold-water diver, but the modification advice is good to take!

 

[SoftBackplate]

Backmount or sidemount
Please note that you cannot just take a twinset and split it into 2 sidemount bottles. You will have to change the valve on one of the bottles.

Why would you need to change a valve? I use my D12 for both backmount and sidemount dives without changing any valves. I just remove the bridge and put blind plugs inside the valves. Now you've got one right and one left sidemount cylinder, used for most sidemount rigs. I think only Toddystyle uses two stage valves with left valve knobs; all others use one left and one right (so that the regulators are twisted towards the body of the diver and not to the outside).