Finning Tips & Technique – Scuba Advice
Scuba Diving with Dolphins – Pattaya Thailand
Hollis Rebreather Review
Now Every Diver Can Use Rebreather With Ease!
Recently I got into the new Hollis explorer recreational rebreather courtesy of Explorer Diving here in Thailand. After thousands of open circuit scuba dives this was my first experience of rebreather diving and I was astonished how easy it was to pick up and use. This new rebreather tech, makes rebreather diving very simply and very safe allowing you to use it and take photographs without compromising safety. Its therefore an underwater photographers new secret weapon in getting closer to aquatic than ever before!
2. Nitrox Diver Certification ( can be taken with explorer course)
3. Proof Of 25 Logged Dives
3 Things you Need To Dive The Explorer
1. Entry Level Open Water Diver Level Certification2. Nitrox Diver Certification ( can be taken with explorer course)
3. Proof Of 25 Logged Dives
That's All You Need To Start Rebreathing!
Let's Talk Hollis Rebreather Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
Easy to learn and useSilent Diving get you close without disturbing aquatic life
Dive times extended beyond your current understanding!
Disadvantages
New form of buoyancy control to learnRequired dive location that can provide nitrox
Pelican case required for dive gear transport
The Rebreather Experience
Anyone who has ever clicked an underwater photograph will have experienced the problematic disturbing of the subject that the bubbles on open circuit scuba presents, especially whilst taking a shots on the more nervous, less content aquatic life. Since I've never really had too many problems with things swimming away, while using slow careful approaches (by slow, I mean REALLY slow) I am vastly more experience than your average fun diver some 3000 dives later. Ordinarily however, breathing for most divers can affect getting your shots. Surprisingly after diving the Hollis explorer, I was astounded by the aquatic life's reactions or to put it another way, lack of reaction towards me!! I could get so close to fish and they seemed entirely oblivious to my presents because of the rebreather! Therefore I now understand why rebreathers are an underwater photographers best friend in that they do not release loud bellows of bubbles hence allowing divers to stealth their way around the reef and get REALLY up close and personal to the subjects.
Draw Backs Of Rebreather Diving
It is true that the usual draw back of rebreather diving is you must intensively monitor your unit and gas as you are diving. Under those circumstances, combining a photo shoot on the rebreather dive may not be the smartest option, not to mention the requirement for technical dive training to get near one. Ultimately this is not an issue with a Hollis Explorer Rebreather.Why Is The Explorer Exempt From Usual Drawbacks?
Generally speaking you do still need to monitor your Hollis Explorer Rebreather unit whilst diving taking photographs. The Explorer is exempt from usual drawbacks for the most part because it pretty much runs itself. The unit monitors itself and feeds this info back to you, so when you are taking photographs underwater and you are concentrating on the shot, you can rest assure that the Hollis Explorer Rebreather is keeping an eye on your rebreathing for you. Not that you can switch your brain off, but it does give you some leeway to relax into the dive and what's going on around you because of its sophisticated monitoring and warning system display and HUD!Hollis Explorer Review Of Specs
ok, guys and girls, if you're at a beginner level, what we are about to talk about might go a little bit over your head and sound WAY to complicated, but we promise you, its really not that difficult to understand, especially once you have had the dive training that accompany most of these terms, so stay with us here ok?First of all the Hollis Explorer Sport Rebreather is a light and easy to use rebreather, designed exclusively for recreational divers to enjoy. (recreational divers defined as any diver certified to dive between 18 and 40m with no decompression)
Secondly, what makes the Hollis explorer rebreather special is that it is a hybrid system unlike no other before it. Its uses a single, gas enriched air nitrox, (normally rebreathers use two). The depth limit (depending on the MOD of the gas) is 40 meters. The Explorer is electronically controlled to achieve an optimal balance of PPO2 and dive time. Simply put you can dive to 40m MAX and the rebreather acts like a bartender serving you the best possible mix during the dive (obviously we use this term to describe blending not in ways of intoxicating)
Finally, unlike other rebreathers, set up time can be much faster when using the Plug and Play absorbent cartridges. Once packed, state of the art electronics give you a very simply and clear “go or no go” dive display to follow. With a CO2 tracking sensor, you are using one of the safest rebreathers units in history and can cut your pre breather to a few minutes preparation. Again of those not in the know, rebreather use a substance to clean your air supply of CO2, this can be 'packed' manually by yourself as trained, of course, or alternatively can be purchased pre packaged and just plug in to use!
