Under Water: LX100
Looks are one thing, but real-life performance is
the only real test, so time to get the regs wet.
I know I should drag it out and keep you
guessing with a careful blend of positive and
negative comments, but I’m not going to.
Both the LX100 and LX200 breathe
beautifully, with a silky-smooth quality to their
gas delivery, and were pretty much identical as
far as my non-ANSTI-calibrated lungs were
concerned. I’d be happy to use either in terms of
their breathe quality.
I started with the LX100, which screwed into
the cylinder-valve with enviable ease and
smoothness. DIN threads can sometimes feel
a bit scratchy or bind a bit, but the LX100 was
exemplary.
Opening the cylinder-valve can also be a bit
of an event sometimes as everything comes up
to pressure and the hoses go rigid, but not the
LX100. In fact, had the needle on the contents
gauge not moved, I wouldn’t have known that
the set was pressurised.
divErNEt.com 71 divEr
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As I pulled the BC on I caught the purge of the
LX100, and because I’d stupidly left the venturi
lever in the dive position it freeflowed lustily
until I flipped the lever and shoved a finger
across the mouthpiece.
The LX200 will also do this if you have the
breathing-resistance knob set at minimum and
the venturi lever in the dive position, but it isn’t
a fault, just a measure of how finely the cracking
pressure of the two second stages is set.
The mouthpiece of the LX100 fitted my
mouth and teeth well, with no trace of insecurity
and no jaw-fatigue even after an hour in the
water. I put this down to the mouthpiece design,
because the inner curve of the exhaust T didn’t
quite sit on my chin with either second stage.
My preference is for Comfo-bite mouthpieces,
and have been known to swap to them even on
new regs, but I wouldn’t feel any need to change
these Hollis mouthpieces, so my one initial
reservation had been neatly dispatched.
In a normal horizontal trim the LX100
breathed very well, cracking at the slightest
inhale but not blasting air down my throat, even
when it was abused by my panting and gasping
as hard as I could.
Going vertical, head-up or head-down, rolling
around or laid on my back and taking it easy, the
breathe felt equally smooth.
I was having one of those days when my
mask, normally dry and tight as the proverbial
duck’s wossname, was leaking persistently and
fogging continually, so rolling on my back had
dribbles of water running around the inside of
my nose. This was not nice, but the LX100
certainly wasn’t misbehaving, and simply
continued to deliver gas perfectly.
Big tick from me. Like it. Time for big brother.Under Water: LX200
I’m not going to ask you to re-read all that basic
stuff again; take it from me that the LX200 works
as flawlessly as the LX100, with extra tunability
from the breathing resistance control knob, if
you feel the need to twist it.
I might have remarked before that I don’tDIVER TESTS
Hollis LX100 in use.IT’S BECOME A BIT OF A FAD TO celebrate
your 100th dive by doing it naked. But,
however toned your body is, once festooned
in scuba harness webbing and entwined with
colour-coded regulator hoses, you will take
on the look of a reject advertising poster for
Anne Summers.
Snorkelling in the bare feels and looks far
more natural unless, of course, you’re wearing
full-on wetsuit boots, as my snorkelling
buddy was. It’s not quite wellies in Wales, but
you get the picture. Best of luck getting it out
of your head.
There are times when you simply don’t need
heavy-duty dive-boots. If you’re diving in
water warm enough just for swimwear, dive-
skins or Nature’s wetsuit, dive-boots, which are
designed to be tucked under ankle-cuffs, can
scoop water, causing drag and collecting sand.
They can also take a long time to dry and
are fairly weighty to transport. Sometimes, all
you really need are simple beach shoes.FOOTWEAR
SCUBAPRO GO SOCK
TESTERSteve Warren
PRICE£21
SIZES3XS-3XL
COLOURBlack
CONTACTscubapro.com
DIVER GUIDE ★★★★★★★★★★SPECS
Scubapro’s
slip-on Go Sock is aimed at divers and
snorkellers using open-back fins. The
moccasins have a moulded rubber sole
with non-slip ribbing, and the uppers are
double-lined 3mm neoprene.
Edging around the ankle keeps them firmly
on your foot and excludes sand. I used Go Socks with a pair of Scubapro Go
Travel fins for a few days’ snorkelling in
Lanzarote. For walking around on sandy bluffs
and over the volcanic rocks and rough-hewn
steps down to the sea, they proved very
comfortable. In the water, they went
unnoticed when finning, and when I took off
my fins to climb a ladder, they were secure
enough not to pull away with the fin.
What more can you ask for? Highly
recommended. ■Hollis DC3 first stage (top) and the DCX first stage –
a coating gives the DCX its distinctive sheen.