I actually tripped across this forum a little while back and forgot about it and was surfing the web the other day, i found it again. When scrolling through I saw a section on the Hollis Prism 2. My intent was to let people know that these units are finally out and in the field. I purposely did not link to my site because I did not want it to look like a sales pitch. I did not believe I was hiding anything (look at my name), as you can see, yes I own a dive shop and yes I am an Instructor (OC Trimix). Sorry that I did not formally introduce myself first. As far as rebreather experience, I have hours on Drager Dolphin, Kiss Classic, rEvo and now Hollis Prism. Any quiet time underwater is great!
As far as the Prism2 goes, I felt that the unit is well made and the Assembly process was very simple. The unit come with an H-plate which is the structure that everything attaches too. The electronics (solenoid) are sealed and you have access to the battery compartment on the top of the unit. Unit also comes with an Alum. BP (I switched mine to SS BP) and a wing. Both of wing are easy to attach and you can easily attach any plate or wing you want to it. As I stated in original post, it has the Shearwater Computer as well. I saw the old Prism and if you had three of them side by side the parts were not interchangeable. So, to see Hollis take it over and have injection molding and improve the whole unit is a great thing. This unit has a radial scrubber and they advertise a 4hr duration. The scrubber canister is clear and is held on by 3 latches. Some people are a little freaked out by the rain forest you can see because of the clear canister. This happens with every rebreather so no big deal to me and you can actually see, without taking it apart, the amount of liquid that is in there (hopefully not a lot). The 3 sensors plug in underneath the head of the unit on the top of the scrubber. Cells are easy to access and faces appear to be dry after a dive. There is room if you did want to add more for an independent monitoring or if something else comes out down the road. This is the first over the shoulder counter-lung rebreather that I have dove/owned. So yes, the work of breathing great due to design. Counter lungs are well made and the assembly of DSV & loop is easy and simple. I am starting to get use to the clutter (counter-lungs) up front now that I have about 30hrs on the unit. Aside from changing to a SS BP, I change some hoses to Miflex and streamlined the lengths as well. I put the 3L steel tanks on and was not happy with the tank straps (would loosen up) so I switched to the smaller DiveRite ones. I am getting a couple of items from Hollis to test out, when i get them and do the testing, I will elaborate then. Our shop does not currently offer an over the shoulder counter-lung rebreather so now we have a quality option for our customers that want that design.
Sorry to take so long to respond but I have been teaching since Friday and just got to checking out this thread. I hope this answers a lot of your questions.
