Hollis

No Limit: The Tech Diving Powerhouse

When Bob Hollis founded his company, he didn’t just want to make scuba gear; he wanted to push the boundaries of what was humanly possible underwater. A mechanical engineer and a pioneer of saturation diving, Hollis was exploring the Andrea Doria when most people were still figuring out how to use a snorkel. The brand that bears his name, Hollis, is built on a legacy of deep, technical exploration. Their tagline, “No Limit,” isn’t marketing fluff; it’s a challenge.

Hollis equipment is designed for the “technical” mindset—even if used by a recreational diver. It bridges the gap between sport and exploration. Their gear is instantly recognisable: stark, industrial, and predominantly black with striking red accents. But it’s the performance that matters. The Hollis F1 “Bat Fin” is a cult classic in the UK. Made from heavy-duty rubber, it provides the negative buoyancy and raw torque required to propel a drysuit and twinset through heavy currents, without the floaty feel of modern plastic fins.

For the UK cave and mine diving community, Hollis is synonymous with Sidemount. The SMS 75 and SMS 100 harnesses were instrumental in popularising the sidemount configuration outside of Florida caves, offering a robust platform that could handle the heavy steel cylinders used in British waters. Buying Hollis is a commitment to precision. It appeals to the diver who treats their diving as a discipline, demanding equipment that is streamlined, redundant, and engineered to function in overhead environments where there is no direct route to the surface.