BLADEFISH Sea Jets - A Completely Different Approach

[Uzbeckin]

I have the bladefish 5000 and I like it - it is well suited as a bit of help to conserve air - is sure easy to take to the dive site. I can see why a snorkeler or rapid diver would love it. Rocks on the snorkeling here in Hawaii. In full gear it pulls me but not super fast. I really love it and yet I always wish it could go a little faster.

I also have a sea-doo Explorer X which is rockin on sale for only $500 on amazon. $200 cheaper than bladefish and mine is quite a bit more power than it as well. Then there is maintenance - bladefish = near zero maintenance. Not really a big powerful scooter either.
Sea-doo is not much more other than the battery junk they put you through. Nice verticle charger though to help. Only problem with it is they have a poor record on the web - although only people with problems tend to post. (who doesn't change their o-rings?)

As I said on my last post - on the "less than" scooters - bladefish is the safest, most reliable, but also probably one of the slower. Unless you want to duct tape one handle down - you have to use two hands... and even then you need two hands to hold on comfortably. The sea doo so far seems to be working like a champ. I'll update if it goes belly up in the next few weeks while I push it hard.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

I have the bladefish 5000 and I like it - it is well suited as a bit of help to conserve air - is sure easy to take to the dive site. I can see why a snorkeler or rapid diver would love it. Rocks on the snorkeling here in Hawaii. In full gear it pulls me but not super fast. I really love it and yet I always wish it could go a little faster.

I also have a sea-doo Explorer X which is rockin on sale for only $500 on amazon. $200 cheaper than bladefish and mine is quite a bit more power than it as well. Then there is maintenance - bladefish = near zero maintenance. Not really a big powerful scooter either.
Sea-doo is not much more other than the battery junk they put you through. Nice verticle charger though to help. Only problem with it is they have a poor record on the web - although only people with problems tend to post. (who doesn't change their o-rings?)

As I said on my last post - on the "less than" scooters - bladefish is the safest, most reliable, but also probably one of the slower. Unless you want to duct tape one handle down - you have to use two hands... and even then you need two hands to hold on comfortably. The sea doo so far seems to be working like a champ. I'll update if it goes belly up in the next few weeks while I push it hard.

Liked the Explorer when running but after flooding issues, trigger issues, battery issues.......not liking anymore. Really didn't see any power difference between the Explorer and Bladefish. Of course at 32 lbs. it should be more powerful but I don't think so. Sea Doos coming out with a lighter Lithium Ion scooter at some point- probably why there dumping the remaining lead acid powered Explorers on Amazon.

Throw a harness on your BladeFish and it's a very sweet ride. Check out my pics.

 

[Uzbeckin]

Never thought of a harness for the bladefish. I actually use the floaties and have a tie line long enough to fling it out of the way while I'm collecting fish - so it can just float up out of my swiping. Never thought it had the power to really snap on my d-ring like the Mako. As for the Sea Doo... maybe the Explorer and Explorer X are the same - don't know. The thing is definately heavier and I've tried them side by side in the same spot/conditions. The Sea Doo is a noticeable difference in power. I think there was no doubt from the moment I hit the trigger. I think at some point as the lead acid bat slows there will be a point where that power is marginalized near the middle since the lithium battery is a more consistent power source. (Or at least that is what I thought)
Glad to see your post... when I was actually considering the bladefish I read your reviews as they are some of the only ones on the net.

 

[Blackwood]

Read this whole thread, but I have an excuse: I was quite literally waiting for paint to dry.

I'm struck by the disparity between various people's tolerance for being lied to. Here we have a vendor making impossible claims, and the flagrant misuse of the asterisk pointed to as justification.

Since SCUBA is such a small market, and since people buying scooters is such a small percentage of that already small market, I suppose vendors are more likely to get away with nonsense. Imagine if I were selling bicycles, and wrote in my marketing material and on my packaging: world's lightest bike at only 0.1lbs*

Then on the back somewhere in small print: *based on an estimated lunar gravitational constant.

Even those who hadn't tried my bike would be justified in calling me on my BS. Maybe I can legally disclaim specifications that way, but if you make an estimate upon which you sell, make is a good faith estimate.

Perhaps a keebler elf wearing a torpedo-shaped cocoon could get this device up to the advertised speeds. But if that elf isn't representative of your target market, the estimate was not made in good faith.



It would be one thing if they said "here's this cool, light, travel-friendly DPV," and in passing someone asked how fast it goes to which they respond "I honestly don't know, maybe 3mph." It's quite something else to list in writing a highly specific number like 3.75mph and marketing your device as "the fastest."

One is an honest mistake, the other is pure bs.

 

[Uzbeckin]

Ok... so where to start. I too was a bit misled by the bladefish markings and also by some reviews. I bought one on an impulse buy.... and now it will be mine forever. I think the bladefish is an extremely portable dpv and I'll probably just keep it around for snorkeling and maybe a rapid dive. I took it out in full gear to fish yesterday and thought I would share - especially since I was going against a Sea Doo Explorer X I also had with me!

I'm only pulling an aluminum 80 with a pony when I go out... streamlined as I can be. I've do use a BCD even though a lot of people in my line wear hawaiian backpacks so I'm in real full scuba gear. I even have line, signal sausage... the works... my partner calls me batman. (he's a local hawaiian guy who wears hawaiian backpack... bare min...and probably communes with the sharks when I'm not looking... and would dive with the tank bungeed to his body if he could do it) On a side note - he also calls me scooter boy and says he doesn't need one because he has two. (his legs) So I took out two scooters on the boat - my bladefish 5000 and a cheap seadoo explorer X I bought on amazon for $500.

The Expectation ? I expected the bladefish to be the ultimate for what I do. I'm out fishing aquarium fish - not commercial... just for fun. I figured the small dpv I could use with all my gear in tow and be happy as can be to fling the bladefish aside on a line and do my job.... then motor away with ease and power when I get bored on a spot to get to another. I personally expected the sea doo to flood - to start/go like the others had said- or do explode in some west versus east scooter conspiracy as many of the reviews would have me believe.

The Trial? I rode the sea doo first. I have to say it was very easy to adjust the weight to get it to perfectly neutral. It has cool snap in weights near the center to make it float perfectly flat beside you. I greased the o-rings well before every dive and so far... no bubbles.... Points for sea doo. As I drifted down with my partner - he rocked off in his cressi fins and I cranked it up. Within in a few moments I was cruising right on his heels on high with little effort. Just for details -he is a vet who knows how to out-breathe me every time - I'm always coming up first. He's also quite fast as he also was a lifeguard for most of his life.

Totally unexpected - my aluminum 80 outlasted his skill and his aluminum 100. I kept motoring up and having to slack off as he found a spot so I didn't crash into him. I could totally see myself tethering this thing. It was definitely not as powerful as the Mako I used but for $500 you wont' see me complaining. The whole experience with the sea doo made me happy - the neutral float worked perfectly throughout the dive - allowing me to get down to business while the scooter "hung out" beside me tethered to a side d-ring on my bcd. The whole experience left me with a smile on my face as I deco'ed within a minute of my well experienced vet in his big 100 as my scooter chilled and floated perfectly up the line with me from 100 feet. Big points Sea Doo. Negatives- floor space on boat and transportation were a lot more hassle as well as charging. I have to say - I would put up with it all over again and again just because of the sweet ride on a $500 scooter. BTW - it has a very cool little pump that pops the top off so I never tug on anything - and the battery has a handle and a vertical charger.

Then came the bladefish. I needed the bladefish to float near neutral. With the floaties it was a bit positive. I found it a bit awkward to get it down with me since it wasn't shaped like a torpedo. I floated down with relative ease and the bladefish floated quite nicely at near neutral. When I got down I noticed it immediately. I don't think I was on the right speed... no wait that is the bladefish on HIGH. Definitely no where close to as fast as the sea doo. I plodded along at a moderate pace and almost out of embarrassment kicked now and then so the fish didn't laugh at me. I have to say on high it was like a slow kick at best. Snorkeling it was like the sea doo but with full gear it was a wee bit on the slow side. In any case - any dpv is better than none when you're trying to conserve air. Be sure to give it a second or two to build up some movement then get ready to hold on to a slow walk. You can get a good kick going and then let the bladefish rip so you don't get upset.

As I went about my job I found the bladefish did trail behind me but because of it's odd shape it often banged on things and ended up below me more than anything. I would need to add floats to it at that depth to really get it to perform like the sea doo as far as floating effortlessly out of the way. Kind of a pain to have to "engineer" a solution for depths....Not sure I can do much about the shape.

It did conserve air as I set nets and then motored away to try to come back and get fish but I was longing for the sea doo at certain points because of the lack of thrust. One thing I know for sure - the battery on it lasts for a really long time. Something I've proved many times snorkeling. All in all it faired ok... no where near the air conservation I got off the sea doo because you constantly find yourself wanting to kick. I could not imagine tethering myself to it as I didn't feel it had that much thrust and it's odd shape didn't make for much of a one armed vehicle. Maybe there is some way to get the tether to act as a second arm... well if you can do it - more power to you.

As I came up the line - it kept getting in the way- especially since I couldn't control the buoyancy. In any case I was a bit frustrated with it - I'm sure with enough trial and error I can work on the buoyancy and on the speed... well... I just have to accept it is a $700 "less than" scooter.

The Verdict? I had one last dive and the bladefish stayed on the boat. I'm saving it for snorkeling or light shore dives. Not sure if I will try it again to fish. I took the sea doo out one last time and normally I'm at 100' in a shortie without sleeves. This time I dove with sleeves and was freeeeeezing because of how little effort I had on the sea doo. If you grab a little low on the handles it really balances well and kicking seems meaningless and more of a nuisance.

IF you're looking for a cheap scooter, portable, reliable, with excellent battery - at the sacrifice of speed and moral integrity for claiming this thing could even get close to 3 mph without a boat towing it... bladefish is for you. (what a killer snorkeling accessory or a portable scooter for people who don't need to go fast!)

If you're looking for a cheap scooter, fairly portable, good battery, and decent speed - at the sacrifice of past history of issues (although some of the issues are user error - not changing o-rings or other nonsense) - and if you are willing to gamble a bit that you can get a good scooter with acceptable speed and won't get a lemon - Maybe Sea Doo Explorer X is an option at $500 sale on amazon. I figure if it can last while I save up for a more professional one - it has served it's purpose well.

Overall if you have $1400 - why not get a Mako/Tekna with a rewound motor and a new upgraded clutch and rock out with one of the most popular - easiest mod scooter on the market.

 

[Uzbeckin]

After my dive on saturday I called the vendor and am returning the bladefish. Does anyone else feel like they're swimming behind a blender? It is pretty noisy - the longer you dive with it - the more obvious. If I ever get into traveling a ton and a normal scooter becomes a problem.. then I might consider it... or if I lose 100 pounds and decide I'd rather snorkel.

 

[Uzbeckin]

So I was bored at work and was playing with the Tahoe Benchmark formula for the relationship between thrust and speed - in order for the bladefish to even come remotely close to its claims of 3.75 mph you would have to travel at 330 feet per minute - you would have to have X over .00065 to the nth root where 2.08 is n. That would mean you would need 112.5699 pounds of thrust! (which would probably rip your mask off - and you wouldn't be trailing behind it feeling the need to kick)

IF the just released SS Magnus puts out 70 pounds of thrust and is just a tad shy of 3mph and costs $6000 can't pull off the feat - why in the heck does anyone believe that the bladefish can? It is nothing more than a suped up pool toy that is even eclipsed by the Sea Doo Explorer X (a cheaper pool toy)

 

[cool_hardware52]

So I was bored at work and was playing with the Tahoe Benchmark formula for the relationship between thrust and speed - in order for the bladefish to even come remotely close to its claims of 3.75 mph you would have to travel at 330 feet per minute - you would have to have X over .00065 to the nth root where 2.08 is n. That would mean you would need 112.5699 pounds of thrust! (which would probably rip your mask off - and you wouldn't be trailing behind it feeling the need to kick)

IF the just released SS Magnus puts out 70 pounds of thrust and is just a tad shy of 3mph and costs $6000 can't pull off the feat - why in the heck does anyone believe that the bladefish can? It is nothing more than a suped up pool toy that is even eclipsed by the Sea Doo Explorer X (a cheaper pool toy)

I agree, but be prepared for legions that still want to believe in the tooth fairy, the great pumpkin and the bladefish while discounting all available contrary evidence.


Tobin

 

[Mr.X]

Overall if you have $1400 - why not get a Mako/Tekna with a rewound motor and a new upgraded clutch and rock out with one of the most popular - easiest mod scooter on the market.

Sorry about your experiences with less-than scooters. Some folks here seem to believe they are the bee's-knee's and keep talking the heck out of what are essentially a pool toys. At the end of the day a lot of people will look at this thread and your experiences will teach others to be informed customers and that advice here has to be taken with a grain of salt.

I agree - The Mako powerplant is a time-tested setup which works. Pair it up with enough juice and it will deliver.

Cheers,

X

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

C'mon guys there's gotta be something better to do on a Friday Night than go on Scubaboard and bitch about BladeFish....again...and again...and again. (There's gotta be Matlock reruns on somewhere) (actually I can't talk..)

Of course after the usual bashing I need to waste my time pointing out:

It's a 10 pound scooter that's capable of towing a fully equipped diver, conserving air, helping in currents etc.-that's an amazing feat. In a sport that is incredibly gear intensive-this device is incredibly simple-literally plug and play. And in a sport where equipment is heavy and cumbersome, the BladeFish is light and easy-after 35 years of diving that's the direction I'm heading. If you want a scooter that's blazing fast(the Seabob-$14000.00) or very powerful (Dive Xtras-$4000.00) they're on the market now-available for you to purchase.

If you want a scooter you can literally pack in your carry-on luggage, or easily bring to the beach without a hand truck the BladeFish might be worth checking out.