Dive-Xtra Piranha

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Thanks for the details.

It seems like the P1 would be an ideal scooter for my Wife who is also short.
She mentions feeling like controlling/steering our Cuda 400 is a bit of a struggle.

Cheers,
Mitch
 
I should mention, though, that there is a fair amount of what I call "torque steer" on the thing -- because it has so little mass, you definitely feel the desire of the whole scooter to rotate. I don't know if they are doing some ballast-shifting in the production models to minimize that or not.
 
Does it have shaft seals? Otherwise, it sounds like a slightly smaller, much louder Genesis 600...though the battery and trim mass in those is offset to help counter the rotational torque issue TS&M mentioned.

Hopefully we have another TBM test that includes these little guys.
 
A 2015 Tahoe Benchmark would be great.

It would be even better if more manufactures participated; I would like to see some of the Suex variants tested.
With new models being introduced and some being dropped or discontinued (Cuda 650 and the Halcyon variants), a new Benchmark would be cool.

Hopefully people will support it and donate.

@Dr. Lecter **I like what I have read about the Genesis DPVs, and seriously considered buying one. I needed more than one scooter, so the cost of multiple Genesis scooters wasn't a real option. I like the design features of them!

Cheers,
Mitch
 
Cheap they are not. Then again, flood one of your DPVs because of a failed shaft seal, and you probably just paid for the difference in cost.
 
So what do y'all guys want to know? I'm here to answer questions :)

Does it have shaft seals? What's max thrust? Range at max thrust, at 150fpm, 180fpm, and 200fpm? And how many watthours are you burning with one to achieve those various ranges (i.e., how efficient is it)?
 
I am interested to hear about it as well. I am buying my wife a new scooter within the next 90 days. The Gen 600 is a natural for me since I already drank the Genesis koolaid. BUT I am willing to look at other high quality toys.
 
I spent three days on Catalina playing with the Piranha, and if I had the purchase price burning a hole in my pocket, I'd already own one.

The scooter is ridiculously simple to put together. No latches! Pressure holds the battery module in place, although there is a safety strap you install. The primary purpose of the safety strap is to make the perfect handle on the scooter nose.

The thing is TINY and deliciously light. For somebody short, like me, the Sierra always presented a challenge -- I had to hike my arm up to keep the nose out of the sand, if I held the shroud. The Piranha has this nice strap, and you snuggle your hand under it and stand up and presto! Scooter is off the ground and easily carried. I don't think it weighs any more than an Al40 deco bottle rigged up. I can carry it into the water without worrying about my balance.

It goes like a bat out of you-know-where. The Piranha I had, in first gear, was outrunning a Sierra with a similar sized and equipped diver in 3rd. And it is agile as a good backfield runner. I did my first truly successful barrel roll (you know, where you don't pull out of it screaming and trying not to run the scooter into the sand) with the Piranha. I did loops and snap rolls and spun myself silly. It's so short, you can aim it anywhere.

Downsides? Two, only, that I can think of. One is that the one I was using was NOISY. I mean, you have to put up with scooter whir with any scooter, but this thing sounded like a Vitamax mixer on high. Dive X-tras tells me this prototype didn't have the gearing the sale models will have, so they will be quieter. I'd put up with the noise for the light weight and the maneuverability and the burn time. The second downside is the price. For what a Piranha costs, you could take a GUE open water class AND buy all your gear, or spend a week on just about the fanciest liveaboard ever.

In case it isn't clear -- I loved this device. I loved the simplicity, and the lightness, and the handle, and the speed, and the fact that you can do a whole day of diving with it without swapping out batteries. If I could trade my Sierra straight across, it would already be done.
how much does it cost and what's the burntime?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom