My new Reference RS from SubGravity

[Dsix36]

I got my new Reference RS from SubGravity a few weeks ago. I have had other priorities happening and did not get the chance to make her wet right away though. Well, for the first ride, I christened her in Eagles Nest. Almost everything was very intuitive and the learning curve from a different brand is minimal.

Everything worked as expected or even better. I was towing another diver the entire time and never felt under powered even on a reduced speed. Even with the drag of my rEvo, 2 sidemount tanks, 2 stage tanks, and another diver; I was quite impressed with the travel speed and ease of handling. We missed 300' depth by a few feet and she was flawless.

During deco in the basin I finally got a chance to go full tilt boogie with her and found that glancing up slightly will immediately remove my mask. Damn this thing will move. I also discovered that I need to swap out crotch straps to one that is more "jewel" friendly. My DSV and loop hoses flap a lot more than ever before.

I did not have much actual trigger time to validate burn times but it did recharge rather quickly.

It does have a different leash orientation than I am used to and this seems to be the only thing that I need to relearn a bit to get the handling mastered. Not saying it is bad, just different than I am used to. Having the additional left side handle is awesome and makes a much more comfortable ride for me.

I was extremely impressed with the seeming lack of torque transmitted to my forearm. The design has taken this into consideration and engineered it to be stable, powerful, light, and still comfortable.
…………………………………..

Isabelle and I took our new Reference RS scooters out for some learning and play time. Isabelle is very new to scootering and her comfort level is not very high yet. We decided to do a couple of easy recreational dives to get things sorted out and get some time on the trigger. We got the leash lengths set pretty good for a nice pull without much prop wash and then began a slow easy pace to start with.
As per the pre dive briefing, we did some safety drills, drove with left, right and both hands, emergency stops and much more. Isabelle is definitely not ready for what the reference RS has for full speed and was happy with about 50% power for now.
I found that it was small enough to be extremely maneuverable even at extreme speeds and the variable speed was much easier to “dial in” than expected. In our one hour dives I was impressed that I still did not feel any significant muscle fatigue in my forearms. Loops, barrel rolls and sharp turns all worked awesome and the ride is extremely stable. I am getting the hang of the 12 and 6 o’clock leash mounting now but still need a few more dives to master it.
One really nice feature that I used a lot today was the double click of the trigger to jump to full speed. This is so nice to make up time or catch up to another diver. It was also useful when an unexpected current change took us away from the boat rather than towards.
I had some previous issues with the carbon fiber tube not releasing its grip on the o-ring sealing surface and found that it was basically my own error. I neglected to make sure the seals were properly lubricated with silicone grease. Everything seems to slide together and apart just fine and dandy now. Go figure!


I changed out the stock leash and added another one for towing on the front. I will soon modify the weight mounts so that I do not need an allen wrench to change for salt and fresh water. I think that I might add a tad bit of weight from what the manual says, since I think it is a little too buoyant at depth. I prefer it to be neutral at depth and it was light. Other than that, Bonex has done a heck of a good job with this and it looks like SubGravity has another great product for our enjoyment.


I don’t visit this forum much anymore and I log on even less. I doubt that I will be checking back so if you have any questions, feel free to PM me or find me on one of the other forums. I have the same username on all of them.

 

[kingkong072]

Congrats on your new ride!!

I knew there were several of Reference on order, and from what I gathered on other forum while researching about Bonex, that you were one of them and was actually wondering if you weren't satisfied with blind purchase. Thought I was the only ecstatic customer to have Reference RS replace out my other beloved DPVs.
Like how you observed, I am just amazed how not having much torque/thrust, it's able to deliver performance like other top DPVs. And so stable too!!

Anyhow, safe diving!!

Kyung

 

[CCR Josh]

Thanks for sharing Don! Glad to hear your are enjoying your new rides.

As I mentioned, if you decide you want to, it would be very easy (just swapping two screws) to change the tow cord configuration to horizontal. Otherwise it only takes people a handful of dives to get accustomed to the vertical orientation.

As always, don't hesitate to let us know if we can help in any way!


Sent from my rebreather using Tapatalk

 

[MixAddict]

Thanks for the review Don! Glad to hear that you are enjoying your SubGravity Reference RS DPV engineered by Bonex!

 

[SubGravity]

We just had to repost this narrative prose that Don wrote up over on ccrexplorers.com. If anything, it will make you smile

"I should probably share my own stupidity once again too, since this has directly affected my confidence in the carbon fiber materials used in my Reference RS. I made a cradle for Isabelle's scooter, but have not done so for mine yet. When we got on the boat, I stood mine up on the shroud next to the rail and tied the nose off with the tow leash. It all seemed safe and secure enough for me. I quickly discovered how wrong I was was when we got into the 6' seas. My poor little Reference RS fell over with a heartbreakingly loud crash. I watched as it rolled back and forth into the rail and bench with more loud thuds each time, while I was frantically attempting to get my arse there for her rescue. it seemed like an eternity before I could grab her and ease her pain and suffering. I fell like I had failed at this whole parent thing and was about to give up when she spoke to me in her gentle reassuring voice to let me know that she was fine and not injured in any way. She told me that the little bit of decal removal was just a part of life and that I had done a good job. I think we will be together for a long time."​

​

 

[Dsix36]

This past weekend was planned to be another great adventure with my Reference RS and although things did not go quit as planned I still managed to have some fun.

I was one of a possible 5 people that were planning to dive together on one of the local charters. When it was all said and done only two of us made it for the dives. Lee Ann was the other diver and she was stuck with me for the duration. Since it was yet the two of us it was decided that scooters were needed. She figured it was a good time for her to get some practice anyway.

First dive was a bust for me since I blew my HP oxygen hose on the walk to the back of the boat after getting all geared up. Lee Ann went solo as I was stealing bits from the DMs bag of goodies and getting my poor rEvo back up for the second dive.

Second dive worked much better for me even though I ended up jumping in with both tanks off. It certainly did not take very long to figure out that problem and serves me right for skipping my checklist this time. We got to the wreck and got ourselves all sorted and off we went. Lee Ann learned that a 1” crotch strap is painful to girls too. I did a couple of “Top Gun” passes over her and actually bumped her once to get her attention.

I still have not installed my split crotch strap and was really wishing that I had. I think that I have finally got the hang of the new leash orientation figured out and it is beginning to be effortless to operate. I still need to get the buoyancy set for salt water as it was still set for fresh and overly buoyant. Damn, I just never have enough time to work on gear AND dive.

I never charged it after the last outing and got another hour on it without issue. These newfangled batteries are awesome and a lot lighter than my old SLA.

I only have a few hours accumulated on my baby now, but it has been some of the best quality time I have spent. If you are looking for a DPV, make sure to take a look at the Bonex line by SubGravity.