Newbie DPV user questions!

[Mr.X]

I have three high end scooters. Two are for tech purposes and redundancy in caves. If you were to add up the costs per usage (including the redundant scooter) - nowhere was I cost effective. The redundant being the least used scooter as it sits on the butt ring. BTW - same goes for the redundant rebreathers. That said - all these tools are necessary if the work you do remotely located, backup needed to get the job done - you bite the bullet.

If I were looking at it from a purely cost effective purpose and time of usage % I might look at getting a used high end scooter, or pooling resources and buying a small fleet where team members could swap/lend. The latter being something like the team mentality of the WKPP.

 

[Randy g]

Agree to disagree...
If you get 300 dives out of your $700 pool toy, you're paying about $2.30 a dive.

That will NEVER happen. Cheap toys never last! You'd be luck to get 50-100 dives on a pool toy before something happens. Our Mako is something I consider cheap vs the Genesis. It's a early tech'ish scooter and I have had multiple failures (clutch, prop mount, 2 floods) on the mako over the last 3 yrs and only 1 on the Genesis and that was my fault for letting it sit in the surf and sand got behind the go button. Every year we have problems of some sort with the plastic scooter aka Mako. I keep rebuilding it, until I can afford another Genesis scooter for my wife.
Don't blow your money on pool toys if you want something for ocean diving.

 

[Father]

That will NEVER happen. Cheap toys never last!

Hate to break it to you but it can and it has. Not saying it's the norm. Saying it's the result of not abusing it and proper maintenance and care.
I think it might have had a battery replacement.

 

[xtremesk8ter314]

Two of my five Explorer X's have over 350 dives. Of the two, one has a small leak in the nose cone from over torquing the vent plug - which can be fixed with a $35 replacement cone. I would like to have something fancier but I also use these "pool toys" to teach with. They're good enough to withstand the rigors of students and I won't cry nearly as much is one gets FUBAR'ed.

 

[Mr.X]

I've used a variety of scooters in introductory tech courses. The recreational/inexpensive ones, as well as Mako, Gavin etc. Since it is a tech class - the students inevitably turn to the Mako-style scooters as they perform better in "techier" conditions like towing, thrust in current, plus accommodation to whatever kit config. they are, or will be using.

The inexpensive scooters are more than useful for introducing students to propulsion, but in the long run not something I would want if I were on the job. But then, they weren't meant to be used in a tech-related circumstance. Big test - if a student can outswim a scooter for more than 30 seconds +, they typically see that brand of scooter as more of an inconvenience.

 

[fdarden]

Save your money and get a Submerge Magnus or a Logic Genesis, or equivalent. You want a scooter with a Lithium battery, and on the better DPV's the battery alone will be expensive regardless of the DPV brand. A pool toy scooter is great for one thing - consistent disappointment and stranding. Don't waste your money and get a POS "bargain" scooter. You will regret it every time you use it. Especially when you see someone do 3 dives in a row constantly whizzing past you on their Genesis. I cannot speak to your dive skills but it is good advice to have your trim and buoyancy in check. A scooter will quickly mask those sins and when you don't have the scooter you'll wish you had spent more time on those skills! That all being said I rarely dive without my scooter. I absolutely love it!

 

[JGLOW]

I've asked those questions myself.

I have been diving scooters now for a few years and have only been asked on a few dive boats if I had a DPV cert card. Having been asked and refused by the dive boat CAPT to use my own scooter I broke down and paid PADI for a recreational DPV cert. Since then I've had the oppurtunity to spend some time with a TECH/CAVE dive instructor who teaches the advanced scooter courses and he has taught me some amazing scooter moves but I still just have a PADI cert and can't dive caves until I get the CAVE card.

I would check out SCUBAGLOW.com they offer a complete line of SUEX scooters and the have a USED SCOOTER FOR SALE FORUM if your looking to sell your DPV.

CHEERS!