scooter recommendation please

Hi there - I would appreciate recommendations on an average priced scooter for recreational diving. Easy to manage, lightweight and does not break down easily, would be important factors as well. Thank you in advance.

What's your budget? Do you do shore dives, boat dives or both? How do you plan to transport the DPV to the dive sites, by car, plane etc? How many dives per day would you plan to use your DPV on? Do you have a crotch strap on your BC? What is your objective in getting a DPV, have fun, cover more than one site, battle currents? Do you need to keep one hand free while diving e.g. for a camera? These are some of the factors that will influence the answer.

Quite a few divers here on the island like the 2500 Torpedo for Recreational Dives; I plan on getting a couple later this year.

Torpedo, Diver Propulsion Vehicle, Home Page

Dive-Xtras have specials on recon Sierras (which are good for 60mins and 100m+)

Your side of the world I'd look at Suex: SUEX - Dive in the fast lane

No personal experience with one but I've read they're reliable and well built.

Hands down the Apollo AV2 with the Lith battery. hands free very little maintenance with long distance and dependability


Greg Walker
Maui Scooter Divers
www.mauiscooterdivers.com

In terms of reliability and ease of maintainence, you aren't going to find anything better than a Genesis: magnetic coupled prop, so no dynamic shaft seals to fail or have to service every year, and if you get line stuck in your prop there's no clutch to damage...you just pull the prop in the water, clean it out, pop it back in and away you go; latchless locking strip/keyway tail-to-body seal so simple it's probably the most elegant piece of SCUBA engineering I've ever seen, and is basically never going to fail on a dive; charging through the nose port plug means you literally never have to open the body/tail connection during normal use...meaning you don't have to put the integrity of that seal at risk.

I could go on, but it's an impressively robust piece of gear and I dive the Hell out of mine. It's also one of the smallest, lightest, fastest DPVs on the market thanks to its LiIon battery and motor tech.

Downside is the sky-high price, even for the smaller 600 model. But the fact you don't have to service it annually (or really ever, until it's time for a new battery), will add up. Whether it adds up enough to justify a $6,500 scooter...that's your call

Suex.

They're really good.

If I were to get a second Scooter, I'd go with the Genesis DPV as noted by Dr. Lecter above because of the magnetic propeller coupling: Jammed/fouled my X-scooter prop on a night dive in Subic Bay Philippines after getting tangled in a field of coral whips.

Otherwise, a good refurbished Sierra X-Scooter with battery ($2.7k) can easily be taken abroad for travel.

http://www.dive-xtras.com/pages/products/sierra_std.asp

I have a recon Sierra and it is very nice but if I was buying again I'd choose Suex.

Bear in mind that you either need scooter-equipped buddies or you need to accept you'll be diving solo. Trying to scooter with a non-scooter buddy doesn't work.