My Piranha P-1 Just Arrived!

[kelemvor]

Cost--Backscatter offered a package (might still have it going on) with the scooter, smart slice, great heavy duty camera mount with cam strap and quick release set-up, travel case, spare O-rings and handles and weights, and the vacuum pump, for $1600 off of retail.

Wow that's a great deal!

The sale must be over, prices now look like msrp as far as I can tell.


I'm getting the scooter bug. Gave up on cave for medical reasons. Decided I didn't like the ffm's we bought. Maybe a scooter will be the next great toy in the kelemvor household.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Forgot to say that in addition to the discount they included the Think Tank transport case. Another 350 value. I couldn't pass it up.

I passed on the ffm. Too many issues if it flooded. my other toy is my double hose which has become my standard reg. The scooter will be my way to easy diving in currents as I get older.

 

[scubadada]

You won't believe this, but the traffic gridlocked in Ft. Lauderdale and I could not make it to the boat! Thankfully, Pura Vida was understanding and I booked a trip for tomorrow morning and they credited me for today. They are going to dive the Ana Cecilia wreck trek, which is what I wanted to do anyway and will be a great test for the scooter. I bet I will hit all 4 wrecks.

So, report delayed for a day or so.

Look forward to your report

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

ok, my maiden voyage. Everyone on the boat was very impressed with the small size and weight compared to other tech scooters they have seen (Suex is big down here and is the basis for comparison). Also the fact that it can be taken on airplanes.

In the water, it was a very slightly bit positive, tending to float nose up. I like this because if I take my camera off the scooter I don't have to worry about it sinking and hitting the reef. Just throw it behind me under my arm and forget it is there.

It was very reassuring to have the vacuum monitor on during the dive, and very useful to have the battery usage gauge.

I took it on one dive, in a moderately strong current (maybe about one knot, you could swim against it, but kicking hard and not for long). I was in a recreational streamlined single tank rig. I did not take my camera mounted, as I wanted to get familiar with the scooter first.

As for power, it is a BEAST. It took and will take some getting used to. I was getting more comfortable with it by the end once I began to understand the best way to position and steer it. I laugh, now, that I worried as to whether it would pull me and my wife and my big camera into a brisk current. Ha! No worries on that score.

It has eight speeds and is programmed to begin in "third" (which is "cruising speed" and supposedly offers two hours of run time). This easily pulled me against the current. Even speed "one" would do that, albeit more slowly. When I clicked it up to "eight" it was a cheek wobbling, mask ripping off experience if you were not careful. Just amazing. I could follow a fast-swimming lemon shark no problem. But, I did not stray too far away from the dive group so had to break off.

In fact, even "third" is too much if I want to slow moving videos. Luckily, this scooter is programmable so that I can choose to start in "one" (or even in "eight"), and even slow down the thrust of "one" for a slow, deliberate start. I am going to program it for that. Then, I can click through to the faster speeds. The trigger is electronic and you shift "up" by a fast double pull, and shift "down" by a fast single pull. Takes a few minutes to get used to, but pretty easy once you can judge how fast you have to click (if you pause too long between pulls, the scooter stops, and you begin again in the original "start" gear).

My dive was 45 minutes. I was "on the trigger" maybe 30 minutes of that, going between "one" and "third" with some fun sprints at higher gears. The battery usage meter showed 2 amp hours used out of a theoretical 10 from the batteries. But, even if the battery capacity is 8 amp hours, I was only 1/4 of the way through, which is pretty consistent with the 2 hour claimed run time in third gear. Plenty for even 3-4 recreational dives.

All in all, this is a piece of gear that is even more sophisticated and robust that what I expected. Also more complex and it will take some time and practice to master. It oozes quality and I expect it will last me the rest of my diving lifetime.

 

[Compressor]

Yes, I shopped every scooter there is, as this is a lifetime investment. Maybe my process might be helpful for others.

I am a recreational ocean diver mainly from boats, often crowded dive boats. I plan to use this to handle strong currents and as a stable platform to shoot photos and video. So, I am not looking for exploration level run time or the ultimate in high speed. Also, I travel, and for the money scooters cost I wanted something that could travel with me. In the end it was a no-brainer because DiveXtras solved several serious scooter problems:

1. Expensive proprietary batteries that are hard to install (what if the company goes out of business or your battery dies unexpectedly?). No issue, these DeWalt batteries are everywhere (In the US at least) and will be around for a long time. Also, the DeWalts charge in 50 minutes! You can run the scooter to death, charge it over lunch, and be right back in action. As for cost, well, the original proprietary DiveXtra battery is $1100. Four original (not knock-off) Dewalts, which is what the scooter takes, are $224 from ebay! Knock-off batteries are half that cost. You can have two full battery sets and still be 1/3 the cost of one proprietary battery. Also, it takes literally 4 minutes to pop off the nose (no need to take the scooter apart) pop out the dead batteries, click in the new ones, put on the nose and draw a vacuum.

2. Weight and size--mine weighs 24 pounds including battery and is very short--way better than others out there for boat dives. It included the smart slice, which adds three pounds and two inches length, but that gives you a battery consumption gauge and a vacuum pump and monitor to guarantee you are sealed up tight against floods. Well worth the couple of pounds especially for salt water divers like me.

3. Travel: YES!! Finally a premium scooter that can fly anywhere in the world, both due to the light weight, modular design that breaks down, and travel-legal batteries. Fully packed I am under 40 pounds and size-legal for checked baggage on any airline. I have to pay for an extra bag, but no overweight/oversize charges.

Were there some disadvantages, well, there always are, but they did not make the difference:

1. Lots of sealing points: Yes, due to the modular design. I believe that they effectively mitigated this by using double O-ring seals everywhere and, even better, having the vacuum design to seal it up and verify it holding.

2. Standard prop seal instead of the magnetic one; I'll live with that, they said the magnetic one adds weight.

3. Slightly less thrust than some of the big boys. No issue for me. First, it's not very much difference. Also, I am a recreational diver and this will be more than enough to pull me and my buddy, even with the camera mounted.

4. Run time. Claimed to be 50 minutes full throttle and almost two hours cruise. Not an issue for my rec diving. It has more than enough for two one hour dives (not on the trigger all the time and definitely not at full all the time), batteries can be easily swapped, and I can add more battery compartments if I really want expedition level run time.

Cost--Backscatter offered a package (might still have it going on) with the scooter, smart slice, great heavy duty camera mount with cam strap and quick release set-up, travel case, spare O-rings and handles and weights, and the vacuum pump, for $1600 off of retail. This made it WAY less that any similar packages.

The only thing I added was the DiveXtra console with SK8 compass and a boot for a puck style bottom timer. I need to navigate between wrecks and reefs so this was necessary for me.

Excellent assessment. Thank you.

You won't believe this, but the traffic gridlocked in Ft. Lauderdale and I could not make it to the boat! Thankfully, Pura Vida was understanding and I booked a trip for tomorrow morning and they credited me for today. They are going to dive the Ana Cecilia wreck trek, which is what I wanted to do anyway and will be a great test for the scooter. I bet I will hit all 4 wrecks.

So, report delayed for a day or so.

Pura Vida are excellent people. Go there all the time now.

ok, my maiden voyage. Everyone on the boat was very impressed with the small size and weight compared to other tech scooters they have seen (Suex is big down here and is the basis for comparison). Also the fact that it can be taken on airplanes.

In the water, it was a very slightly bit positive, tending to float nose up. I like this because if I take my camera off the scooter I don't have to worry about it sinking and hitting the reef. Just throw it behind me under my arm and forget it is there.

It was very reassuring to have the vacuum monitor on during the dive, and very useful to have the battery usage gauge.

I took it on one dive, in a moderately strong current (maybe about one knot, you could swim against it, but kicking hard and not for long). I was in a recreational streamlined single tank rig. I did not take my camera mounted, as I wanted to get familiar with the scooter first.

As for power, it is a BEAST. It took and will take some getting used to. I was getting more comfortable with it by the end once I began to understand the best way to position and steer it. I laugh, now, that I worried as to whether it would pull me and my wife and my big camera into a brisk current. Ha! No worries on that score.

It has eight speeds and is programmed to begin in "third" (which is "cruising speed" and supposedly offers two hours of run time). This easily pulled me against the current. Even speed "one" would do that, albeit more slowly. When I clicked it up to "eight" it was a cheek wobbling, mask ripping off experience if you were not careful. Just amazing. I could follow a fast-swimming lemon shark no problem. But, I did not stray too far away from the dive group so had to break off.

In fact, even "third" is too much if I want to slow moving videos. Luckily, this scooter is programmable so that I can choose to start in "one" (or even in "eight"), and even slow down the thrust of "one" for a slow, deliberate start. I am going to program it for that. Then, I can click through to the faster speeds. The trigger is electronic and you shift "up" by a fast double pull, and shift "down" by a fast single pull. Takes a few minutes to get used to, but pretty easy once you can judge how fast you have to click (if you pause too long between pulls, the scooter stops, and you begin again in the original "start" gear).

My dive was 45 minutes. I was "on the trigger" maybe 30 minutes of that, going between "one" and "third" with some fun sprints at higher gears. The battery usage meter showed 2 amp hours used out of a theoretical 10 from the batteries. But, even if the battery capacity is 8 amp hours, I was only 1/4 of the way through, which is pretty consistent with the 2 hour claimed run time in third gear. Plenty for even 3-4 recreational dives.

All in all, this is a piece of gear that is even more sophisticated and robust that what I expected. Also more complex and it will take some time and practice to master. It oozes quality and I expect it will last me the rest of my diving lifetime.

Very nice report. We need some video of you if available.

Thanks

 

[Compressor]

@guyharrisonphoto I am getting the scooter bug. Curious why you picked the P1 out and not the Cuda 400. Must be size.

 

[Johnoly]

.. Must be size.

That's a consideration.

But the Cuda is a Nimh battery and the P1 is a lithium battery with so much better performance. But Lithium batteries are a No-No on airplanes UNLESS you meet the tiny handheld size requirement. And the true beauty of the P1 is it's tiny, powerful, Airline accepted, Lithium, design that are the size of a cordless drill battery.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

@guyharrisonphoto I am getting the scooter bug. Curious why you picked the P1 out and not the Cuda 400. Must be size.

Hi Compressor,

I know I am long-winded, but my post above goes through my reasons for picking the P1 over anything else. Just to bullet point them

• Small, one of the shortest scooters out there, very easy to handle and store on crowded dive boats
• Light weight --26 pounds--way lighter than others of comparable power
• High performance in this very small package, full tech-level thrust and long run time even with one battery tube, and I can add more battery tubes for expedition run time if I ever want to.
• Fast, 2 minute battery swap if I want, for all-day or multi-day trips, with the vacuum pump to verify it is re-sealed, see below.
• Power Tool batteries: Cheap (225 total for four which are needed, for name brand name DeWalt, and off brands are half that price for 4, compared to 1100 for proprietary Dive Xtra lithium pack); they just click in so can have cheap second "battery pack" ready to swap between dives; lightweight; available all over at home improvement stores or online; 45 minute charge time (yes, you read that right); TRAVEL LEGAL anywhere in the world but they do have to go in your carry-on not in the check travel case.
• Easy travel with the scooter--breaks down into standard size case; no oversize or overweight charges
• Vacuum pump to seal it up, with a meter to verify seal is holding
• Battery usage gauge
• Programmable speeds and gears

As for the Cuda or NIMH, Johnoly said above. Bigger, heavier, bulkier, no ability to travel (or if so, oversize and overweight charges). None of the benefits, really, but it is cheaper at retail (but I got my P1 with the great package deal, so not that much different).

For my needs (rec diving, want to travel with it, must deal with dive boats) it was perfect. Saving money on bigger, cheaper, bulkier ones would mean it would spend a lot of time sitting in my garage instead if in the water with me. I did not want that for the money these cost.

So, I spent the money and will now just keep it forever and try forget how ridiculously and extravagant an expenditure it was by getting my money's worth out of using it.

As for video, no one had a camera on my dive, so none to share. That will come over the next couple of months.

 

[Compressor]

I appreciate your review.

 

[sunnyboy]

My P1 was bought when the only option was the single lithium battery. I certainly wish I had the powertool battery version; as with all things battery, lithiums eventually lose power. It would be so nice to just pull a weak powertool and get another, as the cost of a new lithium pack (in $US then shipped to Canada) is simply out of reach for me.

I know they sell the empty powertool unit, but even that is outside my range for now... guess I'll have to sell a drysuit or something.

Still, even with an older lithium battery, the P1 is a joy to dive in every sense of the word. Today I did a dive that I've often done in the past "all swimming", but thanks to the P1 I was able to extend my range significantly and find another wall beyond my previous "furthest swim" distance. I was back at my entrance area in the same time as wehn I used to swim it all. They are so very, very cool.