New DPV - Dive Xtras

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My blacktip has no problem pulling 220lb me in cold-water (3ish deg C) drysuit side-mount config.
Speed "1" on and off the trigger to keep up w/ swimming divers, speed "3-4" comfortable cruising, "5+" you really get going.
Towed my buddy (also a big guy) for an hour long quarry dive at various speeds - exited w/ 3 bars (50-75%) battery (12ah).

We use DPVs to extend our shore diving / spend more time at our objective vs transit - no overhead/penetration etc.
It outperforms the rental Suex xjoy7's (VR predecessor) we used in the past and it's much faster to recharge the PTB batteries (an hour or less w/ DCB104 fast charger) - properly executed generic battery (PTB) support is a great feature.
It's light and easier to handle on entry/exit too.

Looking forward to good times with these this year.
 
The BlackTip is an absolute beast of a scooter. I have used it to pull me and my buddy. Both of us in drysuits. Me, a 230 pound guy with a rebreather and her with a sidemount bailout. And it will still go fast enough to try and pull my mask off.
 
Anyone got a soundclip? I take it this is a direct drive motor (that is how it looks) so there shouldn't be any gear noise. But you can always here scooters running. Being that I have heard no mention of them being loud, that probably means that they are fairly quiet? Still wonder what they sound like?

I take it no V8 rumble to them?
 
Not loud / annoying - this one was grunting a bit pulling 2 divers in tech config, that was 3rd speed if I remember.
Tone varies with speed/rpm/load w/ 7 & 8 being the most noticeable.

 

Thank you, this is exactly the type of experience I was looking for. Seems like this DPV is more than capable then :)
As mentioned, I am also considering the SUEX VRX, and you talked about the old XJOY as well. Its really these two that is in my price range, but the SUEX will set me back approx. $800-1000 (depending on the exchange rate). Thoughts on these two in comparison to each other, if you take into account that the SUEX is a newer scooter with Lithium-batteries? If the blacktip performes as good as the VRX then it is a no-brainer for sure, the Blacetip wins on price alone

Thanks again :)
 
Looked at the VRX for a while but went for the blacktip for the following reasons...

- quality generic off the shelf batteries that I can fly with, easy battery swap at dive site or on boat, plus options for fast charging (~1hr) and storage charging (for long term storage).

- size and weight - it easily fits with the rest of my gear (including 4x LP85's, maybe 1 or 2 AL80 stages) in the back of my SUV w/o having to drop the back seats. For shore dives larger DPVs require an additional trip between car and entry point - this one does not i.e. it is more likely that it will not be left behind - might actually take it on the next dive vacation. Should be fun to go a little further on the house reef, yet capable enough for some more serious diving at home.

- good battery status display and single handed speed control, 8 speeds mean matching my buddy's speed should not be a problem.
 
There are some things that make it less than ideally suited for something like a cave scooter or backup scooter, but for open water diving it's probably the best option on the market right now. If it fit my needs, I'd get it over the Suex.
 
Wow, thank you both for your help! The blacktip is def. on the top of my list for this summer :)
 
Hello all :)
Im looking to buy my first DPV this summer, and the Blacktip caught my interest. I will be using it as transport to and from wrecks off the coast here in Norway. So in other words, we are talking about cold water diving, drysuit, D12 and further down the line - stages. Will this DPV fit the bill? The best "bang for buck" batteries I can get is the DeWalt XR 9ah, which are half the price of the 12ah. So I am thinking I can buy a pair and even another pair of batteries for those dive-trips where we dont have access to the grid for charging

Thoughts? Can it drag a 200lbs guy in a drysuit and D12s with a stage (or three)?

As another note, a lot of the guys I dive with use the Suex VRT/VRX and tells me it should be enough. But I am unsure how it compares to the blacktip. I could of course buy the Suex, but I like the idea behind the Blacktip and the battery solution

Yeah I am 200+ pounds and dive doubles. I haven't tested with a couple deco bottles yet but it pulls me just fine. The price point and weight were the true sellers for me, as I have been riding a Gavin short body for a while now (2 lead acid HEAVY batteries). I find myself in about 4th or 5th gear and I am comparable to my Sierra friend.
 
So..I waited a bit for some reviews to come out but I just pulled the trigger (figuratively and soon literally!) on a Blacktip.

~70% of my diving is local boat diving and some extended shore dives. This ticks all the boxes for size, weight, and travel friendliness. I'm not really in Florida enough to justify the purchase of a fully capable cave DPV at this point so hopefully this should keep me busy for a while. I did see some people are using it for "light" cave diving. Either way, I think I'm going to order multiple sets of batteries.

I"m "upgrading" from a modified Suex XJoy2 DPV which has very little thrust capability. I just use it tool around wrecks right now but it's slow as hell, especially with a breather and two bailouts.

I've driven both CUDA 650s and Suex XJ37s so it will be interesting to compare them to the Blacktip. I really like the trigger on the CUDA 650 since I like being able to change speeds with same hand while staying on the trigger.
 

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