Any other opinions on the Sea Doo Seascooter?

[asthar00]

The idea that the handles could snap off and leave me with a long swim back doesn't appeal to me too much. I'm not suggesting that they are bad as I've not used one. My initial perceptions by viewing one dry are probably similar to a lot of potential buyers, who, like me, will see them for the first time dry, on land. So as for "so what?", well, that's what I've been hearing from a lot of people too.

Ask those people if they have tried them in the water. I have many times with no problems. Some people like to discard stuff right away without trying them first. For people who can not afford the Apollo, Torpedo, etc this is a great alternative. The light weight is one of the advatages of the sea doo.

I did a shore dive last Sunday with full scuba gear, pony tank, camera etc and the Apollo scooter. When it was time to get out of the water with all the gear and the Apollo let me tell you that you have to be in very good physical shape. I walked close to half a block carrying all that gear in my back plus the 50 pound Apollo scooter to the parking lot and let me tell you that is not for the weak. I work out 5 times a week and in the 90 degree Florida sun that walk left me shaky. That is where the sea doo would be great. However, you can not compare it to the power of the Apollo, it will do the job at a slower pace. But who is in a hurry?

 

[Warren_L]

Some people like to discard stuff right away without trying them first. For people who can not afford the Apollo, Torpedo, etc this is a great alternative. The light weight is one of the advatages of the sea doo.

Problem often times is being able to try one before buying. So is that an invitation?

 

[zf2nt]

I've had the VS Supercharged on about 16 dives over the past 3 months or so and it is a whole lot of fun. It's easy to use, can definitely move some water and the higher end models have a pretty good battery life (hour and a half or so on the low speed setting.) Once in the water if you weight the buoyancy chamber correctly it's pretty much neutral-slightly negative. It's a very nice design and for the price it can't be beat. Although I do have two complaints about it. The first one is that the handles feel VERY flimsy on land. You pick it up and you feel them move slightly. If dropped hard enough I would not be suprised to see one break off. My only other complaint is that it's difficult (but not impossible) to manuever with one hand. Even with it's drawbacks I am still very happy with my purchase.

Ditto. I went out last week for several days with a VS Supercharged and had a ball with it. One day I did 4 official PADI dives on one battery charge, though I will also admit that was enough to run it down and I had to tow the scooter back to the shore. Whatever--I got way over an hour's use on a single charge so can't complain a bit. And in any case the manual tow home is a recommended part of the DPV specialty course.

So now I'm trying to find how to buy a couple to take down to my home in the Caribbean with me this fall. I wrote to the manufacturer asking if they were going to be selling any at the DEMA in October, and what I got was a response from Hong Kong telling me to go visit my local dealer, where I could fork over $599 apiece. Wrong answer! I know they were selling them in Miami at the DEMA last year for <$400 if you bought two of em.

They have a big splashy ad on the front page of the "Undersea Journal" I just got in the mail yesterday, and there is a bunch of stuff in the PADI Pro's section I can't access because I'm not a PIRA member. This is obviously a very aggressive ad campaign, and they are trying hard to sign up new dealers. It's a good product and I want a couple, but as always at the best price possible!

Bruce