Gavin "Mini Me" vs. X-Scooter Sierra (standard).

[Dan Gibson]

My understanding is the Gavin has 55# of thrust. The X has 60# of thrust.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, but one would think greater thrust would make towing that heavy ladden tech diver easier. Now whether or not burn time is affected is another story.

I expect technique has/had a lot to do with it.

Claim...High science.

Anyways, IMO the difference between the scooters are small in comparison between the technique/profile of a diver.

 

[Kevrumbo]

[Reply deleted --flamewar hopefully averted. . .]

 

[Dan Gibson]

Kevrumbo,

Don't worry about a flame war. I know I don't take it persoanly.

What I was saying is your statement in your first post appears to be inaccurate. The X does have more thrust. Assuming the batteries were not spent, if the X couldn't make ground in the situation presented in your second post, the Gavin would not have either.

Unless both brands were in the water at the same time, one would have nothing to compare it against. The observation would appear meaningless under the circumstances.

I can tell you I witnessed a couple of Gavin owners who couldn't make it into Little River a few weeks ago and gave up because the flow was too high. There are some conditions where even a scooter gets it's *** kicked.

As I said before, I'm not saying one brand is better than the other. It doesn't matter to me what people ride. I have ridden both the X and the Gavin. Both are capable scooters.

I saw what I saw in spite of the above advertised thrust specs and heard the claiments opinion. Simple conclusion: a perceived discrepancy based on an anecdotal observation that invites further investigation/discussion/speculation etc.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Kevrumbo,

Don't worry about a flame war. I know I don't take it persoanly.

What I was saying is your statement in your first post appears to be inaccurate. The X does have more thrust. Assuming the batteries were not spent, if the X couldn't make ground in the situation presented in your second post, the Gavin would not have either.

Unless both brands were in the water at the same time, one would have nothing to compare it against. The observation would appear meaningless under the circumstances.

I can tell you I witnessed a couple of Gavin owners who couldn't make it into Little River a few weeks ago and gave up because the flow was too high. There are some conditions where even a scooter gets it's *** kicked.

As I said before, I'm not saying one brand is better than the other. It doesn't matter to me what people ride. I have ridden both the X and the Gavin. Both are capable scooters.

There's an apocryphal tale that I just heard from the GUE guys here in LA (there's a Tech 1 Course going on right now that I'm sitting in on), about putting an X-Scooter and a Gavin nose-to-nose & simultaneously pressing both triggers: the Gavin supposedly pushed the X-Scooter backwards. . .
Oy Vey! What to believe?!

 

[cool_hardware52]

There's an apocryphal tale that I just heard from the GUE guys here in LA (there's a Tech 1 Course going on right now that I'm sitting in on), about putting an X-Scooter and a Gavin nose-to-nose & simultaneously pressing both triggers: the Gavin supposedly pushed the X-Scooter backwards. . .
Oy Vey! What to believe?!

Hi Kevin,

I like to be fly on the wall for that class, sounds like a great experience.

A couple thoughts:

The Gavins use the Oceanic Brush DC low speed, high torque motor. These motors have been "hot-rodded" quite a bit. Various rewinds. More power output always requires more power input, which of course affects runtimes. Was the Gavin in your apocryphal story stock?

Second point. The Brushless motor used in an X requires a motor controller. This controller is programmed with a "ramped" start up. Unlike the Gavin which tries to accelerate the prop to full RPM instantly, the X speeds up the prop more gently. Nicer for the operator, but what does that do in head to head test? I'd guess that if you succeed in getting one scooter to move backwards at all it will never recover, as the flow over the prop would be compromised. This is just speculation on my part.

Seems the fairest test is timed runs with two divers, then swap scooters and repeat.

If you keep the runs fairly short, and start with fully charged batteries the variables of configuration and operator skill should cancel.

Tobin

 

[jagfish]

I've equipped my scooter with a Li-Ion battery that provides 2.2 times the runtime of the stock NiMh pack, the other two have not.

Tobin, what was the source for that Li-ion pack?

 

[JeffG]

Tobin, what was the source for that Li-ion pack?

DSS

http://www.deepseasupply.com

Edit: Hey I don't see it on his web site. Maybe they are only sold through 5-diveXtras

 

[cool_hardware52]

We have delivered the first few Li-Ion batteries. If you are interested contact me.


Tobin

 

[JeffG]

We have delivered the first few Li-Ion batteries. If you are interested contact me.


Tobin

Well...If I didn't have 3 of the nimh and the XL hull, I would consider it. :11doh:

 

[O-ring]

Be very wary of someone that prefaces all his/her statements with "well, I heard from a GUE instructor" or "I have a friend who told me that his friend..", etc. etc. GUE has a major axe to grind here and they are about as impartial as OJ's jury.

Go out, assemble one of every type of scooter you are interested in, put them through their paces, and then make your selection. Any other method of evaluation is flawed. Scooter manufacturers are experts in their products and are very forthcoming with real information - from the source. Call Rodney, he's a very nice guy - talk scooter. Do the same with Ben, George and Alex, whomever you want. Just keep in mind that they are all selling something and, just like when buying a car, caveat emptor should be your watchword. The biggest thing is to get real data and real time on the trigger.