New type of scooter

[john j]

Check this out.  I initially laughed at this, but after looking more closely, I was rather impressed.  They maunfacture a wearable type of scooter and also a tiny hand held scooter.  Both have impressive run times and speeds, but high cost.  I'd like to try the wearable scooter, would be a real hoot.  The hand help type might be fun for the freediving folks.

[DiveCaptDean]

I think there may be a pretty solid use for this in recreational scuba.  It could be a great way for divers with mobility issues..ie missing limbs or parapalegics etc.  While i personally dont think that i could justify the cost just to have one, others may and  these things may have a solid use.  It also looks like they may have a solid use in the military and commercial diving.  They will need to get the noise toned down..but...pretty impresive run times and speed from such small units...

Pretty cool

[LKunze]

I think I'd rather have your X-Scooter John...or maybe an SS N-19.  How is your X working out for you?

[blackfin]

I don't mean to but in on your discussion here but I was surprised to see there is another x-scooter in MN.  I was beginning to think I was the lone x-scooter owner.  I have had my Sierra going on my second year now and I love it.  The only issue I have ever had was when I let my Gavin buddy sucker me into a scooter trip around lake wazee.  We went full bore and after 45 minutes my single battery went out and I had to be towed the remainder of the trip.  It was just really stupid on my part to let that happen and am still trying to live that one down.  But...my Gavin friends are pretty envious when I can carry my X up from the Madera without having a heart attack.

[freedivernd]

sure looks like a lot of fun.
Fred

[john j]

My x-scooter is working out well.  I haven't had it deeper than about 225 ft so far, but it's worked very well and I have had no problems.  I was really impressed with the folks at Dive Extras because I called them to order some spare o-rings and although they do sell them, they were glad to give me the o-ring size numbers so I could order them from o-ring suppliers and save money.  I didn't expect them to do that and I appreciated it.  They also asked about how I liked the scooter, how I planned to use it, and told me to call if I ever needed anything. 

I really like the small size of the x-scooter.  It's very agile and when I have it stowed behind me, I barely even know it's there.   I wish it had longer run time for playing around at Wazee, but that's not the application I bought it for.  I'm getting about 40 minutes at full speed.  It's not quite as fast as the Silent Sumbersions.   I got to try a Silent Submersion N-19 a couple weeks ago.  That was faster than the x-scooter and has a longer run time.  They quote 60-100 minutes for the N-19, whereas I am getting ~40 minutes out of my X.  The N-19 is a little bigger and heavier though, and more expensive.   There is the lithium ion battery option for the X, which would at least double the run time, but I believe that battery pack is $1600!  That's more than I want to spend on a battery that will eventually wear out.  I think the X-scooter is a good choice but the N-19 would be good too.  N-19 has a little more speed and distance, but it's larger and heavier too, so there is the trade-off.  The small size and light weight of the X-scooter is a huge advantage on dive boats and when you need to carry your scooter to the entry point.  That was key in my decision to buy the X.  My application is deep dives off of small trailerable boats.  For that I needed a deep depth rating, light weight, small size and a relatively short run time was plenty.

I'm considering getting the long body kit for my X-scooter which would allow 2 battery packs to fit inside the scooter and the runtime would double, but I admit, that would only be a toy, not a necessity for me right now.

The attached picture shows my x-scooter in the front, an N-19 behind it and then a couple of larger lead-acid powered Silent Submersions.

[john j]

z

[tcjtn0]

Sooooooooooooo....
When are dem scooter thingies coming down to FL and get some caving in then , don't ya know?  ;D

Jeano Beano

[Kirk]

I’ll probably be down in a couple months.  My client is still keeping me busy around here, and so long as the pits remain ice free, I’ll probably keep the diving to the weekends.  I am anxious to get back into the caves, and it is good to hear that the conditions are still good (and more important, that Luraville has a new restaurant…  I was so sick of those sandwiches at the Country Store).

By the way, I had a friend take some video of my driving my Silent Submersion scooter around Wazee the other day.  Enjoy…   


  - Kirk