BLADEFISH Sea Jets - A Completely Different Approach

[Mr.X]

LOL

Well, there's also this SeaJet: Maverick Jets - The Jets - SeaJet

Nice idea, but could it take the pounding of Alaska? Alaska having the most sea/float planes anywhere?

If you put a bladefish on the wing I am sure it would give the plane and extra 3 mph too.

X

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

It seems that most people who own them enjoy them. I know we own 2 and will replace them when they drop dead

I must have about a hundred hours on mine.....the cool thing is I'll bring it on every dive...it's just so easy-and the no maintenance thing is huge. I don't miss disassembling my DPV after each dive, pulling out the battery, reassembling....I wish all my gear was this easy. Grabbing the BladeFish for a dive is as simple as grabbing your fins.....more time havin fun diving and less time mucking around.

Do you keep yours on your boat?

 

[deeper thoughts]

I must have about a hundred hours on mine.....the cool thing is I'll bring it on every dive...it's just so easy-and the no maintenance thing is huge. I don't miss disassembling my DPV after each dive, pulling out the battery, reassembling....I wish all my gear was this easy. Grabbing the BladeFish for a dive is as simple as grabbing your fins.....more time havin fun diving and less time mucking around.

Do you keep yours on your boat?

The shed and being so lightweight carrying them has not been a problem

 

[PROTEUS Diving]

I picked one up for $600 in the spring of 2010. I liked it, its not going to tear your shoulders off or your mask or make your reg freeflow. It pulls you along slightly faster than regular finning (.5 x faster). That is fully kitted out, if you were south or on snorkel you would be much faster. Battery life was pretty good, usually 40 min on full speed. The other speeds are useless. Quick charge and the plug and O-ring are fine. You can't hold it out in front of you if you want efficiency (speed) the best position is at the waist which puts your wrists at a 90 degree, gets tiring after a while. I used it for searching; with a reel attached to my waist I would cover plenty of ground without finning which means less exertion and more air and more bottom time. This year (recently) I think its pooched. It worked fine during the dive and after on the deck; I put it away and when I went to pick it up (three days later) there was a pool of brown colored water around it and the red light was flashing (low charge), I removed the plug to ready it for charge, the light went out and there has been no life since. I'm in the process of contacting the company.

 

[vjanelle]

If your scooter is "tearing your shoulder off", you're doing it wrong. The tow harness is supposed to be attached to a harness and not so loose that you're "holding on" to the scooter for dear life with your arm.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

The shed and being so lightweight carrying them has not been a problem

The new BladeFish looks pretty sweet: BladeFish 5000 Turbo . The camera mount looks like a nice feature-I had to jury rig my 5000 with duct tape to mount a camera.

 

[deeper thoughts]

The new BladeFish looks pretty sweet: BladeFish 5000 Turbo . The camera mount looks like a nice feature-I had to jury rig my 5000 with duct tape to mount a camera.

This looks great. We are very happy with the two we have but this is good for future reference

 

[Mr.X]

Interestingly enough Bladefish is distributed out of Dennis Ma = Cape Cod, Ma. The manufacturer claims a wicked 4 mph. Yeah, sure.

 

[Jon Nellis]

A new bladefish design!? Yeah, Mythbusters did an episode on this topic a while back HERE

Yes Mr. X, it is rather curious that:

A) rapidiver lives in the same place as the bladefish distributor.
B) this dead thread was resurrected the weekend before DEMA
C) every mention of bladefish in rapidiver's post has a link to the manufacturer's/distributors website
D) every post after rapidivers mediocre at best review, (below) sighting it as being "not quite as powerful as an (Seadoo) Explorer", "doesn't handle as well", noisy, un-ergonomic and "Bottom Line: Look, the BladeFish just isn't going to replace torpedo shaped scooters" miraculously later describes it as "pocket rocket" as if the unscrupulous bladefish marketing department (who can't do basic math) put him on the payroll because of his high post count (along with deeper thoughts, I suspect, due to his timely reply in support yesterday).

Yes, the efforts of their marketing department are quite transparent and clearly know no bounds. How pathetic.

What I find most amusing is that the only SCUBA gear in marketing pictures on the manufacturers website is someone sucking on a spare air. (I'm sure they'll have to change that after reading this) So the big question is ... Why does a SNORKEL toy have so many posts on SCUBAboard. (answer: bladefish marketing)


Someone had to state the obvious so the folks going to DEMA could be better informed buyers (since their specs defy physics) and for once it wasn't Tobin.

I had the opportunity to use the BladeFish Sea Scooter in a pool with full gear. It's really a completely different scooter from the Sea Doo Seascooter Explorer as well as most scooters on the market. The BladeFish 5000 is actually very powerful for it's size-not quite as powerful as an Explorer but close, doesn't handle as well and is noisier than the Explorer-but for a 10# 15"x6" it's pretty impressive.

Pros:
Compactness: At only 10 pounds and small footprint it's a slam dunk for airplane travel-and I don't think TSA would have a problem with it(doesn't look like a torpedo)
Power: It will easily tow a diver with full gear
Run Time: between 1-2 hours and quick recharge(comparably)
Battery: Small Lithium Ion batteries don't take up space on unit-and you don't need to worry about charging them every few months

Cons:
Noise: It's pretty loud-because it's a very small scooter there isn't much room for sound insulation-and you do hold it in front of your face
Battery: Can't switch out those Lithium Ion batteries-you'll need to wait for it to recharge before your next dive-and after about 500+ dives the scooter is dead-tho I've heard you may be able to send it in for battery replacement
Ergonomics:You hold this scooter straight in front of you- Not to bad but less fluid than a scooter you hold sort of below you

Bottom Line: Look, the BladeFish just isn't going to replace torpedo shaped scooters but If space is a real issue, if you love shore diving but hate carrying your heavy scooter or if your a frequent traveler the BladeFish is definitely worth taking a look at.

 

[Mr.X]

Cheers! The Youtube link is hilarious.

Thanks for the comments above. Tired of guys endorsing stuff and not being up front about it. Not very sporting - said with a British accent.

X