Just ordered a BlackTip Tech

[MrChen]

My Travel and Tech tubes with my handles on them.

@stuartv, what are the other cords for?

 

[stuartv]

@stuartv, what are the other cords for?

Those are loops of thick bungee. They are there for general purpose use.

I can clip something to a bungee to attach it to the scooter.

I can stuff a folded up or rolled up lift bag under them to keep with me without having to put it in a pocket or clip it to myself somewhere.

Having 3 is probably overkill.

 

[MrChen]

This is my dss crotch strap after the 3 dpv dives. It's been replaced.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Choptima CCR / DPV Link

This little adaptor is for use with a Choptima CCR. Available from Dive-Rite.

 

[BlueTrin]

Which BlackTip did you buy?

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Which BlackTip did you buy?

Tec - arrives tomorrow.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I ditched that POS and made a Suex-style soft handle very similar to what @laikabear did and showed in this post:

New Blacktip setup...

So I ordered a Blacktip Tech. I am trying to figure out what else do I need. Right now it will be used for open water dives, I don't think I am an experienced enough cave diver to use it in the caves just yet (and probably won't be for a long while). What spares have you all needed or...

scubaboard.com

A big hose clamp, some 2" webbing, and you get fancy and use some webbing sheath material over the clamp if you want.

Tools: Scissors, a lighter, a slotted screwdriver or nut driver for the hose clamp, and a soldering iron to burn a couple of slots in the webbing for the hose clamp to pass through, are all you need.

I posted pictures of my version at some point, but now I can't find the post.

I thought that this was better than the factory floppy handle so I whipped up something similar with what I had on hand.

I used some 1" tubular climbing webbing that I had on hand. Just cut a slot and decided to also cover the rest of the hose clamp with an additional piece, along with a hose clamp cover that I took from my "misc" parts bin.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I just spent three days fiddling with two new Blacktip Tech scooters in a freshwater cave - Devils' Eye/Ear.
My overall impression is MEH when comparing it to my SS UV-18 & UV-26 with the exception of the weight. The UV-26 weighs in at 96 pounds, this Blacktip weighs less than 30 pounds. That difference is great! The Blacktip just doesn't feel as robust as the high end DPVs.

It took several hours to get the these scooters weighted properly. In the end the nose weighs 6.5 pounds. This was adjusted several times by varying the lead shot volume and the plate then putting it in the water several times for fine tuning. Overall a PITA but eventually worked OK. The batteries weigh in 2.8 at pounds each.

The factory rigging is less than optimal and I changed that on both of these scooters to better match what I have always used on the SS UV-18 & UV-26. These were easy fixes but time consuming. The carrying strap on the Blacktip now sits in my dive locker and that is where it will remain.

I hope the images are clear enough to see what I have done to these scooters, and maybe even why.

At this early point in my very limited experience with this scooter I am leaning toward thinking it is a barely acceptable choice for an entry level cave scooter. The DPV Cave diver who wants to scooter back to the Dome Room at Little River, the Hinkle/Sweet Surprise/Main Land at Ginnie will be OK with this scooter as long as the batteries are healthy.

We did a run up to 1800 feet in Devils' Ear yesterday on setting 4-5 and I towed the other scooter back out to the Park Bench, about 1400 feet. Upon surfacing I ran around a few circles and the battery indicator showed the "Battery Low" icon.

The DPV cave diver who wants to go way up into Manatee will NOT be OK with this scooter.

I think the MAP on this Blacktip scooter is $2,100.00. The MAP on a Genesis 3.1 is $8,750.00 and a Suex is near the same price as the Genesis.

 

[BlueTrin]

@Capt Jim Wyatt , out of curiosity why do you buy more scooters? Because you use them for different purposes?

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

A student bought one for me For his GF and for himself.