Piranha P2

[GF99/99]

Hi All,

I am looking at getting a scooter and the Piranha P2 has really caught my attention as I really like the tool battery system, the modules allowing me to upgrade to more run time in the future or take a module off for short dive run times. The "cruise speed" run time of 257min is plenty.. The depth rating meets my requirements as well, the scooter will be used in the 60m-140m range. Also the price is in my $7,000 price range and this unit seems like the best bang for the buck at the 7k price range. Plus my friend is looking at ordering 3-4 units for his dive center so I was going to tag onto his order to getting a little bit of a discount. I have found a little bit of info on them and reviews online but I was wondering what the overall thoughts from scubaboard community were on this unit.

I have two friends that have Suex's and they both have had numerous problems with them and have had to send them back to Italy 3 times now along with paying ridiculous DHL shipping fee (We all live in Indonesia). This has turned me off of Suex's as they have had nothing but bad things to say about them. Also I make numerous trips back to the US each year so if I do have any issue with my unit I can easily fly it back to the US since all the batteries can be easily removed and send it to Dive Xtras for service (I know someone will tell me what about the extra wight and baggage fee etc. for me that is not an issue I fly so much I am United Premier 1k status so I get 3 free checked bags up to 70lbs per bag). Which leads me to my other reason why I like the Piranha units is I travel for diving a lot and I have been toying around with the idea that if I do buy a scooter I might want a unit I can travel with. Key word is might, dont know how the logistics works of having 8ea. tool batteries in your carry on especially traveling internationally.

 

[_Ralph]

Have you seen the latest stable of Dive-X offerings with the Black Tip line since you're looking at the P2 ...

Blacktip Expedition holds 4 12aH batteries, in a slightly smaller form factor than the Cuda 650 ....


_R

 

[moose_grunt]

Key word is might, dont know how the logistics works of having 8ea. tool batteries in your carry on especially traveling internationally.

The great thing about it being modular is you can always just bring one module and 4 batteries.

I have a P2 and love it. As you mentioned, having commonly used batteries is awesome for those of us who don’t line in the continental US or Europe. I got it before the blacktip came out, but if I were buying again, I’d still get a Piranha over the blacktip. I like the size, the metal body, and the modularity (plus read all the threads about early adopters of the blacktip travel—pretty much the answer was “this is our entry-level model. If you want xyz, buy our premium model, the piranha”).

There’s a pretty active Facebook community (Dive Xtras X-Scooter Group) that’s worth checking out. Everything recent has been about the Blacktip, but if you read a bit further back there are lots of posts about the piranha.

Jim

 

[GF99/99]

Have you seen the latest stable of Dive-X offerings with the Black Tip line since you're looking at the P2 ...

Blacktip Expedition holds 4 12aH batteries, in a slightly smaller form factor than the Cuda 650 ....


_R

Yes I have seen this, but the depth rating is a little shallow I need something that is rated for more that 120m. Kind of ironic that they have a BlackTip Tech model and its only rated to 120m.

 

[_Ralph]

Yes I have seen this, but the depth rating is a little shallow I need something that is rated for more that 120m. Kind of ironic that they have a BlackTip Tech model and its only rated to 120m.

Didn’t see your depth requirements...

_R

 

[stuartv]

I love my BlackTip. It is silent (practically). In comparison, the Piranha is LOUD.

For the stated requirements, I would be debating between buying a BlackTip Tech, a BlackTip Exploration tube, having a LOT of change leftover, and taking it 20m deeper than the rated depth. The BlackTip Travel is rated for for 100m, but I think they had published at one point that they tested it to a crush depth of 180m (600 feet?). Even though the Tech is only rated for 20m more, I would be considering trying it to that little bit deeper. At least, if the dives were something where a dead scooter would be more of an inconvenience than a major safety issue.

If I decided the BlackTip was not acceptable and was looking at spending the big bucks, I would be looking at a Logic Genesis 2.1.

Genesis DPVs | Logic Dive Gear

It is also travel friendly and can be checked as luggage with its batteries. It uses replaceable 18650 batteries. No high-dollar proprietary battery packs. To me, that would be just as satisfactory as using power tool batteries.

To me, the Piranha is annoyingly loud. But, for the record, I have not seen a Genesis in person, so I have no idea how loud it is.

Also, if you look through the threads here, it seems as though Jon Nellis, the owner of Logic, is over the top responsive and helpful when it comes to customer service.

 

[rjack321]

I have an early model Genesis 1200 (roughly the same as the 2.2 now). I have had it for about 5 years.
10/10 would buy another one, totally flawless, zero weaknesses

I have owned, Mako, Gavin, DiveX Sierra. Have also ridden: DiveX Cuda, Bonex, Suex, and Apollos. Genesis is by far the best of the lot.

 

[geoff w]

Blacktip owner here. For $1500 US it's an absolutely amazing scooter, and blows away scooters costing way more. If money was no object, I'd go for a fully decked out Piranha with all the accessory bells and whistles, but (money no object) I'd also get a Blacktip for what it's good for. We still don't know what the maintenance on the Blacktip is yet, other than to have some spare o-rings and maybe a fuse. The motor doesn't have any belt to replace, it's water cooled, and from poking around inside it's pretty simple, and easy to tweak some of the motor control parameters. Amazing scooter for the price and definitely not a toy. Using Dewalt form-factor power tool batteries is brilliant, and run time is better than expectations for recreational diving. Plus it's hard to fault Dive-X's customer service. I've used some Suex scooters and haven't been impressed. The Subgravity Ecos S is a nice scooter, but not $$$ more than the Blacktip. And yes, since the first firmware update, the Blacktip is basically silent (more astonishing considering how noisy they were when first released). The Blacktip will breakdown to easily travel, as will the Piranha

 

[rjack321]

Blacktip owner here. For $1500 US it's an absolutely amazing scooter, and blows away scooters costing way more. If money was no object, I'd go for a fully decked out Piranha with all the accessory bells and whistles, but (money no object) I'd also get a Blacktip for what it's good for. We still don't know what the maintenance on the Blacktip is yet, other than to have some spare o-rings and maybe a fuse. The motor doesn't have any belt to replace, it's water cooled, and from poking around inside it's pretty simple, and easy to tweak some of the motor control parameters. Amazing scooter for the price and definitely not a toy. Using Dewalt form-factor power tool batteries is brilliant, and run time is better than expectations for recreational diving. Plus it's hard to fault Dive-X's customer service. I've used some Suex scooters and haven't been impressed. The Subgravity Ecos S is a nice scooter, but not $$$ more than the Blacktip. And yes, since the first firmware update, the Blacktip is basically silent (more astonishing considering how noisy they were when first released). The Blacktip will breakdown to easily travel, as will the Piranha

None of the blacktip models will handle 140m which was in the OP and probably why he is considering the P2 in the first place.

I am not generally an early adopter and perhaps I'm wrong, but the blacktip is only water cooled scooter ever and I predict an eventual wave of blacktip motor failures.

 

[Degenerate]

Dont forget to add the 8 batteries to your budget.
I don't know what the Dewalt 12ah batts cost in the US but they will definitely add a substantial amount to your total cost.
The system with the power tool batteries is a great move from Dive Xtras though, they're moving all potential battery issues to another company and Dewalt will definitely keep developing their battery system, so the future is looking very bright for the way Dive Xtras has taken.
Logic dive gear has done an even better version with their Genesis scooter, where you can just sort out the individual 18650 cells yourself, absolutely brilliant.