Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/06/27/underwater-scooters-are-a-hot.html
…
Hmmm, a device that helps people move faster underwater (like a really slow fish) and a model with Whiteshark in the name. What could go wrong?
Barotrauma waiting to happen.
Sign me up! I want to get my relaxation done as quickly as possible. If I get dragged along a razor sharp coral reef in the process, so much the better!
Is there an accurate battery life meter, for my cave diving adventures?
Nice to see the boing boing shop take climate change into account.
Still safer than sitting at a desk for 12 hours a day.
Bond did it better.
BoingBoingStore is getting better! I like this.
Not for the reef. Inexpecienced divers driving around with something like this are going to crush a lot of the more sensitive corals. Can’t say I feel sorry for them if they get scratched in the process.
I dread these ever becoming popular. Could you imagine a dive tour with 30 inexperience to unlicensed tourists all jetting around a reef with these things? Ugh totally unnecessary for you average dive at 30ft.
What they are useful for is deeper dives and technical dives in strong currents. When you only have 5-10 minutes on the bottom before you need to decompress these things can really increase your ability to see more at depth or when swimming against strong currents. although at that point I’m not sure you want a cheap toy pulling you along.
There’s also coral poisoning to be reckoned with, though as you point out, in some cases it might be well deserved.
https://www.livescience.com/51853-corals-toxin-hazard-aquariums.html
Nobody does it better!
I guess this is an improvement on that time the bb store sought to make money directly out of the pandemic, but flogging shit that encourages folks to flock to the beaches still doesn’t seem like an especially ethical business model.
Can’t people make their own?
This is the sort of thing you’d see construction articles for in Popular Science or Mechanics in the sixties. I certainly remember reading about how to make your own mini-sub. i think there was even one about making a system that floated to give you oxygen, so just a tube, no tank on your back.
There was a lot more variety back before the “Maker movement”.
Underwater electronics is a great place to start learning
Something experimental that takes you down 20m really fast isn’t something you want to be playing with when you learn its crush depth is 19m.
I’ve dutifully read each messages here, from some of the smartest folks I know of, and yet…
Add a waterproof 8-track deck I’d even say “DECENT!”.
People have already been doing it, if all the stories about people throwing Lyme and Bird scooters into waterways are to be believed.
Too much hassle adding the bluetooth connection and writing the app to get it boing boing shop certified.