X-Scooters Vs Gavins

Rob Dobson · September 14th, 2006, 02:43 PM

I have had a go on a Gavin and it was good (big stupid grin on my face for hours afterwards), but I thought the handle wasn't a very good design and for the price it just didn't float my boat enough to warrant it.

Recently I've been taking a look at X-Scooters and the handle seems to be a much better design and they're more sensible money.

How do they compare?

ppo2_diver · September 14th, 2006, 02:53 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Rob Dobson)

I have had a go on a Gavin and it was good (big stupid grin on my face for hours afterwards), but I thought the handle wasn't a very good design and for the price it just didn't float my boat enough to warrant it.

Recently I've been taking a look at X-Scooters and the handle seems to be a much better design and they're more sensible money.

How do they compare?

I had a go at a X earlier this summer and a Gavin a month ago. There was a big difference in my book. The X was easier to maneuver than the Gavin. From a power perspective, both pulled me through the water well. The Gavin took two of us to carry to the shore where as the X, I was able to carry while wearing full gear. I much prefer the X and have started saving my pennies for one and will beg to borrow one until I can get my own.

You can contact Brando on this site. He is a great source of info on the X. He's got a few videos on his web site (Index) of them riding X's.

DRE · September 14th, 2006, 03:06 PM

I don't think you can really compare the regular Gavin to an X as they are intended for different purposes. IMO, a standard Gavin cannot be beat for long haul cave diving in terms of reliability, stability and ease of use. For ocean diving, the short body is a compromise at best, but this is where the X shines and the mini-G fails. The mini-G is not a well-balanced scooter: the torque constantly pulls it (which is something the larger bodied G's don't do), and it's still heavy. IMO, the mini-G is a complete knee-jerk reaction to the X - far less thought out.
If most of the diving you do is in the ocean, I'd go with the X (if you like to do an occasional cave dive that does not depend on the scooter to get you back out, you could get the longer body for the X and still have an OK cave scooter). If most of your diving is cave, go with the regular Gavin and get the short body for occasional ocean diving. I'd just forget about the mini-G alltogether.

David

Rubis · September 14th, 2006, 03:07 PM

If you're looking for a lighter scooter, you might want to take a look to the Zeuxo ADV14 as well

http://www.suex.it/images/ADV14mpl.jpg

Caverkevin and I switched from Gavins to this scooter a couple of months ago and we are very happy to have done the change, weight beeing one of the issues. Manouevrability of this scooter is great and I prefer this handle over the Mako handle. Plus the scooter has a couple of slick features, like adjustable speed switch that allows you not to stop while scootering.

We just came back from over 10 days of cave diving in the Lot ... We had lots of fun and used the scooters on every dive. The scooter is fine for some reasonably small cave dives. If you're doing big cave dives I would opt for the bigger models.

I would say if you do lots of boat and shore diving, forget about the Gavin. Even the short body. It's just too big and heavy.

graham_hk · September 14th, 2006, 03:18 PM

Funny I have never had a problem with the handles on my gavins or a short body in the ocean. The more you get into scooter diving the more useful having two handles is. I like SLA better aswell - but thats been beaten to death on another thread. Cool hardware is very knowledgable about other battery technologies (do a search for another POV) but I like SLA because they are cheap (easy to replace), widely available and understood (charging is easy and cheap and discharge is well understood).

Graham

Rob Dobson · September 14th, 2006, 03:25 PM

Thanks for the replies - if I go for one it'll be for blatting around wrecks as I can't ever see myself being a serious cave diver.

HHmmmm..... Looking like an X-Scooter then...

*Rich Walker* · September 14th, 2006, 03:30 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Rob Dobson)

Thanks for the replies - if I go for one it'll be for blatting around wrecks as I can't ever see myself being a serious cave diver.

HHmmmm..... Looking like an X-Scooter then...

Rob,

You're more than welcome to have a go on a miniG and a Short body Gavin any time you like. Just let me know.

The Mini's are neutrally buoyant, and I'm confident we can trim out the motor down attitude.

Rich

*Clare Gledhill* · September 14th, 2006, 03:31 PM

I really hope that one of our UK X scooter owners will come to the DIR X gig and people can then see standard, short and mini gavins as well as an X in action. Any volunteers?

Seydlitz · September 14th, 2006, 03:46 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Clare Gledhill)

I really hope that one of our UK X scooter owners will come to the DIR X gig and people can then see standard, short and mini gavins as well as an X in action. Any volunteers?

I'm on the rig that weekend ,However I can Lend it out To Neil S Or Rick If this helps....

Andy

*Clare Gledhill* · September 14th, 2006, 03:48 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Seydlitz)

I'm on the rig that weekend ,However I can Lend it out To Neil S Or Rick If this helps....

Andy

That's really, really kind Andy - sorry you can't be there

Neil, Rick - can you oblidge?

September 14th, 2006, 02:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rob Dobson(Offline) Chillin' with the ninjas Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 536	X-Scooters Vs Gavins I have had a go on a Gavin and it was good (big stupid grin on my face for hours afterwards), but I thought the handle wasn't a very good design and for the price it just didn't float my boat enough to warrant it. Recently I've been taking a look at X-Scooters and the handle seems to be a much better design and they're more sensible money. How do they compare?

September 14th, 2006, 02:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
ppo2_diver(Offline) DIR Practitioner Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Naperville, IL USA (Chicago Suburb) Posts: 105	Quote: (Originally Posted by Rob Dobson) I have had a go on a Gavin and it was good (big stupid grin on my face for hours afterwards), but I thought the handle wasn't a very good design and for the price it just didn't float my boat enough to warrant it. Recently I've been taking a look at X-Scooters and the handle seems to be a much better design and they're more sensible money. How do they compare? I had a go at a X earlier this summer and a Gavin a month ago. There was a big difference in my book. The X was easier to maneuver than the Gavin. From a power perspective, both pulled me through the water well. The Gavin took two of us to carry to the shore where as the X, I was able to carry while wearing full gear. I much prefer the X and have started saving my pennies for one and will beg to borrow one until I can get my own. You can contact Brando on this site. He is a great source of info on the X. He's got a few videos on his web site (Index) of them riding X's. __________________ Duane A. Johnson Precision Diving

September 14th, 2006, 03:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
DRE(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Mineola, NY Posts: 162	I don't think you can really compare the regular Gavin to an X as they are intended for different purposes. IMO, a standard Gavin cannot be beat for long haul cave diving in terms of reliability, stability and ease of use. For ocean diving, the short body is a compromise at best, but this is where the X shines and the mini-G fails. The mini-G is not a well-balanced scooter: the torque constantly pulls it (which is something the larger bodied G's don't do), and it's still heavy. IMO, the mini-G is a complete knee-jerk reaction to the X - far less thought out. If most of the diving you do is in the ocean, I'd go with the X (if you like to do an occasional cave dive that does not depend on the scooter to get you back out, you could get the longer body for the X and still have an OK cave scooter). If most of your diving is cave, go with the regular Gavin and get the short body for occasional ocean diving. I'd just forget about the mini-G alltogether. David __________________ www.dirtydiving.com - DIR is not a 4-letter word!

September 14th, 2006, 03:07 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rubis(Offline) cave deprived and Kissed Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Broadway, (lost in Central NC, USA far far way from Caves SIGH !!!) Posts: 275	If you're looking for a lighter scooter, you might want to take a look to the Zeuxo ADV14 as well http://www.suex.it/images/ADV14mpl.jpg Caverkevin and I switched from Gavins to this scooter a couple of months ago and we are very happy to have done the change, weight beeing one of the issues. Manouevrability of this scooter is great and I prefer this handle over the Mako handle. Plus the scooter has a couple of slick features, like adjustable speed switch that allows you not to stop while scootering. We just came back from over 10 days of cave diving in the Lot ... We had lots of fun and used the scooters on every dive. The scooter is fine for some reasonably small cave dives. If you're doing big cave dives I would opt for the bigger models. I would say if you do lots of boat and shore diving, forget about the Gavin. Even the short body. It's just too big and heavy. __________________ Petition against M26 Last edited by Rubis; September 14th, 2006 at 03:11 PM.

September 14th, 2006, 03:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
Rich Walker(Offline) GUE Instructor Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sheffield Posts: 300	Quote: (Originally Posted by Rob Dobson) Thanks for the replies - if I go for one it'll be for blatting around wrecks as I can't ever see myself being a serious cave diver. HHmmmm..... Looking like an X-Scooter then... Rob, You're more than welcome to have a go on a miniG and a Short body Gavin any time you like. Just let me know. The Mini's are neutrally buoyant, and I'm confident we can trim out the motor down attitude. Rich __________________ Education, Equipment, Experience GUE training with Rich Walker

September 14th, 2006, 03:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
graham_hk(Offline) Pinoy ako pinoy Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: here, there and everywhere Posts: 779	Funny I have never had a problem with the handles on my gavins or a short body in the ocean. The more you get into scooter diving the more useful having two handles is. I like SLA better aswell - but thats been beaten to death on another thread. Cool hardware is very knowledgable about other battery technologies (do a search for another POV) but I like SLA because they are cheap (easy to replace), widely available and understood (charging is easy and cheap and discharge is well understood). Graham

September 14th, 2006, 03:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Rob Dobson(Offline) Chillin' with the ninjas Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 536	Thanks for the replies - if I go for one it'll be for blatting around wrecks as I can't ever see myself being a serious cave diver. HHmmmm..... Looking like an X-Scooter then...

September 14th, 2006, 03:31 PM	#8 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill(Offline) GUE Instructor Site Admin Pacman Champion! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,540	I really hope that one of our UK X scooter owners will come to the DIR X gig and people can then see standard, short and mini gavins as well as an X in action. Any volunteers? __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk

September 14th, 2006, 03:46 PM	#9 (permalink)
Seydlitz(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Never Far from a good Belgian Beer and a Crackwh*re Posts: 455	Quote: (Originally Posted by Clare Gledhill) I really hope that one of our UK X scooter owners will come to the DIR X gig and people can then see standard, short and mini gavins as well as an X in action. Any volunteers? I'm on the rig that weekend ,However I can Lend it out To Neil S Or Rick If this helps.... Andy

September 14th, 2006, 03:48 PM	#10 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill(Offline) GUE Instructor Site Admin Pacman Champion! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,540	Quote: (Originally Posted by Seydlitz) I'm on the rig that weekend ,However I can Lend it out To Neil S Or Rick If this helps.... Andy That's really, really kind Andy - sorry you can't be there Neil, Rick - can you oblidge? __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk