You get what you pay for

[nolan319]

I am not one who would normally post a complaint, however I have learned a valuable lesson. Back in May I bought my husband a NFM sea scooter. What a great gift.... It "blew up" the second time we used it.. Parts are now sitting on the bottom of Kaneohe Bay. We have been trying to contact since... but no response. I just wanted to warn everyone, that even though the prices at NFM are really reasonable, please be careful when ordering anything from this company, or with this brand name. I would hate to have this happen to anyone else... you get what you pay for....

Thanks for letting me vent

[WaScubaDude]

Originally Posted by nolan319

I am not one who would normally post a complaint, however I have learned a valuable lesson. Back in May I bought my husband a NFM sea scooter. What a great gift.... It "blew up" the second time we used it.. Parts are now sitting on the bottom of Kaneohe Bay. We have been trying to contact since... but no response. I just wanted to warn everyone, that even though the prices at NFM are really reasonable, please be careful when ordering anything from this company, or with this brand name. I would hate to have this happen to anyone else... you get what you pay for....

Thanks for letting me vent

Thanks for the info. I have seen many cheap scooters and thought about just buying one to try out. Will save my gingle for the real thingle.

[mitsuguy]

Everyone has different experiences... I have throughout the years had various luck with "cheap" stuff... my LDS has some cheap scooters ($200ish) and they are always taking the two demos out and they are always back in the shop when they are back from their outings... everyone thats played with them has raved about them... I do not know the brand, but $200 is about as cheap a scooter as you can buy...

everyones mileage varies...

in certain circumstances, I've actually had better luck with the cheap version than the good version... the warning is well taken however...

[gibson1525]

i think you get more than the product when you pay more. higher prices tend to (not always though) be associated with a better company that will take care of you when something does go wrong. i don't necessarily associate quality with the price as much as i do with customer service.

[RoadRacer1978]

Sometimes, not always though, you spend more just for the name. Once a company gets really big it seems like you pay extra just for their name and not always the best possible product. Sometimes you can find a really great product for less when it is not associated with a big name, but it is always a chance.

[nolan319]

Our biggest problem with the scooter (besides the fact that it blew up) was the lack of customer support to resolve our issue. I can't wait to purchase another one. (maybe christmas) It won't be the NFM brand. I think I paid 300 + shipping, it was rated down to 100ft. we only used it snorkle depth... Does anyone know of something around that price range? My husband would love you.... LOL

[gibson1525]

Originally Posted by RoadRacer1978

Sometimes, not always though, you spend more just for the name. Once a company gets really big it seems like you pay extra just for their name and not always the best possible product. Sometimes you can find a really great product for less when it is not associated with a big name, but it is always a chance.

very true. i think that's where the user reviews come in. i will take user reviews over about any thing else when buying something. who knows a product better than the people that have put it through hell.

[Puffer Fish]

Some of the sea-doo are in that price range, and I'm surprized that ST does not sell them...

[vadiver]

a good scooter is very expensive. there are creaper ones out there, but a quality one will run about $3500 dollars.

[diversteve]

Originally Posted by nolan319

Does anyone know of something around that price range? My husband would love you.... LOL

There's the original Seadoo at around $250 but it's only rated to 65'. More of a snorkel/pool toy. A diver on a boat last year had the Deco Stingray scooter, his failed also after 1 dive...

At around $500 is the Seadoo VS Supercharged. Rated to 100' also but it gets some pretty good reviews. I sometimes see them cheaper on eBay. From what I've read its the lowest price scooter with all metal gears in the drive. Or that might be the Explorer...

$700 buys the Seadoo Explorer which is the first low-priced scooter I'd personally consider. It's faster, 160' depth rated and I've looked one over at a dive store, it's a substantial piece of gear.

IMHO though all the under $500 scooters are just fancy toys. Good for occasional use but not going to take the use/abuse that a better scooter does. Of course you can buy three or four for the price of a better scooter.

There's mid-range scooters like the Apollo AV2 ($2250) or the Aeris Voyager ($2600) also. There's a new AV2 due out soon.

I've dove Apollo's (AV1) at least twice, once off Maui. They have good runtime and are pretty solid.

Of course the Ultimate Christmas Present would be an X-Scooter, Gavin or Submerge (Silent Submersion) scooter. $3500-7000 depending on configuration.