Comments about Oceanic Mako Diver Propulsion Vehicle:

The Mako which follows the successful design and engine of the tekna is probably the standard for people getting into dpv's. For the lucky few that have 5-7 thousand dollars laying around - maybe you could go for the gold of a dive-x or dive logic gear. (nearly 100 pounds of torque!)

The mako is a great beginner since it has been around for so long and shares the design with other scooters. Yes it is older, but that will work in your favor with parts easy to come by, batteries that are cheap and standard for electronic wheelchairs (readily available almost anywhere) and a huge user community! There are many interchangeable parts such as handles and numerous upgrades and mods that you can do to enhance the performance. (such as nose cone upgrades, new hd clutch, delrin, and rewinds to 1000+ rpm - stock is 750)

Out of the box this one will already go around 150 fpm - and puts out a great 25 llbs of torque (according to reports such as the tahoe benchmark) I own two of these so I can say that is just about right. Don't believe the hype of all the advertising or marketing- they go about 1.4+ knots. If you upgrade the batteries to 21ah batteries they will last you just about an hour holding down the throttle. (much longer if you slow it down and don't stay on the trigger the whole time - which is likely if you are using it to "get somewhere")

Overall my only complaints are the weight and it is on the slower side compared to all the newest expensive scooters (see tahoe benchmark history) so if your friend has one of the expensive ones - he will need to slow down. On the other hand if your friend has a sea doo - you will have to slow down. Lithium has pushed most of the greats around 30-40 pounds. This one is whopping 54 pounds and you definitely feel it. That is my only complaint. I've already rigged it with a harness, weighted it to run with one handle, got delrin, got a nose cone upgrade to go deeper, and plan a rewind soon. I highly recommed this scooter over anything that seadoo makes. I used to own the explorer X and this one is at least 3 times faster.

As for the guys complaining on the handle design - I don't know where else you would put one. Why in the world would you let this thing roll in the first place. That is like taking an expensive gps system and not figuring out a solution to bolt it down on board. Try bending a pool noodle into a U and then cutting it to fit to the shroud. Tie it off by putting rope through it like a tank holder and your dpv will ride smooth across rough seas or bumpy roads. (nope I never broke a handle) Hope this helps.

Comments about Oceanic Mako Diver Propulsion Vehicle:

Great equipment complete marred by fragile design and handle placement. Tekna didn't have it right, and when Mako took this over they should have fixed it. They didn't and this is fatally flawed. I totally agree with the other reviewer. Such a shame as the Tekna / Mako unit works so well in actual use underwater.

Comments about Oceanic Mako Diver Propulsion Vehicle:

This is almost the same unit design as my beloved Tekna DPV of many years back that I still have. A wonderful machine,the design is good except for one very important flaw. The handles. They break off as they are not protected. You need to have a DPV designed in such a way that when the DPV rolls in a boat, as it will, the handles are protected. Good product spoilt by a fatal flaw, in my opinion.