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Since someone mentioned Jetboots, I thought I'd jump in. My name is Ben Mazin. I designed, tested, and am now selling Jetboots. I've lurked on this mailing list for a while. Jetboots are a brand new (and in my mind, pretty innovative) way to move around underwater. They consist of two leg mounted propulsion units, a battery pack (either hard or soft), and a control unit. You can see pictures and get more details on our web site: http://www.jetboots.com Jetboots weight 20 pounds (-8 to 12 lbs (ditchable) depending on the specific setup), have a continuously variable speed control, and a burn time of around 35 minutes at full bore. Maximum thrust is around 40 lbs - enough to move me (200 lbs) in a backplate and wings at around 2.5 knots. These reason we can make this work with such low weight and high power is the combination of NiMH batteries and extremely efficient brushless motors. This high tech approach is also unfortunately reflected in the price. I do not think Jetboots can replace something like the gavin scooter for an aggressive mission. They just don't have the battery life (although we are looking into battery packs that can be swapped underwater). They may have applications as a lightweight backup propulsion system for these types of dives - I'll leave that up to the cave gurus on here to figure out. There are a lot of dives where Jetboots are great to have. These are mainly dives that require your hands - operating a camera, for instance. Since they are so light (and securely attached to your body) it is easy to forget they are there (until you turn them on, of course). I use them on all my open water dives flying through the water is its own reward. I know some of you will be skeptical, so I'd be thrilled if someone from the list (we are based in Southern California) wants to come with me on a Jetboots dive and write up a review for the list. Email me (ben@je*.co*) to set something up. As to the DIRness of Jetboots, all I can say is that they are very streamlined, dont negatively affect your buoyancy or trim, and dont really seem to get snagged on things (see the pictures of me going through dense kelp). The battery pack can be easily disconnected and dumped if something malfunctions horribly. Ben Mazin President, MST (626)449-1960 -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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