Underwater scooters, also called diver propulsion vehicles, are the best way to explore marine life and get the most out of underwater excursions.
You can take amazing footage with your GoPro cameras and experience that feeling of swimming at a high speed with your own scooter.
Trust me, once you try a sea scooter you’ll be so eager to go snorkeling and scuba diving, you won’t miss a chance to be in the water.
The best underwater sea scooter for recreational purposes is the Yamaha RDS250 Seascooter which has a long 120-minute battery life and lets you swim underwater at nearly 2.5 miles per hour. Therefore, it’s the best sea scooter for exploring marine life.
Whether you want an entry-level underwater scooter or an aqua scooter approved by pros, I have something for you to try.
But first, let’s look at the best underwater sea scooters for shallow dives and deep dives, then I will review each one below.
| Best underwater scooter | Image |
| Best underwater scooter overall: Yamaha RDS250 |  (view more images) |
| Best underwater scooter for cheap: cho Dual Propellers |  (view more images) |
| Best underwater scooter for pool: sublue WhiteShark Mix Dual Motors |  (view more images) |
| Best underwater scooter for kids: Yamaha SEAL |  (view more images) |
| Underwater scooter with best camera & best for multiple divers: WINDEK SUBLUE WhiteShark Mix |  (view more images) |
| Best professional underwater scooter for diving: TUSA SAV-7 |  (view more images) |
In this post we'll cover:
- 1 Buying guide – how to select the best underwater scooter
- 2 Best underwater scooter reviews
- 2.1 Best underwater scooter overall: Yamaha RDS250
- 2.2 Best underwater scooter for cheap: cho Dual Propellers
- 2.3 Best underwater scooter for the pool: sublue WhiteShark Mix Dual Motors
- 2.4 Best underwater scooter for kids: Yamaha SEAL
- 2.5 Underwater scooter with best camera & best for multiple divers: WINDEK SUBLUE WhiteShark Mix
- 2.6 Best professional underwater scooter for diving: TUSA SAV-7
- 3 How do underwater scooters work?
- 4 Conclusion
Buying guide – how to select the best underwater scooter
Before we get to the detailed reviews, let’s look at some of the things you need to consider when buying a sea scooter.
Best brands
When it comes to great underwater sea scooters, the two most popular brands in the field are Yamaha and Sublue.
The Yamaha propulsion vehicles have sealed lead acid batteries which means that they are completely waterproof. Cheap knockoff brands aren’t entirely waterproof so their propulsion vehicles don’t last long.
The products are sold at all price points, and they are designed with all the modern features in mind.
Type of diving
Before you get an underwater scooter, you have to consider what you want to do with it. Some scooters are only suitable for shallow water like pools, while others allow you to deep dive.
Also, you should consider whether you want a budget-friendly scooter for fun and entertainment or expect professional performance. Depending on what you use it for, you might need advanced features.
If you’re getting the scooter for kids, then you might be more interested in safety features and prefer a slower underwater scooter. If you’re getting one for adults, you probably want one with a powerful propeller.
Here are some things to consider:
- The depth you want to go
- How heavy or lightweight do you want the scooter to be?
- Variable speed
- How many people do you want to pull with you?
- Charging time
- Battery life
- Ease of use
Maximum speed
How many miles per hour can your scooter travel? Chances are, at least 2-4.75 but you might not need to go too fast, especially if you are using sea scooters for recreational scuba diving.
There are all kinds of underwater scooters. Those designed for children have a lower maximum speed than those for adults, and this makes them safer. The top speed matters only if you are a professional.
A child doesn’t need to go faster than 2 -2.5 mph (3 or 4 km per hour). This speed is enough for a fun underwater adventure. Most sea scooters can surpass 2 mph though.
Adults need a faster scooter, especially if they want to explore offshore sites. The average sea scooter for adults reaches speeds of 2.5 to 4 mph (4 – 6.5 km per hour).
Some of the best-performing propulsion vehicles can even reach speeds of 5.6 mph (9 km/h). These are usually more expensive, though.
Maximum depth
Do you plan on exploring shipwrecks, coral, or seafloor creatures? Then you need a scooter that can go deep underwater at least 60 feet or deeper (20 m).
The maximum depth of these diver propulsion vehicles can vary between 15 ft to 270 ft!
If you just want to swim around and snorkel in relatively shallow waters or a swimming pool, you can get one that can’t go deeper than 50-60 feet. That’s enough to see some interesting things underwater.
So the bottom line is that people with recreational underwater scooters don’t need to go so deep down.
After all, as a recreational scuba diver, you probably don’t need to do any type of research and you can just admire the scenery.
Buoyancy
Buoyancy is a very important term. When a sea scooter has a positive buoyance, the device floats up to the surface when you let go of it in saltwater.
But, you can’t use it in freshwater or lake water because it will sink.
So, you need to ensure that you have enough battery to take you up to the surface when using it in freshwater. If you run out of battery, you need to carry all the dead weight up as you swim back up.
Some models of scooters have neutral buoyancy, also called zero buoyancy. This means they don’t sink to float at all, and then it’s easier to use in saltwater where you float naturally.
But, in pool water of freshwater, it’s harder to swim with zero buoyancy scooters.
Finally, there are scooters that float in freshwater quite easily. To use it in saltwater, you have to add weights (ballasts) that weigh it down.
Each manufacturer will state the type of buoyance on their scooters.
Autonomy / battery
Vehicle autonomy is very important because it affects how long you can use the scooter before the battery runs out.
Look for a propulsion vehicle with battery life and a range of at least 15 minutes to 90 minutes. Most modern underwater scooters run for an average of 30 – 60 minutes.
More than 20 minutes is a decent run time. 1 hour of run time is amazing because you can have a lot of fun and you can do lots of exploring in that time span.
Some of the more pricey scooters can provide up to two hours of battery life, so they’re great for professionals.
However, if you decide to get one of the budget-friendly scooters with a shorter autonomy, be sure to pick up a spare battery, too, so you’re not left in the water, carrying the scooter around while swimming.
Weight
Weight is an important factor to consider because depending on your body weight, you may or may not be able to carry it.
The average sea scooter weighs about 22 lbs or less (10 kg), and this is an ideal weight for adults. Anyone can carry this much, but if you’re getting a scooter for a child, it needs to be lighter, especially if the scooter doesn’t float.
The problem is that if you are underwater and you run out of battery, you have to swim to the surface and carry the scooter- so the lighter, the better.
Camera mount
Mount underwater scooters have a built-in camera or smartphone mount so you can use your GoPro or other video and photo equipment to document your dive.
The mount is usually placed around the top part of the scooter, so it films in front and from above.
If you have a waterproof camera or a waterproof smartphone, you can join the other thousands of recreational divers sharing their amazing shots online.
Also read: Are underwater sea scooters safe for non-swimmers?
Best underwater scooter reviews
Great, you now know exactly what to look for in a good seascooter. It’s time to deep dive into the reviews! (see what I did there?)
Let’s start with my all-time favorite underwater motor.
Best underwater scooter overall: Yamaha RDS250
- suitable for: teens, adults
- size: 24” x 15. 2” x 12. 3”
- weight: 18 lbs (8.2 kg)
- buoyancy: positive
- battery autonomy: 120 minutes
- max speed: 2.5 mph (4 km)
- max depth: 100 ft (30 m)
- camera integration: built-in mount
The average entry-level sea scooter is not always the best option if you’re serious about your recreational diving and want a memorable vacation. A better quality product is going to help you explore the sea.
So, if you’re looking for a sea scooter that delivers excellent performance and lets you do recreational diving and filming, the Yamaha RDS250 is one of the best value for money sea scooters on the market.
The 250 series is designed for older teens and adults for recreational use in saltwater because it is quite heavy at 18lbs.
It has a removable buoyancy control chamber, so even though it’s designed for saltwater use, it works very well in freshwater and pools too, and only sinks slightly.
That’s why this is the overall best underwater scooter – it does it all.
In terms of battery autonomy, it can run for up to 120 minutes, which is really good compared to some other Yamaha models (i.e. 200 series) with a run time of only 90 minutes.
You can reach speeds of up to 2.5 mph, which is quite good and enough to cruise for recreational purposes. If you weigh more you’ll go a bit slower but it still has good pull power.
Also, you can dive as deep as 100 ft (30 m) to see marine life. Here’s a nice product demo to see it in action:
There’s a built-in camera mount for your phone, camera, or GoPro so you can snap some amazing underwater footage as you dive.
The scooter has a long bullet shape so it’s not bulky or wide and you can hold on to the handles easily without having to hold the scooter tight or very close to the body. That’s why many people consider this model one of the most comfortable to dive with.
One downside is that the motor is very loud so it can be slightly distracting and scare the fish and other marine life away.
Also, you have to assemble and unassemble the battery before and after each use. This is common with many sea scooters but it does take some extra time.
Overall, this Yamaha explorer sea scooter is great because it has great pull power and long battery life so you don’t need to take spares with you unless you go on a very long dive.
Best underwater scooter for cheap: cho Dual Propellers
- suitable for: kids, adults
- size: small, backpack size
- weight: 5.9 lbs
- buoyancy: positive (for saltwater but works in the lake, pool)
- battery autonomy: 15 – 60 minutes
- max speed: 2.7 mph
- max depth: 98 feet (30 m)
Not sure about the utility of an underwater scooter yet? If you want to try it and get a budget-friendly device first, the Cho Sea Scooter is the best option.
It’s the perfect dual-motor scooter for diving in the sea or lake.
The great thing about this device is that the motors run in the water and out of the water too so you can use it to go across the surface of the lake with your head above water.
Both motors have a special anti-rust coating so they last long and your scooter stays in great shape over time.
Considering it’s an affordable scooter, it has some amazing features. For example, the battery is very easy to charge because it has a magnetic charging unit and you don’t need to remove it like the Yamaha one.
There’s also a safety lock to protect children. So, you can actually control the underwater scooter via a smartphone app and you can “drive” your kid around safely.
One downside is that because the two motors are at opposite ends, the handles aren’t as comfortable to hold and you’re basically holding on to the two plastic arms.
You can also film and take photos since there’s a camera mount at the front of the scooter.
This scooter has decent autonomy but not as long as some of the better Yamaha models.
Some customers say that the battery only lasts about 15-30 minutes and that’s quite a low number. It’s enough for a joyride but if you love to explore, you won’t be too pleased.
However, it can go quite deep (98 ft) and that’s enough to let you explore the cool things in the sea or lake.
With a max speed between 2-2.7 mph, you can go pretty fast and the good thing is that this model works in very cold water too if you need to do a quick dive.
It can pull people of all weights quite easily especially in a pool where the motors work even better than large bodies of water.
Yamaha RDS250 vs cho Scooter
The Yamaha and the cho are two great beginner-friendly sea scooters for diving and snorkeling enthusiasts.
Even if you’ve had other underwater scooters before, these two offer good value for your money. The Yamaha has a better design and battery with a much longer battery life than the cho.
But, the cho is better for charging since the battery doesn’t have to be removed and you just connect the magnetic charging station.
If you want a fuss-free setup, you’ll enjoy the cho scooter. If you don’t mind removing the battery though, the Yamaha is the more powerful scooter. It’s a bit lighter and easier to hold with proper comfy-grip handles.
Both scooters have a similar size, diving depth capacity, and buoyancy. The cho is notable because it’s great for “driving” across the lake since the motors work in the water and above it.
Yamaha’s 250 works best in saltwater and works in the lake too but it requires more effort from the user to keep it afloat.
If you want a sea scooter that is sturdy and long-lasting, the Yamaha is the top choice but if you just want a recreational scooter to use for fun times and vacations, you can go deep underwater with the cho too.
Best underwater scooter for the pool: sublue WhiteShark Mix Dual Motors
- suitable for: kids, adults
- size:
- weight: 7.7 lbs (3.5 kg)
- buoyancy:
- battery autonomy: 30 minutes
- max speed: 3.4 mph
- max depth: 130 feet (40 m)
Do you have a pool in your backyard? You (or the kids) probably want to dive to the bottom or swim around underwater at a higher speed.
That’s when a pool-friendly sea scooter like the sublue WhiteShark Mix Underwater comes in handy.
Although it’s advertised that it’s great for deep diving at 130 feet, you can’t really do that for long because the device has a relatively short run time of 30 minutes.
Therefore, it’s better for use in the pool. Kids and adults alike can play around in the pool and reach exciting speeds of 3.4 mph.
What makes this a great scooter for the whole family is its lightweight body and double propeller design. Since it’s compact, anyone can handle and operate it easily.
It’s symmetrical and well-balanced so all you have to do is squeeze the triggers, hold on tight and let yourself get transported through the water. The dual propeller design gives a powerful thrust so it can pull just about anyone.
The motor is not as loud as some of the heavier models so you won’t scare away too many sea creatures if you go snorkeling in the sea.
A common problem with underwater scooters is that the noise scares away the fish and if you want to take photos and video while scuba diving, you need a quieter diver propulsion vehicle.
What makes this a great scooter is that you get an attachable floater and you can make it have positive buoyance. Therefore, it works in any type of water and is easy to float no matter what.
Of course, there’s a built-in camera holder too so the kids can take fun underwater pics too or you can do some GoPro filming for your social media accounts.
With this model, you have to be careful to rinse and wash the motor out very well after each use to avoid rust and damage.
Other than that, you can use this for all kinds of diving excursions and be confident that it can pull you.
Best underwater scooter for kids: Yamaha SEAL
- suitable for: kids
- size: 11. 25x 11. 25 x 19 inch
- weight: 12 lbs (5.4 kg)
- buoyancy: positive
- battery autonomy: 90 minutes
- max speed: 2 mph
- max depth: 15 ft
If you want to keep the kids busy with an underwater scooter while on vacation or at the pool, look no further than the small kid-friendly Yamaha Recreational Series.
This underwater scooter will prepare your kids for scuba diving.
It’s not a powerful or fast scooter, so it’s safe for children to use. It reaches a low speed of 1.98 miles per hour (3.2 km) but this is enough for your kids to get a taste of diving and have lots of fun doing it too.
They can also place the camera in the mount and document the whole experience.
The scooter is designed with safety features in mind. For example, the propellers are covered by strong grates to protect the fingers from injury. Just be sure to tie up long hair to avoid injury.
This scooter has a bullet shape that is easy to hold onto because it has two pretty large handles with a textured grip the child can grab securely. Also, there’s an auto-shutoff feature if the scooter fails.
This Yamaha model is considered an entry-level scooter for kids and adults who aren’t confident deep-diving yet. Thus, it can only reach a depth of 15 ft and this is a lot less than the other models I reviewed.
Additionally, this scooter has a short battery life of about 20 -60 minutes which is the minimum you should buy.
But for kids, this is plenty of time to have some fun and improve their diving skills and you can easily recharge the device or use the spare battery to extend autonomy.
At first, when you’re learning, you’ll be diving in short increments so you don’t need a very long battery life.
In terms of its construction, this is quite a well-made sea scooter because it is actually waterproof so the water stays far away from the circuitry and it means the motor will last longer.
There are also some extra safety features like auto shut off and dual trigger operation. But the good news is that positive buoyancy means that if it loses the ability to propel underwater, it floats which makes it easier for your child to use.
The competing sea scooter for kids, the Sea-Doo Dolphin, doesn’t have the positive buoyancy so that’s why the Yamaha is better.
I recommend this scooter for use during shallow dives in calm waters like pools or a lake with minimal current. It’s not very powerful so it might be hard to maneuver in the sea.
Therefore, it’s really the best underwater scooter for kids because they are safe and can’t go too fast or too deep so you can keep an eye on them.
sublue WhiteShark Mix Underwater vs Yamaha SEAL
These two kid-friendly scooters are the best option for open waters and pools alike.
The sublue WhiteShark underwater scooter is great for adults too but the Yamaha recreational isn’t as powerful so it can’t really pull adults fast enough that’s why it’s ideal for child use.
When it comes to speed, the sublue is much faster and can reach speeds of 3.4 mph whereas the Yamaha can only do 2 miles per hour but that’s what makes it safer for kids.
If you prefer something speedy with a powerful motor, the sublue is the better option because it can also go 130 ft deep whereas the Yamaha can reach only 15 ft. That’s a huge difference between these two scooters.
So, if you need an underwater scooter to explore the seafloor or interesting marine life or you want to document your dives and snorkels, the sublue is much better.
But, if you’re concerned about safety and ease of use, the Yamaha is a product worth picking up. It’s also very cheap and great for occasional recreational use and doesn’t require much maintenance.
Underwater scooter with best camera & best for multiple divers: WINDEK SUBLUE WhiteShark Mix
- suitable for: teens, adults
- size: L18.30 x W9.05 x H9.05 ( Inches )
- weight: 17 lbs ( 8 kg)
- buoyancy: zero buoyancy
- battery autonomy: 60 minutes
- max speed: 4.02 mph
- max depth: 131 feet
Whether you’re a professional diver, photographer, documentary maker, or someone who loves to post diving images and videos to social media and youtube, you need a powerful underwater scooter with a good phone and camera mount.
The reason why this is the best underwater scooter for filming is that it has a newly designed phone and camera mount.
The mount is located on the floater and it’s a phone mount because most recreational divers now use phones and not cameras or large video equipment. Thus, this is the perfect scooter if you want to film.
But, if you want to use your camera, you can attach the action camera to the universal mount so you can see everything through a direct view.
The WhiteShark Pro is very powerful and can carry several people at once even though it’s small and compact.
You can dive deep up to 131 feet so it’s suitable for professional use too.
The battery life is approximately 60 minutes but there’s a useful low battery alert feature that alerts you when the battery is about to run out. This way you can make it to the top safely just in time to recharge.
Also, there is zero buoyancy so you need to know how to keep afloat when the device stops propelling.
Since it’s a heavy 17 lbs sea scooter, it’s best for teens and adults, and not kids. You might have to carry around the scooter and it’s not that lightweight.
This is also one of the fastest underwater scooters in the recreational category so you’ll enjoy it if you like to swim fast.
Sublue is an industry leader when it comes to waterproof technology so you don’t have to worry about the propellers and motors getting rusty and damaged after repeated use.
Best professional underwater scooter for diving: TUSA SAV-7
- suitable for: adults
- size: 28.4 x 13.4 inches
- weight: 45 lbs (20.4 kg)
- buoyancy: neutral
- battery autonomy: 60 -80 minutes
- max speed: 4.47 miles per hour
- max depth: 270 ft (70 m)
As a professional diver, you need a high-performance underwater scooter that goes very deep and has enhanced features.
Thus, you need the TUSA SAV-7, and not just an average scooter.
The TUSA sea scooters are made for professional divers who need superior features for important underwater dives.
Here’s a full video showing all the features:
You can activate the speed trigger while you’re moving for a smooth riding experience, thanks to its progressive acceleration system.
This means that you can synchronize the speed depending on your location and the water currents.
This sea scooter can maintain neutral buoyancy which is great for experienced divers in both fresh water and salt water.
Another great feature is the LED battery indicator which shows you how much autonomy you have left so you can make it to the top in time. This is important especially since you can go up to 270 ft deep and you need time to come back up.
Unlike the 2 speed propellers of sublue underwater scooters, this one has 3-speed. Thus you can vary the angle and pitch so you can fine-tune your diving experience according to your needs for that specific dive.
I also want to talk about the saddle wings – this feature lets you pull 2 or 3 additional divers with you and the scooter won’t slow down significantly because it has a very powerful motor.
This feature is important if you plan on doing mapping, shipwreck exploration, or scientific research with your colleagues.
The underwater scooter has a long battery life and a high speed of 4.47 miles per hour so it’s much better than some of the other devices on this list.
Another helpful feature is that the underwater scooter has a heavy-duty mount so you can place a large camera or video camera onto the mount. Therefore you can film professional footage or take high-quality photos while diving.
The neutral buoyancy ensures you can use this underwater scooter in any type of water.
Windek Sublue vs TUSA SAV-7
Both of these underwater scooters are used by professional scuba divers for recreational, work, or research purposes.
If you need diving equipment for serious ocean diving, the TUSA SAV-7 is a pricey but completely equipped propulsion vehicle.
It’s one of the best sea scooters for scuba divers because you can mount large cameras as well as GoPro cameras to shoot professional footage.
It’s not one of the fastest scooters but it’s extremely powerful and beats out other scooters with dual motors.
But, if you need something reliable but more affordable for your underwater adventures, the Sublue with the action camera mount is a good choice too. It can reach a max speed of 4 miles per hour, which is almost as fast as the Tusa.
Many underwater scooters have a positive buoyancy but the TUSA has neutral buoyancy and this is not an issue for seasoned pros.
It’s a powerful sea scooter with a hands-free riding saddle, thus divers can maneuver it easily.
Here are my final thoughts:
The Sublue is excellent if you want a snorkeling scooter you can use to photograph and film but if you want to do even more, and need a reliable underwater sea scooter for more than recreational scuba diving, I recommend the TUSA SAV-7.
How do underwater scooters work?
An underwater scooter belongs to a category of underwater machines called underwater propulsion vehicles that use propellers to move you through the water.
So, the motor moves the propellers which then propel the person through the water at speeds of up to 5 miles per hour.
The scooter is powered by a battery that can have an autonomy between 15 to 120 minutes, depending on the model.
Divers hold on to the sea scooter with both hands and allow the device to pull them through the water.
Even the best sea scooter has a maximum depth it can go, so you have to be mindful of the speed and depth capability.
How to use underwater scooters
There are all kinds of devices for sale because the underwater scooter market is constantly growing.
A scooter like the sublue whiteshark mix or the Yamaha series have a similar functioning method but some have just one large propeller while most sublue sea scooters have two.
To use a diver propulsion vehicle, you need to take a special course to prevent injuries, especially when using it in open water.
A diving course teaches you how to speed up and slow down, how to change directions, how to go deeper, and how to come up to the surface when the battery runs low.
The driving or piloting method is rather simple: you drive with a steering wheel, and you have accelerator pedals or level rotational speed control. Once you reach the top speed you can just relax and cruise along.
There’s also a depth control button. Usually, when you press the button the scooter takes you up.
Check out this instructional video that shows you how to use an underwater scooter properly and safely.
What is the advantage of using an underwater scooter?
Using an underwater scooter enables you to explore underwater at a faster speed than just swimming. It also allows you to snorkel and dive while taking photos and video, geo-mapping, or doing research.
As a diver, you can cover large distances and use up less of your energy. Since you use less energy, you consume your air at a slower rate and you can spend more time underwater. Also, you can concentrate on your breathing.
Then, you can also visit offshore dive sites that are inaccessible without a diver propulsion vehicle.
As you’ve seen, some of the fastest sea scooters like the TUSA diver propulsion vehicle can reach a speed of almost 5 miles per hour, which is faster than most people can swim.
Also, if you get an underwater scooter with long battery life you can do much more than just dive and swim for recreational purposes.
Are underwater scooters safe?
Generally, using a sea scooter for underwater excursions is safe. But, since it is an electric device, you need to be careful about some things.
Your sea scooter must be waterproof and the circuitry and floating chassis need to be well-maintained.
To stay safe, you need to stay within the manufacturer’s specified limits. This includes not exceeding the maximum depth, cleaning the salt off, charging the battery correctly, following the maximum weight capacity, and so on.
Also when using gopro cameras or other filming equipment you need to be sure to keep holding on so you tow behind scooters and don’t let them get away from you.
How fast can an underwater scooter go?
The world’s fastest scooter can reach a top speed of 5.6 mph which is about 9 km h.
But, the average recreational sea scooter has a top speed between 2 – 4.5 mph.
When using the speed trigger, you can make the scooter go faster to reach its top speed limit.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve seen a roundup of the best underwater scooters, you can choose the underwater scooter that corresponds to your needs.
Again, I want to remind you that if you want an underwater scooter that has a good battery life and can go pretty deep, the Yamaha 250 is a fine choice. It is well-priced and designed for lots of underwater fun.
Most underwater scooters have similar features but make sure to check the weight, size, and safety features, especially if you’re buying for kids.
But the most important thing to remember is that scuba diving is lots of fun if you choose powerful diver propulsion vehicles that let you go deep and see the sea creatures in their natural habitat.
