GEAR TESTS: Pegasus Thruster Scooter Underwater Review

CRISTIAN DIMITRIUS Professional Filmmaker

I have to confess, the Pegasus Thruster is now an essential part of my arsenal. It was essential for my dives in Little Cayman. It provides the stability I need for some nice movement shots over the reef and especially when I need to keep up with stingrays and turtles, where I believe it is almost impossible to get very steady shots with heavy fin kicking. 

Another great thing about the Pegasus Thruster is that it allowed me to cover a larger portion of the reef when looking for subjects. I could move from one dive site to another and come back, looking for sharks, turtles or interesting behavior, like a grouper eating a fish. I believe I would never see that if I didn't have the thruster on my back. The battery has more than 40 minutes continuous run time so even with continued use on a dive, and I used it a lot, I never needed to exchange batteries between the two morning dives and still had a second battery for a third afternoon dive. 

ROBIN DODD Producer

I always look forward to using a Pegasus Thruster at the Digital Shootout—it has become an annual tradition for me. During this year's event, I only had time for a few dives with one, so I wanted to make the most of it. As part of the Camera Crew, I'm always one of the last divers in the water, just in case any attendees have last-minute emergency camera issues that require dry hands on the boat. As a result, I'm often descending several minutes after most photographers have set up on their first shots or begun swimming on their route. With a Pegasus Thruster equipped, I can simply pick a spot where fewer divers have headed yet and jet off to have a scene with less likelihood of getting bubbles in the background.

For these dives I was really hoping for a shark encounter. It would be just the right subject for the camera I was testing at the time. There was a slight current, so I knew I could use the Thruster to move against the current a fair distance while preserving my air. I planned to go further than I normally would, knowing that the help from the current would carry me back to the boat more easily than usual, even if I drained the Thruster battery faster than I typically would. I was on a mission.

The first thing I noticed was how dialed-in I felt right after engaging the motor for the first time. The first few minutes on the Thruster are usually reserved for getting used to the feel of the pull on your BC, ensuring your legs and fins are straight and streamlined, and learning how to steer with your shoulders and upper body. I guess my accumulated experience had paid off because I was zooming over the reef right away, steering exactly where I wanted with a new level of confidence in my control. It felt as natural as any other aspect of my diving, and I was stoked. It was hard to keep my mask from leaking due to the goofy grin I was trying my hardest to suppress.

And then, all of a sudden, silently and smoothly out of the blue, here comes a reef shark, gliding towards me, following the current. I eased off the Thruster and tucked the control into my chest strap to keep it secure. My camera was all set and ready to roll. Now it was time to go to work.

It's said that underwater photography is mostly luck, and your skill comes down to what you can do when that luck arrives. The Pegasus Thruster allowed me to create my own luck by getting down the reef farther and more easily than I could have otherwise. I was able to secure a lucky encounter with a big animal and film it for far longer than I would have been able to without it - all while having even more fun than usual.

James Emery Producer

The Pegasus Thruster is a fantastic tool for capturing underwater video footage. Its powerful performance, durability, ease of use, and extended battery life make it a valuable asset for any underwater videographer.

One of the standout features of the Pegasus Thruster is its exceptional speed and maneuverability. The scooter's powerful thrusters allow you to glide effortlessly through the water, enabling you to quickly position yourself in front of your subjects, ready to get the shot. Furthermore, the scooter's user-friendly design makes it accessible to both beginners and experienced underwater videographers. Its simplistic one-button push control allows for easy operation, giving you the ability to focus on capturing breathtaking footage without being hindered by complex maneuvering techniques.

SEVAG MEHTERIAN Service Specialist

As an underwater photographer and newbie to the world of underwater scooters and thrusters, I always imagined that the need for a motorized thruster was solely for that of videography, to steadily track shots of creatures in motion. Being that I only shoot still photographs, I was not sure how a thruster could be more useful to me than a fun vehicle to ride around underwater.

After pressing the throttle and initially almost spitting out the regulator from my mouth purely from smiling and having a thrilling ride, it immediately became clear that the Pegasus Thruster was more than just a vehicle for recreation or a tool for videographers. Having the thruster mounted on my back with only a throttle on a cable that I could control with a single finger, freed up my arms to comfortably grasp and handle my camera rig. I could quickly and effortlessly hop around the reef, getting ahead of charismatic creatures that I would normally not be able to catch up to or keep up with using only fin power. My first dive using a thruster was with the Pegasus and at this point as a stills photographer, I cannot imagine using any other system.

Hergen Spalink Nauticam Ambassador

The Pegasus Thruster is an incredible underwater imaging tool, allowing you to effortlessly position yourself where the animal is going to be. For Little Cayman, this meant putting yourself well ahead of turtles and stingrays, allowing you to wait for them to come to you. Easy to use, conveniently packaged in a travel-ready pelican, the Pegasus Thruster will help you get the shots where fins alone won't get the job done.