GEAR TESTS: PEGASUS THRUSTER

Video Overview

Jim Decker CEO: Backscatter Underwater Video & Photo

The Pegasus Thruster isn't like other scooters that you ride behind or hold out in front. It mounts directly to your tank and you have a remote "happy button" to activate it, leaving your hands free to operate your camera. The only thing you need to change in your gear setup is to loose 4-5 pounds from your weight belt. In the water you don't even know it's there when it's not in use. It's perfect for photographers. You can cover such a great amount of territory without burning through your air.

I used it on the vast house reef dive of Coco View Wall. I was able to go way further down the wall than just by "kicking it" all that way. I also made for some great video shots flying over the reef next to schools of fish.

After I was done with the wall, I had made a few full length passes on the shipwreck of the Prince Albert on the house reef. I then reverted to shooting a little bit of macro in the house reef, never noticing the scooter on my back while shooting.

The only "complaint" I had was when the battery ran out on minute 72 of the dive! Normally the batteries are rated for about 45 minutes and I was definitely pushing the envelope. 

The ease of use and never noticing it when it's not in use makes the Pegasus Thruster the scooter of choice for underwater photographers. 

Robin Dodd Producer

Using the Pegasus Thruster DPV is always one of my favorite parts of the Digital Shootout, and 2018 was no exception. I found that using the Thruster here in Roatan was a very practical experience, as it allowed me to cruise the walls and shallow reefs scouting for the perfect shot while saving me massive amounts of energy and air. It also allowed me to keep up with the high numbers of free-swimming moray eels, following them along their routes and getting some rock solid video at the same time, since I didn't have to worry about kicking and trying to keep up. The runtime of 35-40 minutes meant that I could be on the Pegasus for almost the entire dive without worry! I'm always surprised at how neutral the unit actually is in the water. I typically only have to drop 5 pounds when using the scooter and I am just as neutrally buoyant as I would be without it! A lot of folks just take the Thruster at its James Bond face value, but as an image-making tool it is a highly underrated piece of my kit!

DYLAN SILVER Backscatter Team Member

I'm pretty convinced that there are few greater joys in life than being propelled by an electric torpedo over a beautiful Caribbean reef. The Pegasus Thruster is a simple device that can completely change the way you dive and shoot. As a first time user, I was impressed by how easy the Thruster was to use and how quickly I got hooked on using it.

Once installed on your tank, the Thruster is hardly noticeable. The simple push-button acceleration allowed me to hold and operate my DSLR housing with both hands while using one thumb to start and release the motor. For video, it definitely added an element of stability in my camera movements that I couldn't have achieved by kicking. I might've spent a little time doing barrel rolls and somersaults, too. 

As we were diving in a group, the Pegasus Thruster made it easy to keep up and even lead. At one site, I was happy to arrive at a long swim through before the other divers, so I could take advantage of the excellent visibility for a few images and video. I noticed a pretty significant increase in my bottom time, and I saw a lot more of many of the sites than I would've otherwise. 

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