Sublue Vapor electric seascooter review: Silently cruises above and below the water
I’ve always enjoyed electric watersports devices, and have a long history with everything from electric surfboards to electric boats. But it’s the category of electric sea scooters that likely offers the most accessiblity to the average person, providing fast and fun water excitement without the larger upfront cost and complexity of larger vessels. The Sublue Vapor is the latest in a string of electric sea scooters I’ve tested over the years, and it’s the fanciest one yet.
Of course, fancy features come with higher prices, which are already higher than you’d expect, thanks to the law of nature where anything marine-related costs significantly more than it should.
This sucker is no different, carrying an exorbitant price tag of $2,799.
Sure, there’s some important waterproofing going on here, necessitated by the device’s ability to operate at depths down to an impressive 40 meters (131 feet). But that’s still a lot of cash.
Despite the 40 meter rating, I was testing this on a Florida beach and I couldn’t get much more than a meter or two before I ran into sand. However, the Sublue Vapor is just as much fun on the surface, towing you (or your nephews, who helped me test it out) across the surface of the water at speeds of up 10 km/h (6 mph).
The impeller and nozzle work together to output some serious force, as I discovered the first time I pulled the throttle trigger while standing in waist-height water and holding the device directly in front of me. You only do that once, at least if you’re a male.
The better way to get started is laying out in a swimming position and then engaging the throttle to rocket forwards.
That also puts you in the best position to begin steering right away.
The Vapor uses a 385 Wh battery stored inside the nose, which can easily be swapped out for a second battery. There’s even room for two batteries in the carrying case, which is quite nicely designed.
I felt like I was walking onto the beach with a nuclear football, and opening the foam briefcase up didn’t immediately change that picture.
Speaking of the battery, I found that a single battery lasts a bit less than the 60 minutes they claim, though we were mostly keeping it in the highest of the three power levels to take advantage of the 21 kg (46 lb) of thrust in high power mode. If you’re using lower power modes, you can likely make it to the full 60-minute run time.
It was really hard to capture any good photos of the screen for some reason, perhaps due to a coating on the display, but it actually does show up quite vibrantly in the water.
It’s a bright, well-lit display and easy to read even while twisting and turning underneath the waves.
As you can see from the marketing image below, a big part of the hard sell here appears to be in the form of “keep a couple of these on your yacht!”, which makes sense to me. If you’ve got yacht money, you can definitely afford the fun shenanigans that come with a sea scooter (and you’re likely out in some deeper water to enjoy exploring even further down).
If any of you have seen my electric boat, you’ll know this is not something I’d likely be buying for my own vessel (especially since it costs over twice what my boat costs!).
When it comes to controlling the device, it doesn’t take very much athletic ability at all to use the Sublue Vapor. That helps overcome the higher barriers to entry with electric surfboards and other electric watersports.
As long as you can hold on to the handles and pull the trigger to start the motor, you’ll pretty much be able to get the hang of it. There is some arm strength and core strength involved in steering the device, especially if you want to get more acrobatic at higher speeds, but low speed is quite gentle and won’t require much strength from the user. My five-year-old niece gave it a try and ended up with a faceful of waterjet (don’t worry, she’s a trooper), so there may be a minimum age at which this device is advisable. She’s fine on our lower-power sea scooters, but this one is more of a beast.
All told, the Sublue Vapor is an impressively powerful, nicely designed electric water scooter that would be great for diving, snorkeling, or just playing around at the beach. This is way more than a pool toy, but it also carries an ‘open water’ price.
It’s definitely priced out of the general recreation ballpark, but if you’ve got boat money, you’ve probably got high power electric seascooter money too. And hey, it’s a lot more portable than a jet ski!
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Wisconsin’s first three EV fast charging stations using funding from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula program are now online.
The EV fast charging stations are in Ashland, Chippewa Falls, and Menominee, in western Wisconsin, which are rural areas that see a lot of visitors due to tourism and their location along key highway corridors.
As is required by the NEVI program, all three charging stations contain four ports with both CCS and J3400 connectors, and each station can deliver up to 150 kW per port.
NEVI-funded charging stations must also have 24-hour public accessibility and provide amenities like restrooms, food and beverages, and shelter, and must be sited within one travel mile of the Alternative Fuel Corridor.
The stations are located at local Kwik Trips, a Wisconsin-based gas station that serves 12 million customers weekly at more than 880 locations across six states, making the charging experience easy to find and increasing consumer trust.
“It’s great to see more states expanding the NEVI network and filling in coverage gaps for drivers and riders,” said Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. “EV charging often happens in communities. Whether it’s parents visiting their kids at college, families staying at their cabins, or people road-tripping on Interstate 94 for the holidays – expanding the network gives consumers accessible options to charge their vehicles.”
The stations are part of Kwik Trip’s Kwik Charge program, which will provide DC fast chargers to guests traveling throughout the Midwest. Kwik Trip has received $8.1 million in NEVI funds in Wisconsin to install chargers at 24 of its locations. The company is building an app using Driivz’s software so EV drivers can find Kwik Charge chargers and check charger availability and pricing.
Read more: Kwik Trip is installing DC fast chargers across the Midwest
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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Environment
The California grid ran on 100% renewables with no blackouts or cost rises for a record 98 days
A new study published in the journal Renewable Energy uses data from the state of California to demonstrate that no blackouts occurred when wind-water-solar electricity supply exceeded 100% of demand on the state’s main grid for a record 98 of 116 days from late winter to early summer 2024 for an average (maximum) of 4.84 (10.1) hours per day.
Compared to the same period in 2023, solar output in California is up 31%, wind power is up 8%, and batteries are up a staggering 105%. Batteries supplied up to 12% of nighttime demand by storing and redistributing excess solar energy.
And here’s the kicker: California’s high electricity prices aren’t because of wind, water, and solar energy. (That issue is primarily caused by utilities recovering the cost of wildfire mitigation, transmission and distribution investments, and net energy metering.)
In fact, researchers from Stanford, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of California, Berkeley found that states with higher shares of renewable energy tend to see lower electricity prices. The takeaway – and the data backs it up – is that a large grid dominated by wind, water, and solar is not only feasible, it’s also reliable.
The researchers concluded:
Despite the rapid growth and high penetration of [wind-water-solar] WWS, the spot price of electricity during the period dropped by more than 50% compared with the same period in the previous year, and no blackouts occurred, giving confidence that the addition of more solar, wind, and batteries should not be a cause for concern.
Mark Z. Jacobson, co-author of the paper and professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the atmosphere/energy program at Stanford University, explained in an email to Electrek:
This paper shows that the main grid in the world’s fifth-largest economy was able to provide more than 100% of the electricity that it used from only four clean renewable sources: solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal, for anywhere from five minutes to over 10 hours per day for 98 out of 116 days during late winter, all of spring, and early summer, as well as for 132 days during the entire year of 2024, without its grid failing.
The growth of solar, wind, and battery storage, in particular, resulted in fossil gas use dropping 40% during the 116-day period and 25% during the entire year. In comparison with 2023, solar, wind, and battery capacities increased significantly, with batteries doubling in capacity.
The paper also shows that high electricity prices in California have nothing to do with renewables; in fact, without renewables, prices would have been higher.
In fact, 10 of the 11 US states with higher fractions of their demand powered by renewables have among the lowest US electricity prices.
Instead, in California, the spot price of electricity dropped by over 50% during the period of interest between 2023 and 2024, indicating it was easier to match demand with supply with the increase in renewables and batteries in 2024.
Read more: New CA smart grid law will help solar and fix the grid by… simply replacing wires
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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Is Porsche’s new Taycan faster than a Ferrari SF90 or Yamaha R1M? In an epic new drag race, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT flexed its power, leaving the Ferrari and Yamaha bike in the dust. Watch the video below.
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT races a Ferrari and Yamaha
Porsche unveiled the Turbo GT model after introducing the upgraded Taycan in February. The new Porsche Taycan has significant improvements, including more range and performance.
The Taycan Turbo GT is Porsche’s fastest production car yet. With up to 1,092 hp, the electric sports car, equipped with its Wiessach Package, can hit 0 to 60 mph in just 2.1 seconds.
Porsche’s GT model took the title from the Tesla Model S Plaid as the fastest electric series production car at the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in California earlier this year. With a lap time of 1:27:87, Porsche topped the previous record of 1:30:30 set by the Tesla Model S Plaid in 2020.
Is the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT fast enough to beat a Ferrari SF90 and Yamaha R1M? The folks at Carwow put them up against one another in a drag race to see.
The Taycan goes up against the SF90 with 769 hp from a 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8 combined with three electric motors. Meanwhile, the Yamaha RM1 is powered by a 1 liter 4 stroke engine, which is good for 200 hp.
You can see that Porsche had no problem handling the Ferrari and Yamaha in the first race. Even with the Ferrari jumping the line in the next race, the Taycan proves its might, beating both to the line. After a few more attempts, the Porsche remained undefeated.
The Taycan Turbo GT completed a quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds, compared to the Ferrari SF90’s 10.0 seconds and the Yamaha RM1’s 10.3 seconds.
With all that power, Porsche’s Taycan Turbo GT, with the Weissach package, comes with a hefty price tag, starting at $230,000. The base 2025 Porsche Taycan starts at $99,400, while the more expensive Turbo and Turbo S trims start at $173,600 and $209,000, respectively.
After finally getting its hands on one, the GT model already took down one of the kings of Carwow’s drag strip. Which vehicle will it take down next?
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