Let’s be honest: owning a pool is a dream until it’s time to actually clean the thing. There is nothing quite like the Sunday afternoon realization that your pristine oasis has transformed into a gritty collection of sand, leaves, and mysterious debris. We’ve always settled for clunky, tethered vacuums that get tangled more often than a pair of wired headphones in a pocket.
Enter the Aiper Scuba X1. I’ve been putting this cordless robotic cleaner through its paces recently, and if you’re tired of playing “tug-of-war” with a vacuum hose, then this could be your Summer solution.
Suction That Actually Means Business
The first thing you notice about the Scuba X1 isn’t just its sleek, sci-fi aesthetic with gold trim, it’s the power. Aiper has packed this unit with a staggering 25,200 Litres Per Hour (LPH) suction capacity. To put that in perspective, while many single-jet competitors are struggling to pick up a stray leaf from that apparently “evergreen” tree, the X1 uses dual jets to inhale fine sand and pebbles with ease. When it gets going it feels less like a pool cleaner and more like a high-end sports car for your floor tiles.
The filtration system captures particles so small as 3μm, meaning it’s catching stuff you didn’t even know was making your water cloudy. This is really handy if you are like me and went with a cartridge filter for your pool. The ones where you have to take them out once a week and hose them down. I’ve found by running the Aiper Scuba X1, it makes that job far easier and I can push out the need to do it all the time.
The Waterline: The Final Frontier
We’ve all seen those robotic cleaners that wander aimlessly around the bottom of the pool, completely ignoring the “bathtub ring” of grease and grime at the waterline. This is where the Scuba X1 genuinely excels.
Using what Aiper calls WaveLine 2.0 technology, the robot doesn’t just bump into the wall and turn around; it engages in constant-contact horizontal scrubbing. It climbs the walls and moves laterally along the waterline, buffing away the buildup that usually requires a manual brush and a lot of elbow grease. It’s oddly satisfying to watch it work while you’re sitting poolside with a cold drink.
He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother
The “heft-to-quality” ratio comes in at around 11kg, it feels reassuringly solid, more like a piece of industrial equipment than a plastic pool toy. This weight is a double-edged sword, though. On one hand, that density is exactly what helps it stay pinned to the pool floor while those dual jets are blasting away, preventing it from “floating” off-course like lighter, cheaper models. On the other hand, you’ll definitely feel the burn in your biceps when you’re hauling it out of the water at the end of a cycle. It feels built to withstand years of sun and chlorine, but just a fair warning: if you aren’t using the optional caddy, consider the retrieval process your incidental gym session for the day.
Intelligence Over Instinct
If you’ve ever owned an early-generation robot vacuum, you know the pain of watching it get stuck in a corner for forty minutes. The Scuba X1 avoids this issue thanks to WavePath 3.0 and high-precision sensors. It maps the pool with impressive accuracy, ensuring it doesn’t miss a spot or waste battery life cleaning the same patch of floor five times.
It covers up to 200 square metres on a single charge, offering four standard modes plus an extra “1” for those specialized tasks. Whether you just need the floor done or a full-blown “deep clean” of the walls and waterline, there’s a setting for it.
No Cords, No Chaos
The “Cordless” revolution is the best thing to happen to pool maintenance since the invention of chlorine. The Scuba X1 comes with a wireless charging dock, which serves as both a home for the device and a power station. No more fishing for heavy cables or worrying about trip hazards on the deck.
The Aiper app is impressive as well. A simple design that focuses on what you need to get done without all the techno mambo jumbo. It allows you to monitor the cleaning progress from your phone. However while the app is great for scheduling and status checks, you’ll need the HydroComm Pro accessory if you want to maintain that connection while the unit is fully submerged it loses connection almost as soon as it submerges in the shallow end, but to be honest once it’s in I didn’t feel the need to know any more info until it was finished.
When the cleaning session finally comes to an end, the Scuba X1 doesn’t just give up the ghost in the middle of the deep end, leaving you to go “fishing” for it. Aiper has integrated a clever auto-parking feature that ensures the device finishes its cycle right against the pool wall. It essentially navigates itself to the edge and waits patiently for retrieval, meaning you shouldn’t need to break out a telescopic hook or go for an unplanned swim just to get your robot back. This ended a few times for me at the top of the main step, however a couple of sessions it ended at the bottom of the main step, but was easily fished out using the included hook. Not having it stop in the deep end or the middle of the pool is a thoughtful touch that reinforces the “set and forget” luxury of the device. Especially handy for people with far bigger pools than mine.
The Verdict
Is the Scuba X1 the ultimate pool companion? If you value your weekends and want a professional-grade clean without the professional-grade invoice, the answer is a resounding yes. It’s efficient, it’s intelligent, and it’s surprisingly thorough. Equipped with 4 + 1 cleaning modes and Waveline™ 2.0 technology, the powerful Scuba X1 (RRP: $1999.99) is down to $1499.99 at the moment and is a fine price to pay to get your weekends back.
