Customer Reviews

Swimline Remote Control Submarine

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I bought one last summer and was pleased with it. As with all toys, eventually the novelty wears off. So I just dig it out when I have company (nieces, nephews) but they always get a kick out of it. Pros: dives reliably (beware of cheaper subs that require you to manually tweak the motors to accomplish diving), surfaces reliably (provided your batteries aren't dead and you didn't install the optional weights), steers reliably, is very easy to use, has a horizontal range of at least 24' (as big as my pool), uses four inexpensive AA batteries and one 9 volt. Cons: Controller should never be submerged (use it from the deck only), control is reportedly erratic at depths greater than 3.5 ft, red headlight is too dim to be useful, and it generally requires an adult to install new batteries because the cover is difficult to remove. Warning: never use this in any pool that is not clear and accessible: there will be occasions on which you will need to manually retrieve the sub from the bottom of the pool.

I bought this submarine for my nephew's 5th birthday, and he loved it! He and my brother (his Dad) tried it out in the bathtub, and it maneuvered perfectly - diving, turning, surfacing. They then took it on their lake vacation and it worked great there too! My brother was so impressed, he declared it the best gift of the party, and HE wants one for HIS birthday, so the two of them can play together!!! (Boys will be boys, I guess!)

My son loves this submarine! If the sub goes too deep, it doesn't react to the remote controller anymore. You should not stand IN a pool while you play with it.

I have a recommendation for you if you decide to purchase it - attach the controller to a lanyard or to a cord that will go around your child's neck so that if/when he drops it, it won't fall into the pool like ours did! I took some extra long ribbon and tied it to each side of the remote. If he drops it now, it will just hang there.

After each use, you need to open up the battery compartment and let anything wet dry out. We never take good care of our toys, and we are making a big effort to with this toy. All the kids line up for a turn with this toy! I'm purchasing another one for my nephew's Christmas present.

My mom got this for me for my 43rd birthday (Yes I'm 43 and mom buys me toys for my birthday is that cool or what?) it seems to work quite well but here are some things to keep in mind.

The sub only has one speed and it's way too fast for a bathtub or even a kiddy pool

It dives or surfaces by changing the angle of the motors not with ballast tanks like a "real" sub.

Similarly, it turns by turning off one of the motors, so to turn right it shuts the right motor down.

Here's the important part: The sub comes with metal plates that you can place in compartments for ballast. You want to fiddle with this till the sub floats. This is important because when the sub loses contact with the radio the motors shut off. You want it to go UP when this happens not down. I have mine set so that when I run it straight it dives to right below the water surface. With this set up when it loses radio contact it floats to the surface, reacquires the signal, turns back on and keeps going. You hardly notice.

I've found the battery/engine compartment to be reasonably water tight but I would not want to take it down much deeper than three feet. When I'm done running it I take it apart (easy to do, no tools required) and store it that way just in case.

The radio works much better if you're out of the pool or lake. I just ran it in the pool with me and the range was substantially reduced.

All in all lots of fun.

I bought this for my 10 year old brother's birthday (I'm, 26). Based on the reviews here it seemed like a pretty solid toy and my parents have a pool so he should have some fun with it. He got things ranging from video games to gift certificates and the first thing he played with was the submarine. I helped him get the batteries in it and chucked it in the pool, showed him how the controls worked and within 5 minutes he was having the time of his life.

I played with it a bit and it is very, very responsive. As soon as you press the button the propeller reacts, slowing down, turning or speeding up. It really is a great toy that people from all ages can enjoy, you can dive, surface, turn and do barrel rolls. The pressure of your pool determines the depth of a dive, ours dove about 2 feet into the pool.

I got this RC toy for my grandson to use in our above ground pool. I liked it because it had round edges and did not seem to pose a threat to the pool liner. The sub has lived up to my expectations. It is fun, works well, dives, surfaces and is entertaining. My grandson, his father and even I have had fun with this. Once it gets to about 3 ft the RC starts to faulter, which is probably a good thing to keep it from going too deep.

Nice idea, just doesn't last even when played with by careful adult hands. This was a replacement sub for one that died in the tub. Same issues, sub will only work if placed right next to the remote. When first taken out of the box the range is really good. After using it for say an hour, the range drops to nothing and the sub becomes virtually useless. It is highly probable that water gets into the electronics shorting them out. The only problem is that I can't find any water intrusion. Its a shame because otherwise it seems to be a decent toy. But if its not going to work except for one day, its not really worth it. My advice is to wait for the next revision to see if that works better.

I bought this for my grandson's 5th birthday because we just had a pool installed. I was reluctant to get it because several reviewers complained that it it did not work after first use due to water in the batteries. Upon using it the first time, one of the propellers did not work, so the sub went around in circles, but all the other commands worked--my grandson, husband and daughter loved it, but it was frustrating. I sent a complaint to the company and heard nothing back until i wrote again. from that time on, they have been very accomodating.
We had no trouble with the interior getting wet--i did push the pieces together very tightly after inserting the batteries and held it up to drain out for a minute. I did disassemble it as the instructions suggest to let it dry thoroughly, but there was no internal moisture.
I don't give this a 5 because of the initial problem and if one mechanical thing goes wrong, there will not be full range of usage---but, it is a lot of fun and is very easy for little hands to control

I bought this for my 7-year old nephew and he loves it! It's a huge hit at the pool since none of the other kids have such a toy. He was able to easily figure out the remote, but often times he plays with it without using the remote. For such a delicate toy, it is holding up pretty well in its first summer of use. One of the propellers doesn't always work, but it doesn't affect it that much. His parents follow the directions to take out the batteries to dry after each use, so hopefully it can last at least another summer. If not, it was still under $50 and he still got a lot of use out of it!

This is all about pool time fun... THIS IS NOT FOR OCEAN CURRENTS! I almost lost this toy twice at Myrtle beach. With that said, I used it more than my daughter did. However, be warned now, the remote isn't submerge-able. It can get splashed and probably dipped and recovered, but you cannot swim and follow behind your submarine with the remote. I tried to make mine waterproof by putting vaseline around the edges, but it didn't work. Anyway, its still a lot of fun to play with. However, the novelty wears off quickly. After about twenty minutes, the toy was passed on to the side and regular pool fun continued, but for about ten minutes each person, thats not bad. The batter life is OK and the range is right on par with the manufacturers specs of about 4ft below the surface. The included metal weights does help to get that buoyancy under control, which brings me to the educational value rating, because its not an effective teaching aide if that is your motivation for buying this toy. Otherwise it moves quite well in the pools and once In a creek it did well fighting against the current and moved around nicely. Its solidly built so it can take a little abuse and rough play. The props are shielded for safety and besides the weights, no other small parts. Definitely recommend for some pool time fun.