In the summer of 2024 I had the pleasure of testing the Aiper Scuba S1, a mid-range cordless pool cleaner. It wasn't designed for an above-ground pool like mine, but it surprised me so much I ended up swimming next to it.
Light, sleek and well built
The Scuba S1 weighs about 7.4 kg, but it's packed with features. Build quality is top: you can feel it's tough, and the design is much sleeker than Aiper's beefier Seagull Pro from the year before. On the sides there are two caterpillar tracks that help it climb any surface without getting stuck. Underneath, two soft scrubbers clean the walls and waterline without damaging the liner, and a rubber flap guides the debris into the suction inlet.
The basket (and its one limit)
Something I really loved is the 3.5-litre basket. It holds leaves and anything else that falls in, and it's extremely easy to clean: just use a hose. The one thing I must point out is that it's not an ultra-fine filter. Very small particles, like those left by flocculant chemicals or algaecides, pass through and go back into the pool. An optional fine-particle accessory would be great.
Power and programmes
It charges in 4 hours and runs for 2.5 hours, with a flow of about 245 litres per minute, which is kind of impressive. It's plug-and-play: one button on the body cycles through four programmes:
- Floor only.
- Walls only.
- Walls and floor: it starts on the walls and switches to the floor when the battery hits 50%.
- Eco mode, the most important for me: it switches on three times every 48 hours for 45 minutes, so if you're away for a week the pool stays covered.
There's no app. A pool cleaner that does its job doesn't need one, in my opinion. A clever detail: if it senses it's out of the water, it tries to suck three times and then switches itself off. Aiper also talks about an improved "Navigation 2.0" that maps the pool and cleans with a logic.
In my 6 × 3 m Intex pool
The suction power, the intensity of the flow and the runtime really surprised me. Even on the floor programme, the suction is so strong that it tilts up 90 degrees and cleans the corners of the liner in a way no other cleaner I've tried does. My nephew told me that in his small pool it even climbs his tiny steps and pushes the debris down, then picks it up from the bottom. I didn't get to test the week-long mode, because he wanted it back quickly.
It's hard to find cons. At around $540, compared with high-end cleaners over $1,000, it's a professional mid-range robot with a big basket, great suction and a crazy battery.