Good review Tackleberry & welcome.
Yes, even with a single 16mm band they seem to be be plenty powerful. I have the
Sparid model, which comes with a single 16mm band & a smaller 6.6mm spear (which is plenty tough -- hit rocks numerous times) & plastic line release - it is a good set-up. It has a double muzzle & double-notched spear, so it could be fitted with double bands later -- never found the need though.
I recently fitted a 20mm band but it seems over-the-top power-wise to me. The spear easily goes all the way through fish (it often did with the 16mm band too) -- unfortunately speared mullet have a habit of spiralling madly around, which makes a mess of your spear-line (at least it put a kink in my temporary strimmer line spear line which is softer than regular RA Mako spear line) - and increases the chance of the fish tearing off the line, the spearline having a much smaller diameter than the spear. It is also significantly less forgiving to load: I now have to load high on my sternum, above my Elios loading pad -- otherwise it tends to slip off & bruise me. My abs are black & blue after 4 consecutive days of spearing last week. Also I broke a new Dyneema wishbone (perhaps because the ends of the bands were not even -- I have adjust them now, which is also harder with a 20mm band). As you may have discerned, I am missing the old 16mm band
.
RE. balance/barrel-weight, I noticed the barrel of mine seemed a little too muzzle heavy in the water this season (even before I changed the rubbers), causing unnecessary strain on the firing arm. I had not noticed this last year, so perhaps something changed (e.g. water entered the hollow bands)? I squeezed half a cork into the second rubber hole of my double-muzzle & blackened it to blend in with the gun. Appears to have done the trick.
BTW We discussed safety catches a while back. Most folk don't seem to use them, as the only real safe state is loose bands. On other brands, folks often remove them. I reckon the RA safety catch may be there more for marketing purposes or perhaps some competition rules somewhere or other -- it would be a pain to have to use all the time (stiff, low profile, hard to move & not obvious when on/off). Maybe not a bad feature option to have available for occasional use; somebody mentioned using their safety when picking up a crab/scallop/lobster -- less safe than an unloaded gun but safer than leaving the gun loaded & the safety off.
Re. your "Sponge Bob safety device"
I use silicone tube tied off with some cord or some plastic tube (I found 2 washed up on the beach that are a good fit). I noticed the Guernsey boys had used corks in their recent spearo-wedding pictures.
Let us know how you get on with the breakaway kit.
