I only polespear not speargunning for me. I do it while freediving and scuba diving. I hunt mostly small 2 foot fish and the occasional halibut. I have all different tips i use, but my favorite is my JBL Breakaway tip. I try not to put it on unless im offshore at an island where we can get larger fish. Its a great tip but i hunt mosly in the rocky reef and am worried about damaging it too much. I never use paralyzer tips anymore only single and double floppers. And i have never used a slip tip on my pole, just a breakaway.
So the advantages:
1. Easy to fight the fish
2. Protects your polespear from damage or bending.
Disadvantages:
1. Difficult to extract fish from holes/crevices
2. Line can cut sides of fish
3. Can be a pain to use in grassy/kelpy areas where tip can snag and come off pole easily - lost a couple of great shots like that
4. A bit slower than regular tips
5. Easier to poke your hand on the tip when subduing the fish due to the fact that you cant stablilize the tip with the pole.
Im sure there are others as well. But i use this one.
http://www.leisurepro.com/Image/Prod...all/JBL823.jpg