Any point in adding bigger bands?

[manalive!]

Hello,

I'm just about to buy some new bands for my gun as the current ones are 3 years old. I was about to buy direct placements, but I've just read that the gun can accept thicker bands. Is there any point in me uprating the bands?

Here's the current situation:

Gun: Cressi comanche 75cm
Fishing areas: North Wales
Typical visibility: 3m (5 if lucky)
Typical catch: mullet, bass, pollack up to 5lbs
Current bands: 16mm dia
Upgrade bands:18mm bands

 

[e.m.p!]

I've swapped from 16mm to 18mm on a 90cm gun and it improved it by a far margin without overpowering it. Since your barrel is even shorter (= less prone to warping) I would say go for it –*especially after using yours for 3 years. Try to buy the recommended length from the same company though.

 

[Mr. X]

My 75cm Omer XXV came with 18mm bands and it works just fine with them -- and the spear is quite slim (only 6.3mm I think). I am thinking of replacing my 18mm screw-in rubbers with bulk rubber soon, 16mm or 20mm -- I'm leaning towards 16mm currently, as bulk rubber is thicker-walled and I suspect it will have similar characteristics to the 18mm Omer rubber (20mm bulk rubber is pretty stiff when fresh).

In general though, I think folk overestimate their need for power & underestimate the need for balance, accuracy and ease/speed of loading. If your gun came equipped with 16mm bands it will likely work very well with that configuration. Moving away from that may put it out of "balance" - but spearos tend to get a lot of enjoyment out of experimenting & learning by trying - which is a good thing, I think.

In this particular case, I would say go for it!

 

[ReefTroll]

Recently upgraded my 75cm Beuchat with 18mm rubber. Will let you know how I find it when the water becomes swimmable!!

 

[Speardiver1]

Generally speaking you should use the band configuration that the gun came with from the manufacturer. If you overpower the gun you will lose accuracy due to recoil, and power won't matter if you can't hit the target. Before switching to thicker bands I'd make sure to use the best rubber possible, not all bands rubber is created equal. Switching to the same diameter rubber but with the best stretch characteristics and power retention, along with a smaller inner diameter (hole), and shortening the bands to where you can just load without having a hernia, will surely improve the guns performance over 3 year old bands.

 

[Mr. X]

...I am thinking of replacing my 18mm screw-in rubbers with bulk rubber soon, 16mm or 20mm -- I'm leaning towards 16mm currently, as bulk rubber is thicker-walled and I suspect it will have similar characteristics to the 18mm Omer rubber (20mm bulk rubber is pretty stiff when fresh)...

FYI I opted to go for the "20mm" rubbers - which really measure only 18.43mm across, very similar to the original Omer 18mm screw-in bands. But I also opted to make the bands a little longer @60cm. for the 75cm speargun, to make loading easier; the new RA wishbone actually sits at the same position on the barrel as the old one - which is reassuring

 

[ReefTroll]

Have only fired off one shot with my new larger bands (13mm upgraded to 18mm) It's still fine to load and the difference was great. The fish had no chance to make one of those last minute dodge the spear manoeuvres. It was shot, dead. Done. magic. LOVING the upgrade.