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Barrel Flex !!

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Originally posted by Murat
Hey Mark,

You are right OMER is innovative, as i rememmber OMER is one of the first carbon gun mfg in europe after C4 may be. After that every mfg started to build carbon and kevlar spearguns. If nobody makes new products there is no way to other follow.
I just belive that as a "costumer" if we don't criticize new products and tell the problems, we don't have right to expect better products next year from omer. Isn't it?

That is a good point, it's not without flaws either. We came out with the Tuna Ice fins for example in 1999 that were completely clear that hid everything but your feet in the water. They were awesome theoretically and aesthetically but then the project turned into a disaster since the material was very unstable and unpredictable and too sensitive to temperature changes. Who the heck would have known after 100's of prototypes were fine? Omer was however the first manufacturer to market a carbon fiber speargun, a camouflage wetsuit, and carbon fiber fins (C4 was the supplier for them) more than ten years ago. And even the first versions of those had much room for improvement as witnessed by all the models on the market today. Constructive criticism is always accepted :cool:

"Have you met Alberto March and Marco Bardi? How do they compare to the US spearos? Is the OMER 18 circular rubber going to be sold in bulk as well?"

Shane, I met a lot of those guys at the European Championships in Sardinia in 1999. I'm originally from Sardinia too so it was cool to chat with them when I was there because I speak Italian. Alberto March is very nice and soft spoken, a professional fisherman. Marco Bardi is Mr. technical and really has a wealth of technical spearfishing knowledge in his brain. Some of the stuff he has figured out about speargun balancing is very interesting. Most of them are very humble. I fear March will never be the same diver he was competitively because after getting the bends freediving three times (in Tahiti he was fishing as deep as 150ft) he's too susceptible to it now and can't push it too hard anymore.

I think that compared to the European Champions our guys really hold their own. The main differences as I see them are that the style and type of spearfishing competitions Europeans are used to which is adopted on the Internation level by CMAS are modeled after the prefered type of diving of the Europeans, so it really favors them naturally therefore they have a huge edge.

Whereas a top level American diver for example might not care about going out and shooting a stringer full of 500 gram sargos for fun a European diver would and this is what they grow used to so in competition its almost natural for them and they have a big advantage over Americans. Most of the best divers here unless they are commercial fisherman go out looking for quality instead of quantity like one big grouper or two (Florida), a white sea bass (California), an ulua or a Mu(Hawaii) which I think is much more rewarding personally. You'd be hard pressed to see an American diver doing aspetto at 25 meters for a one kilo dentex or sargo here. They'd rather go after a wahoo or a 20lb grouper. I think the best divers in this country are Hawaiians these days, very good conditions-clear water, deep, smart elusive fish.

So I think head to head in Competition the European divers are better because of this advantage although competitions are changing all over Europe these days and I don't see a huge future in it if they keep going the way they're going.

Mark
 
Yeah Mark everbody want to shoot big wahoo and so but if don't have in your waters you have to be happy with sargos and so...

Personally if i had shoot 1kg sargo i will be more than happy coz i never get bigger than 500gr. But who knows this winter will show me after last encounter...

As you said since the conditions becoming hard in europe hunters have to improve them self also... I saw March vidoe that he dives 20 meters for sargo in most of the vido. God thanks we can still found sargo in 8-10 meter range. But as you said they will not last long since the quantity is the major importance here. But we don't have the luxry to ignore them to shoot big/quality fish coz it may never happen and nobody want to come home empty handed....
 
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Hey Mark,

I forgot to ask you something which I have just been remonded of on a Spanish Forum.

What is the deal with the Omer New Professional suit?

It is the worst Chicle suit ever produced. Every single person I know has had it come apart at all the seams and rip real easy.

I have not heard anyone say anything good about it. I have been reminded on the www.cazasubmarina.com forum if you want to check.

I know it is the cheap version of the awesome Yamamoto 45 chicle, but that is another product to add to the Omer callback list.

Shane
 
Second buy: Plastic reel for above gun. The extremly thin white line is nothing but t

Murat and others that have the Omer plastic reel:

I have a homemade remedy for the reel problem. Let me get my digital camera working and I will post a photo for you tomorrow. It takes the plastic Omer reel and makes it work as good as any out there. I was having the same problem as you and basically came to the same conclusions.

After thinking it through I took the reel to the workbench and improvised a bit and found the solution. Don't throw it away yet. There is a fix. :)

The fix consists of cutting away the casing of the outside part of the reel. You know the Omer reel comes in two parts.

1. The case which mounts to the gun
2. The spool which goes inside the case and slides over the spindle

The trick is to cut the case completely away at the line on the top. Then file down the top portion of what remains on the gun either by hand or on a smooth grinding wheel. You then mount the spool back on. What this does is allow the spool to wind with no interference from the outside case which is the cause of the problems to begin with. Now you have changed the reel to an open one instead of a closed one. Much easier to use and basically foolproof. All you give up is the Omer logo on the case. In fact, if you are very careful with your work no one will even realize what you have done. People will think it is an original manufacturers reel and ask you who made it. ;) Problem solved.
 
send us some pictures, this could be an interesting project for most of us.
 
Omer reel modification photos

Hi guys,

I have the photos ready to upload but I am having a bit of difficulty negotiating how exactly to do it. If one of you would be kind enough to send me a PM on what exactly to do I can get them up immediately. Thanks.
 
Omer reel modification photos

Hi guys,

Here are two photos of the work I did on the Omer plastic reel as described in my last post. Perhaps one of you can take what I've done and improve on it even more. Good luck with your modifications. I hope this will help someone. I know I stopped using the reel until I came up with this fix. It never did work correctly as it was originally built.

BTW, This is the first time I am posting pics on the forum. If I screw it up maybe someone can tell me what I am doing wrong. :)

Photo 1
 
Retry Photo number 1
 

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Hi guys,

Great thread...
I have a nice tip for all of you who use MB/Master handles and complain about the lack of a line releaser...
It's simple...Marc Valentin Line realeser fits like a glove to the MB/Master handle...you only have to enlarge the holes to fit a new screw of the same thickness of the pin that holds the barrel to the handle. I have a picture of it set on one of my spearguns...just can't find out how you upload the images! Can anyone tell how it's done...thanks.

Best regards,
Rui Santos
 
The new Dapiran Jedi Line release was copied from the Marc Valentin guns. Simple but very effective.
 
Thats very nice, everyone willing to share DIY for some problems. It seems i am not the only one complaining about those faults...
 
OK, I'll admit to being the only idiot here. I don't understand how the Valentin replacement piece works. :duh

I use the alligator clip that is under the reel (which you can see in the photo I posted) to clip off the line. How would the Valentin line release replacement piece improve the situation? Please help me understand.

Thanks.
 
Hi divefan,

I hope this new pictures help you understand how it works.

Cheers...
 

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Rui,

Ok, I understand now. :D It sits under the shaft. The shaft holds it in place and when the shaft releases the gizmo pivots and the line releases. Cool. Ok, so now where do I get one of these???
 
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