Below I have listed some of my favorite beginner spear-guns.
Firstly, Rob Allen,
From what I've heard some people are massive fans of them and some thoroughly hate them. An RA 80cm Scorpia would be a perfect beginner spear-gun, a tad more range than a 75cm gun, easy to track and accepts a wide range of spearshafts. On previous models there were some problems with trigger Mech missfires, but Im sure RA have sorted this out by now. Their advice on the website is that a 110 is perfect for UK fishing, but I think that is way to long, we use stuff like that in the tropics when hunting UK sized fish! I would not recommend a Carbon RA, which is literally the same as their alumnium with the exception its carbon, thus lighter (not worth it for an extra 100 quid). One 16mm Band is sufficient for all Uk fishing, and any fish can be taken down with 2 16mm.
Riffe,
A Riffe beginner gun for the UK would constitute of a Euro 90 or 100 if your planning on taking it out to do some reef in the Med or elsewhere on holiday. I chose a Riffe Comp Padauk 33" with twin 14mm bands. When you try and stretch a band it may feel as if your going to snap it but just trust in your suppliers choice of size and all should be good. My padauk is perfect for UK really, good range for a 75cm gun (33"is stock length, to make that clear..its 33" tip to tail). And can be upgraded for hole hunting larger fish when abroad. As soon as I got it I replaced the single wrap with a double and rigged it for use with a float line. Don't even try and bother finding a reel for it unless you want a Riff CF reel which costs a fortune ( you can screw an RA reel into the base of the gun but...I didn't really want to start drilling into my lovely new gun. A Euro has better accuracy and tracks a lot better and can take a euro shaft, American shafts are impossible to find in the UK unless you want to shift one over from the states which costs around £60. Riffes are expensive but they are supplied with very reliable Mechs and are very long lasting and hardy (3yr warranty)
Cressi....
Cheap and easy to find in the UK but I would not desire one at all. The Geronimo is however a good beginner gun. Light and easy to track with and perfect for when your on a budget. I would not recommend getting a Cressi over 150£ though as the money could be spent on a much better gun. A Geronimo with a single 16mm Band is a good starter gun (not on the same level as the guns above however). You can always upgrade to an 18mm Band for more power and range.
Omer...
The Omer HF Camu 3D is a good starter gun aswell, most definitely better than the Cressi. If you are on a budget and not looking into getting an RA I would recommend this. If you are not on a budget and want an Omer gun, choose the Cayman ET Roller. The roller reduces friction as the bands whip forward and stops tangling, its a bit like a Compound Bow. The Enclosed track is my favorite feature of this gun, it aids accuracy, reduces shaft whip so you can power the gun up a lot and can slow your loading time a bit (but not significantly).
In Conclusion I would recommend starting with an RA skorpia or Omer HF Camu 3D and then progressing up to a Riffe Euro or Catman ET Roller. And to add to this I would not recommend any beginner to get the Mares Phantom Speed, It is possibly the worst gun for range (75cm version) and although it is an attractive gun I would seriously recommend avoiding it.
Firstly, Rob Allen,
From what I've heard some people are massive fans of them and some thoroughly hate them. An RA 80cm Scorpia would be a perfect beginner spear-gun, a tad more range than a 75cm gun, easy to track and accepts a wide range of spearshafts. On previous models there were some problems with trigger Mech missfires, but Im sure RA have sorted this out by now. Their advice on the website is that a 110 is perfect for UK fishing, but I think that is way to long, we use stuff like that in the tropics when hunting UK sized fish! I would not recommend a Carbon RA, which is literally the same as their alumnium with the exception its carbon, thus lighter (not worth it for an extra 100 quid). One 16mm Band is sufficient for all Uk fishing, and any fish can be taken down with 2 16mm.
Riffe,
A Riffe beginner gun for the UK would constitute of a Euro 90 or 100 if your planning on taking it out to do some reef in the Med or elsewhere on holiday. I chose a Riffe Comp Padauk 33" with twin 14mm bands. When you try and stretch a band it may feel as if your going to snap it but just trust in your suppliers choice of size and all should be good. My padauk is perfect for UK really, good range for a 75cm gun (33"is stock length, to make that clear..its 33" tip to tail). And can be upgraded for hole hunting larger fish when abroad. As soon as I got it I replaced the single wrap with a double and rigged it for use with a float line. Don't even try and bother finding a reel for it unless you want a Riff CF reel which costs a fortune ( you can screw an RA reel into the base of the gun but...I didn't really want to start drilling into my lovely new gun. A Euro has better accuracy and tracks a lot better and can take a euro shaft, American shafts are impossible to find in the UK unless you want to shift one over from the states which costs around £60. Riffes are expensive but they are supplied with very reliable Mechs and are very long lasting and hardy (3yr warranty)
Cressi....
Cheap and easy to find in the UK but I would not desire one at all. The Geronimo is however a good beginner gun. Light and easy to track with and perfect for when your on a budget. I would not recommend getting a Cressi over 150£ though as the money could be spent on a much better gun. A Geronimo with a single 16mm Band is a good starter gun (not on the same level as the guns above however). You can always upgrade to an 18mm Band for more power and range.
Omer...
The Omer HF Camu 3D is a good starter gun aswell, most definitely better than the Cressi. If you are on a budget and not looking into getting an RA I would recommend this. If you are not on a budget and want an Omer gun, choose the Cayman ET Roller. The roller reduces friction as the bands whip forward and stops tangling, its a bit like a Compound Bow. The Enclosed track is my favorite feature of this gun, it aids accuracy, reduces shaft whip so you can power the gun up a lot and can slow your loading time a bit (but not significantly).
In Conclusion I would recommend starting with an RA skorpia or Omer HF Camu 3D and then progressing up to a Riffe Euro or Catman ET Roller. And to add to this I would not recommend any beginner to get the Mares Phantom Speed, It is possibly the worst gun for range (75cm version) and although it is an attractive gun I would seriously recommend avoiding it.
