Carbon Fiber or Titanium?

[magnum166]

Hello all, I'm new to this board but not too new to the sport. I have an Aimrite railgun (which I like), but am interested in upgrading to one of Daryl Wong's hybrids. Each gun is offered in carbon fiber or titanium. I'm looking for any insight from the members which might help me make a decision.

I'm not sure if this helps, but I live in Mexico, near Cancun, freediving from shore or a small boat. Thanks in advance!

 

[ajwaverider]

Carbon is the better material but nicks and dings can weaken it
a great amount.If you put your gear thru the ringer then go with the titanium ,if you baby your gear get the carbon.Which railgun
do you have (carbon or aluminum)? You really can't go wrong with either gun and the price diffrence is only like $100 or so.

 

[magnum166]

Thanks for the info; I have the Aimrite E-C110 CF railgun. It's a great gun but I'm starting to get bigger fish and don't want to risk either the fish or my gear. Are you saying that you can load up either type gun equally?

 

[ajwaverider]

I think both the carbon and the titanium come with the same type
of muzzles that will hold 2 5/8s bands.You should contac Daryl
at aimrite and he will anwser any questions you have and make sure you get the gun that will best suit your needs.What do you mean by bigger fish(size,type)?If you are using the standard line
setup(spear connected at the gun)you may want to get a breakaway rig and use it with a float setup.With a breakaway and a float the worst thing that could happen is you lose a spearshaft and fish but it's better than having a fish swim away with your gun.

 

[rigdvr]

I have one of each. No problems with the carbon and nobody has ever accused me of babying my gear. Plenty of dings and still perfecto. Daryl says the carbon tubes he uses were tested by driving over them with a 1ton pickup....if you do ever have a problem with one, Daryl will make you a new one for free! Carbon is sweet but on the new gun I went Ti b/c the savings bought the omer 80 reel I put on it You can see a pic of the carbon gun in the "summer in review thread" You wont be disappointed with either one.

 

[magnum166]

Thanks again for the insight. I've also contacted Daryl; he explained some of the differences. I think I'll spend a little extra and go for the carbon fiber version. I really do like my Aimrite railgun although I planted a shaft in a fish (dogtooth tuna?) about as big as my leg and he gave one pull and the line snapped at the bungie - had to call it quits and head back to the beach five minutes after we entered the water. Luckily I was able to buy a new shaft on the same day and was back out in the water that afternoon. I haven't had a gun that you can set up with the breakaway. I have a 45' float line with a 25' bungie attached to the gun so I'm not too concerned about losing the whole rig. I'm thinking that I will also have the new gun set up for a reel. I was concerned that the carbon fiber would not be as strong as the titanium but I guess that I was worried for no reason.

Lastly, I hate to say it, but I'm not sure how to get to the "summer in review" thread - would really like to read it. An assist would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Murat]

here,

http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?threadid=54093

 

[ajwaverider]

Originally posted by rigdvr
I have one of each. No problems with the carbon and nobody has ever accused me of babying my gear. Plenty of dings and still perfecto.


There is no way to tell with a naked eye unless it's real bad .Small nicks and dings could have smaller spider cracks that run thru them and when you find out it's to late to do anything
about it.

 

[rigdvr]

regardless, if it breaks Daryl will build another. These guns are all over the world now and I have never heard of one breaking, has anyone else?

 

[DaKahuna]

Not sure on the smaller hybrids, but any gun 50" or bigger will come with a 3 band capable muzzle.

My buddy just got a 50" CF hybrid. When corresponding with Daryl Wong, he was told that the CF is MORE durable than the Ti due to the thickness of the CF tube. It's also definitely more rigid.

rig -
Good point about the breakage issue. No need to worry when you have a lifetime warranty!

 

[ajwaverider]

The point i'm trying to make is not about the warranty it's about the damage that could happen to the spearo not the gun.I wouldn't care about a lifetime warranty if I had the front end of a speargun buried in my face.

 

[rigdvr]

No need to worry. There has never been a wong carbon tube break(unless someone knows something I dont). Sven doubted mine when I got it, and he still does...3 years later Daryl is so confident in those tubes that he plans on not offering titanium if he can get the cost down on the carbon. Its much stronger than the ti. Email him and he can tell you the thickness of the tube and its details. Hes told me before but Im more interested in killing fish than in engineering marvels.

 

[ajwaverider]

I really doubt that would happen with one of Dary's guns as he builds them for pleasure and not profit using only the best materials he can get but the draw back to carbon is it's impact
strength. I imagine with a thicker wall thickness tube it wouldn't
be a problem. I was going to buy some carbon tube for my gun project but couldn't see spending the mucho cash $$$ for the carbon as I never built a gun before and could easilly @#ck it up
so I just bought some Ti instead.