• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Daryl Wong 50" Carbon Fiber Hybrid

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Austin

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2002
55
2
93
Greetings,

I am looking to purchase a new gun soon. I currenly have a Riffe Island gun that is too big and hard to track fish. I mainly dive Hawaii reefs between 10-50 feet and sometimes there is a lot of surge. I mostly go for reef fish and the occational Ulua (Jack). I have spoken with Daryl Wong about his Carbon Fiber Hybrid gun. This is the gun he would reccomend. This sounds like a good gun for the diving I currently do. I was wondering if anyone could share there experieces with the Wong guns, preferably the hybrids.

I know the triggers are housed in plastic. Daryl says he started making his own triggers because he and other have gotten hurt when a riffe or alexander trigger failed. Has anyone had problems with this trigger? Daryl says all his triggers are test fired with 600# pressure.

Thanks,

Austin
 
Originally posted by Austin
I currenly have a Riffe Island gun that is too big and hard to track fish. ... he and other have gotten hurt when a riffe or alexander trigger failed. Has anyone had problems...


Your cue ,Sven .;)
 
*grins* before uncle Sven gets in on the action.... :t

Originally posted by Austin
Daryl says he started making his own triggers because he and other have gotten hurt when a riffe or alexander trigger failed

never heard of a riffe trigger mech failing before...
 
i didnt get to use it much, but i used my yokooji 55 inch hybrid for 3 months on the reefs. Even though there wernt much fish where i went, it was still super acurate, smooth trigger pull just alittle on the week range side. I didnt do much tinkering with it but i like the hybrid kine, it swings nice but still pretty solid. a nailed a few small fish but didnt really have a chance to REALLY use it yet. The wong ones look nice too. i like how it takes 3 bands. Check hanaapa's for both the hybrid models.
 
You may want to try MT`s shorter versions for reef hunting. Jay produce new enclosed track for them which may increase the accuracy (i didn`t buy one yet so no comment on enclosed track) but the one thing i know if Jay had produced it, must be work.I aslo never heard the failure of the riffe`s trigger before. You must understand the Riffe guns has the wider flexibilty. If you don`t like its perform just change band and shaft config. There must be something that suitable for you.
Last word left to our experianced Sven;)
 
I have a Wong Hybrid and love it. It's fast, accurate, and swings better than any other gun of equal length. For a little less money, you might want to consider the Riffe Metal Tech #3 so that your grip/shaft angles are similar to the Island and you won't have to change the way you aim when you switch guns. On the other hand, you could get a Rob Allen 110 for half the price...
 
IYA,
I sure wants to know at what rubber loading or how this occured ?
Daryl did not say how many bands it took. But he did say that it was because the Riffe and Alexander triggers are not tested.

I have also read that article. I do like the warrenty and the testing that Aimrite does on their parts.

Mako,

The reason I am looking away from the Riffe is that it does not move too well in the water. I understand that my aim will need to adjust. I think it will be worth it to get the extra movement. I was originally looking at the MT3, but it feels really heavy and I prefer mid handle guns and therefore I think the RA is out.

Hapa,
The gun I am looking at is only a 50" and I think the 50's only take 2 bands. In my experience I have never needed 3 bands on my Island and only use 2. What range did not get from the gun?. What was the specifications of the power bands?

Thanks for all your comments. I think I will call Richard Bettua and asking him about the triggers more since he is the designer.

Austin
 
Somebody say Riffe?

Hey, thanks for the love guys.

On the Wong hybrid, I have hybrid of my own that I built after looking at both the Wong and the Yakooji, and for the type of diving that most of us do, that is nearshore, fish to 25 kgs and not real deep, as in 80 feet and up, I honestly think that a hybrid is the way to go. There, I said it.:t And I say that having three Riffes, one of which is an Island :inlove

The mass of a lumber gun is the only thing that I've experienced as a downside to them, and the replacement of the wood muzzle with a piece of pipe, titanium no less, is pretty sweet, dare I say smooth :cool: The bummer is that you end up going with a euro wishbone setup which is good for keeping the ooomph at the same plane as the shaft and all, but face it...:girlie

While I've not used the Wong Carbon specifically, I'd give it try but realize that carbon, for all it's pluses has some serious downsides, chiefly that it doesn't take to dings and dents, the fibers encapsulated in the resin rely on their continuous lengths to maintain strength. You nick the thing on the rocks, you got troubles down the road :ycard Then you load the thing up and the fibers don't like it and then you got headaches, as in duck! :blackeye One thing you'll want to ask and consider is that some mass to the gun will reduce the recoil, thats' why we add lead and wings to the longer guns like the Island:inlove and Daryl's Tuna Picks. Reduction of the gun with tubes and carbon will give you a faster tracking gun and all, but you go to pull the trigger and the muzzle ends up saying "Howdy" to your mask.:crutch

On the Aimrite triggers, I've not had one go South on me. Then too, I've NEVER had a Riffe and/or an Alexander even look like it was in need of anything more than a rinse. And I'm not easy on my gear. I've got to think that the sales guy just spoke out of his arse to appear knowlegable. While I'm not reall warm and fuzzy with plastic walls for the trigger housing, ala Aimrite, if it's installed right, and it's got a Lifetime Guarentee, like Wong gives, what's the issue?:confused:

See if you can try out a demo there or get a hold of Sterling to let you demo one with the deal that if you like it, you buy it. You're looking in the right direction by going the hybrid route for your hunting, and I appreciate you being pretty BS-less about your needs. There are a lot of people around with guns that will never do more than sit on the wall because their owners bought with their balls rather than their noggins.

But ferchrissakes, avoid an RA... rofl


sven
 
I'll let you guys in a secret........

There are a few cases ( very rare ) of Riffe trigger units which failed but ONLY on the meanest Blue Water. How it failed is because this gun uses 3/8" x 72" long shaft which weighs 2 pounds. Since this gun is VERY long, many spearo tends to slam the shaft hard into the trigger unit, unlike the correct way of slow and confirmed insertion. This happened a few years back. Since then Riffe have extra hardened the sear and kept telling owners not to slam the shaft in. At 2 pounds it is like a hammer. Now no more problem. I know at least 5 Blue Water owners in Jakarta and never heard of this problem, I guess they are careful guys, not crude slamming ones. With probably a few ten thousand units sold worlwide, Riffe trigger must be one of the most time tested of all the high perfromance trigger unit in the world.


Alexander trigger probably rated 1 st choice and Riffe 2nd choice of custom gun builders or experimenters. I am not surprised if these 2 units failed if the experimenters load it all the way to crazy loading.

As for Aimrite trigger being as good as the Riffe and Alexander ( I have both trigger units ), my logic tells me, it is not possible. Plastic is plastic (polymer), it can not yet beat metal for friction area like triggers, not today. I seen their video on how they carry out testing on each trigger unit to 600 pounds, but the way it is tested only a few seconds does not simulate actual use. With very limited circulation of Wong/Aimrite worldwide compared to a Riffe, they do not have the track record like the Riffe or Alexander triggers. I personaly will not want to load a Wong trigger to 440 pounds for long term use. YES, I do not own a Wong yet, the plastic trigger is what scare me. If I am done collecting all the Riffes I like ( a few more to go ) , I will want a Wong and RA too.
I enjoy studying what different brands have to offer, reading about one without owning it does not tell much.

If you see the complete line of the Wong/Aimrite, very few are using more than 400+ pound of rubber presssure. As for the Riffe, they have so many models that are being rigged all the way to 400+ pound of pressure. As for the Alexander triggers, they are used to GOD knows what kind of trigger pressure on custom guns.

However, as with any friction material like the triggers, we have to replace them after some time if wear and tear is high, especialy if the rubbers are pumping 400+ pounds of pressure. I don't believe anything last forever and trigger sears do not get protection from high pressure grease , plus they live in hostile sea water.........so there is a limit to its life.

I think for Austin aside from a hybrid, a Riffe Competitor #2 or a mid-handle Mid-Range is good enough for reef work. Even the MT3 or Hawaiian is still way too powerful ( if rigged to max ). A Riffe Island is WAY overkill. If only 2 band is used on the Island, that is a waste of a good engineering design.

On the weakness of Carbon Fiber, I must agree with Sven. He builts boat so he knows the property of this aramid fibers. I personaly would go for a titanium barrel.


IYA
 
to tell you the truth, i didnt go too many times with it (i do more 3 prong fishing). I went out a few times but it was great, i didnt test many long shots but i made a good 15 foot shot im guessing, on a little uhu and dinged a rock but the impact seemed pretty good. the bands are 2 black 9/16 bands. it seems ok for it but i may try adding 2 5/8 bands or mebe even 3/4s.

whatever you choose wong or riffe, im sure youll be happy with either.
 
Benefits of Carbon Fiber

I keep hearing a lot of negative about Carbon fiber. What are the benefits it provides vs Titanium as the barrel?

Austin
 
Last edited:
Weight of Carbon Fiber

Sven,

So is the weight greater or less than the Titanium? And why is the weight so important?

Thanks,

Austin
 
Actually, a carbon fiber tube can be made much stiffer than titanium, which has more inherent flex than aluminum in the same thickness and diameter. I know guys with 55" and 60" titanium hybrids and they have no complaints about flex, but carbon fiber is theoretically stiffer. Plus, you can run over the carbon fiber barrel with a truck without crushing it. Try that with titanium!

If you were to nick the barrel, it could potentially become a stress riser, causing delamination over time. However, I have a carbon fiber hybrid and it's pretty tough. The wood's all dinged up, but the barrel looks perfect. I think it would have to get slammed into the rocks pretty hard to damage it.
 
maybe with YOUR truck...

Titanium is heavier than an equal thickness tube of carbon fiber, if the carbon fiber is correctly encapsulated in the resin. It's possible to make a carbon fiber composite tube heavier, but you don't gain a lot of strength. Mako is correct in theory and in most case scenerios. It is possible to make a composite winding utilizing carbon fiber that will exhibit greater flexural and torsional strengths than a titanium tube. It's just going to cost you.

If you take a piece of celery and nick a couple of the threads that make up the body of it, it's weakened. That's how a composite and especially carbon fiber, reacts. You ding it, or drive your truck over it :hmm and you get to wonder when it's going to head South on you. :blackeye That's enough of a reason for me not to be real thrilled about it, especially when used as the sole material for the tube. Now when you wrap an aluminum tube with it, then it's altogether something else. But then you have two things bonded together that have different ways and means of expansion. No thanks.

Having a muzzle that has a bit of weight to it helps hold the gun's position in the water and current, it absorbs some of the recoil and let's you give it an occasional boo-boo by dropping it or even driving your truck over it.:confused: That happens all the time around here. :head

Titanium is used as it's not as heavy as stainless steel, is stiffer and corrosion resistant. All good things. Carbon is a fad.


sven
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT