Help me decide on a new gun: lost cayman90

[azapa]

lost my omer cayman 90 aluminuimn with reel this weekend. too tired to keep looking and other mistakes. time to move on. I need:

- 90 CM euro bandgun, powerful
- built in guide or rail as they are known, ideally not a pure metal one (as Cayman) to avoid "swwwwooooooshhhh" noise as spear leaves -- maybe a plastic cover over tube/rail as per the dessaults?)
- thinish tube (nothing over 28mm) because of strong cross currents
- easy/cheap reel fitting, or maybe included
- price tops 100E for gun or 140E with reel (will be bashed and used hard so carbon and other niceties are not for me).

Ideas so far: another cayman aluminum 82E.
Seatec Gabiano? what do they cost.

oops, there goes the budget: http://www.onespeargun.com/manuali/cat_one_09.pdf

Come on, help me spend some money here

 

[sunfish]

Omer xxv has a 25ml barrel. I think Apnea Jersey have it in ali.

 

[sunfish]

Omer xxv has a 25ml barrel. I think Apnea Jersey have it in ali.

I just looked and they only seem to have the xxv gold, which is carbon.

 

[Claudio]

Hi Azapa,

If you want a powerful 90cm euro, I would recommend a Rob Allen 90 with open muzzle so you can use a second band when you need more power. I have two: one in 90 and one in 100cm and they are great no-nonsense, powerful, and study guns.

It might have a barrel thicker than 28mm, so I am not sure if this would disqualify it for you. Mine is not the lightest euro you will find... at least with the 7mm shafts configuration. So if this something that would bother you or if you are used to very light euros, like the Mark Valentin, this would disqualify the RA.

Though I never used one myself, Effesub makes a few euros that seem to fit your criteria. I would also take a look at the Seac Sub X-Fire.

But in the end it may just be more practical for you to go back to an Omer Cayman if they are easier to find in Chile.

Hope this helps!

Claudio

 

[Broseidon]

If you want a cheapish, tough Euro 90 - go for the Gabbiano - great gun!

Do you know where you can get 'One Speargun' from?? That thing looks AMAZING!!!!!

 

[Lazuli]

Do you know where you can get 'One Speargun' from?? That thing looks AMAZING!!!!!

MMM? I'm not so sure. Its an OMER Cayman mech and handle assembly with similar bodystyling to an HF. Same meat different gravy IMHO. The reel looks heavy too, and overall you'd notice the weight using the thin stock handle. Not convinced at all.

Azapa, get a 90 Cayman HF in aluminium with the open muzzle that can take 1 or 2 circular slings. Opens up a world of options if you like tweaking (and accuracy to boot ).

 

[azapa]

the one looks completely boss and I won't hear otherwise!!
The Cayman 90 allu comes with a closed muzzle and one band, but I had done a very successful open conversion on the last one (lost) and would do again in a second.

Regarding the rob allen idea (thanks for all the input) I already have the RA Vecta 110 allu. It's a brute. To load. To fire. Not subtle enough for some of the fish I need to target. I really bought it for bigger fish abroad and some large sheepheads, yellowtail etc. that some times come in here.

Now if i can get the One 90 for 100E...

 

[Lazuli]

the one looks completely boss and I won't here otherwise!!
Now if i can get the One 90 for 100E...

Exactly, it LOOKS boss but beneath the bodystyling its still a Cayman! Its like convincing oneself that this is not a Ford Fiesta....

You'd not give 100 pesos for the car, so what makes the "one" so different?

 

[azapa]

cars lookin' good Lazu! Not sure if I'd remain unscathed showing up to a spearing comp. in it though..

The gun is quite different. The whole thing is aluminum, can you see the joint between the muzzle and tube? no, it's a one piece monocoque design:

For each length, different barrel shapes and accessories have been designed, making each length of this speargun a different model in itself.

The main feature of this speargun lies in the structure of the speargun and the way in which it has been engineered.

The barrel and handle of the speargun are made in aluminium by hydro-forming and laser cutting.

The head is also made in aluminium, through solid-block machining.

The three main components of the speargun: handle, barrel, and head, are therefore all built in aluminium and make up the single body, thanks to mechanical assembly and structural chemical bonding of the parts, in such a way that this can be defined a real aluminium monocoque speargun.

The three parts of the speargun, therefore, are not simply assembled, as in traditional spearguns, but rather they make up a single piece that is structurally solid, therefore allowing for extremely precise shooting.

Each barrel of the ONE speargun is also equipped with an integrated shaft guide and has a cylindrical shape towards the head and a cuttlebone-shaped -belly- towards the handle.

These special shapes give the speargun stability while also creating buoyancy and hydrodynamics.

The handle is assembled on the same axis as the barrel, guaranteeing a lack of frontal recoil while also softening the kick-back.

The special aluminium head allows for a clean shooting line during well-aimed shots as well as quick-shots.

The 80 and 90 models have a head that holds a circular sling. The head of the 95 and 100 models hold a circular double sling.

A small opening, on the inside of the head, allows for regulation, by using the special weights, of the front levelling of the speargun.

The head, barrel, and handle of the speargun have a special green camouflage finish created by heat-transfer, which is highly resistant to chemical and mechanical abrasion.

A truly original system of unhooking behind the trigger gives it a line that is 4 cm greater than the traditional systems.

The trigger is particularly soft and sensitive, and its hardness does not increase at the increase of the load.

The ONE 50 reel, with Dyneema line, is supplied in series on the 80 and 90 models.

The ONE 80 reel, with Dyneema line, is supplied in series on the 95 and 105 models.

Both reels, moreover, have a green camouflage finish.

The 80 and 90 models are supplied in series with the 6.5 mm -ring barb- spear in stainless steel AISI630 (17-4ph).

The 95 and 105 models are supplied in series with the 6.75 mm -ring barb- spear-shaft in stainless steel, AISI630(17-4ph).

 

[Claudio]

Hi guys,

Yes, the RA can be set up to be brutes... I use mine with double bands, one 18mm and the other 16mm, for large Striped Bass in New England. Am not sure I it would be my gun of choice for small fish. Then again, I never tried it with a 6.5mm shaft and a single 16mm band.

Regarding the Omer and One guns, before settling for the RAs I took a hard look at the Omer HF.

It seems to me that the HF (at the time) and the new Ones now sure have a lot of "bling" factor, if you know what I mean. But for all the bling, they are still aluminum euros. I am not sure I would like to pay that much money for something that just looks good, but does not perform better than a lesser priced models. Why not just get a carbon barrel gun for a bit more money?

Just my 2 cents.

Best,
Claudio

 

[ILDiver]

LOST! LOST! You LOST a Cayman!? *sigh*

Get an HF2 or a ONE The ONE's reel looks nice in pics and online, would love to see one in person.

 

[strangelove]

LOST! LOST! You LOST a Cayman!? *sigh*

Get an HF2 or a ONE The ONE's reel looks nice in pics and online, would love to see one in person.

My wife went to France and brought me back a One 105, really nice gun, very much like the HF, I also have an HF2LE, it is nice too, easier to move around. The noise level is the same on all the guns, very loud shot, the One has the best muzzle of all three of but not as good as the HH. The One reel is very good, I replace the original 6.75 mm shaft with a tecnosport 7.1 with shark fins. The HF and the One are 95% the same gun, but the one has a better muzzle, I still prefer the HH muzzle, but since they raise their prices I am not buying it any more.

Since I like using reels my pick would be a cayman carbon.

 

[azapa]

thanks strangelove, i appreciate your experience here and we seem to have a similar taste in guns.

regarding carbon: i just think it's a waste of money, just a feeling I have. 95% of my dive days are rock entry and exit and rough oceans. My guns get about 80 dive days per year and my old cayman (allu) was completely dinged. I couldnt do that to a carbon!.

Does the "one" have a vinyl cover on the spear guide, or do you still have that painful mechanical "wooooosh" that the ally caymans have?.

If so, how about painting a coat of epoxy with graphite paste on there and hand lapping? That mix was talked about in another thread (setting steel's gun build I think). Maybe worth a try.

The gabiano freeks me out a little with that plastic barrel covering looking too thick and not giving any up/down ridgitity (the tube is round) that the cayamans benefit from with the integral guide.

 

[sunfish]

Do you know where you can get 'One Speargun' from?? That thing looks AMAZING!!!!!

Try here:-
One Speargun One Camo. Guns Guns, Scubastore.com, buy, offers, scuba
(Bit expensive though!)

 

[Lazuli]

Since I like using reels my pick would be a cayman carbon.

Wonderful gun. An elegant yet deadly arbalete if not a future classic. A true reef snipers weapon.

Drawback is the carbon's gel coat. It gets ruined by metal wishbones and requires a dyneema modification. This improves the gun a great deal and makes it very silent. Less of a whoooooooooooosh, more of a twanggg so to speak. My weapon of choice for light game in uk waters. Very well built. In use you would not know that it was not a monocoque as touted by one.

The Gabbiano band thread issue seems an unecessary hassle and I feel the muzzle limits one's options somewhat. A lot of UK spearos seem to like it although I have heard it is heavy.

If you do get a cayman, make sure it has the muzzle in the pic below

 

[azapa]

thanks for the input. it looks like the 82E standard cayman ally will be the probable replacement in that case. The cayman grip/trigger/handle is wonderful and points very nicely.

I wonder if that muzzle you show there is available as a spare part to swap out?

 

[Lazuli]

Also forgot to mention that if you wax the rail of a gun from mech to muzzle it makes it quieter.

Tip for the day!

 

[Lazuli]

I wonder if that muzzle you show there is available as a spare part to swap out?

As far as I know it comes as standard on some models (Cayman Carbon and HF). Worth having as a spare part just in case you fancy a dual 16mm band rig, open muzzle combo. Or just a single sling. The choice is yours.

The aluminium "HF" would have it I believe.

 

[agbiv]

Have you looked at Dano's Mako guns? Makospearguns.com

 

[Broseidon]

Try here:-
One Speargun One Camo. Guns Guns, Scubastore.com, buy, offers, scuba
(Bit expensive though!)

OUCH!!!!!! Maybe not then! rofl