Hi to all!

Hi Bojan, I got your PM and thought it might be best to respond on your public discussion thread.

The length of the speargun you choose should mainly be a function of the visibility/range that you will normally encounter, which is largely a function of water clarity. In the Med. folk seem to use mainly 75-110cm guns from what I can tell; here in the UK 70cm-90cm is more common, we tend not to use reels (our fish are usually much less than 10lb/4kg) but med. spearo often use reels I believe. Find out what the local spearos where you plan to fish use (re. length & reel). Folk tend to get hung up on power and range, when often a smaller, less powerful but more nimble speargun will work better in poor visibility (the Italian World Champion that used the Cressi Comanche reputedly used the 60cm and 75cm models).

I am only (somewhat) familiar with the Cressi Comanche - which was used by an Italian World Champion a few years back - it's a very good gun that is usually/often reasonably priced. Parts seem to be more readily available for it than anything else I have come across.



Re. the Salvimar Voodoo rail open 85cm, I have never heard of it before but it looks interesting/good. I see a bulk rubber ("Voodoo Rail Open") and a screw-in rubber muzzle ("Voodoo Rail") versions on the web:

I prefer the look of the bulk-rubber version but screw-in rubbers are probably more common in europe. Rails are nice but make little difference on shorter guns - but with a non-directional bulk-rubber muzzle, probably a good idea. Looks like the second one offers the ability to use it open or closed muzzle (my Omer XXV has this ability too, I use the close muzzle option currently but plan to try the open muzzle option in the future). Articulated metal wishbone - normal in europe but I prefer the soft dyneema-cord wishbones on South African railguns - but you could change that later, if you cared, I suppose.

RE. Seac Sub Bolt 85cm, I've never seen that before either. Again, looks good:

Screw-in rubbers, side-line release (on the opposite side to my Omer XXV by the look of this image - but it might have been reversed). Muzzle loop could potentially be used with bulk rubber loop (as sole or secondary band). Handle & rear look a bit like the X-fire - nice, modern.

The Cressi would be the safest bet, because the company and model are well known and well regarded, and well supported. However both of the other spearguns look like good designs. How well the trigger mechs. work/last remains to be seen. Find out what kind of warranty/support you will get from (1) your supplier and (2) the manufacturer.

You might also want to check out the Omer Excaliber & Omer Cayman models from Omersub.it (the regular aluminium tube variant is probably all you'll need - there are carbon and hydro-formed HF and HF2 variants that cost more). The Cayman handle and trigger mech. is pretty much state of the art.

I hope that helps. Perhaps other will add their thoughts.

bojan said:

One year warranty from supplier and thats all. Spare parts and accessories are available, everything from Salvimar, Cressi and SeacSub.
I thought that maybe 95cm Voodoo would be better because i think as a beginner I will not be able to get very close to the fish or to take the shorter version despite that?

Best regards and thanks for the reply
Bojan

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I thought 2 year warranties were supposed to become a pillar of the EU - but like most of the good intentions, that seems to have been largely weaseled away . Still, one year of use should be long enough to find most manufacturing defects.

For length, it's hard to know without seeing the conditions that you will dive in. Whatever size you get, sometimes you will wish you had a different size, longer or shorter. I started spearing with a powerful 90cm Rob Allen railgun, and although I occasionally saw fish that were still too far away, far more frequently I had fish swim close to me, often at speed and/or behind me. Consequently, switching to a particularly slim, lightweight, agile 75cm speargun has allowed me to spear more fish, more easily - including fast moving mackeral and grey mullet. Shorter guns can be significantly easier and quicker to load too. "Your mileage may vary" - as our American friends sometimes say.

I think Sumora's website has a good speargun size guide: http://sumora.com/Railgunchart.php


Re. 95cm, that sounds like an unusual length - I wonder if it uses a standard spear for a 90cm or 100cm speargun (typically something like: barrel length + 40cm)? I guess it's not a big deal. As it is a railgun, I expect you might have some flexibility as to spear size. Also, I think the standard spear on my Omer XXV is 5cm shorter than is typical for a 75cm speargun - and it works just fine. If locals are typically using 90-110cm spearguns, then 95cm would probably be a good size.

If you feel later that you have bought the wrong size speargun, you could always buy a second speargun later to cover other conditions -- or possibly sell you first speargun and buy another.


Do you have a preference or a gut feeling toward a particular model? (The Salvimar Voodoo perhaps?). If so, go for it - there is no right or wrong answer really. Whatever you choose, things will occasionally go wrong, and learning to deal with such things is part of the experience. If you choose one of the lesser known products, then you are something of an explorer/pioneer and could usefully review them on this forum for others and let us know how you get on with it over time (we'll be glad to see that whatever you get ).