-
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!
Improvements for Pathos Sniper Roller 95
- Thread starterKodama
- Start date
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.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
Interesting. I had never any issues with bouancy on the 95 model. It is pretty neutral when loaded and floats without the spear. It is slightly nose heavy when loaded but not so much as being uncomfortable.
hi guys, i have used the Pathos Carbon roller for a few years, stock standard and it works perfectly. i have had the opportunity to use quiet a few different types of rollers on other guns, including one with ceramic bearings. 2 things concern me with bearings and rollers in general, 1 is the fact that yes bearings work fantastic in the dry / on land, they spin smoothely etc.. however in water i think they may be heavily affected by water density and infact as they rotate they become a pump of sorts. The actual rollers ability to manage this water pressure produced by the rotating bearings is key. secondly and this works hand in hand with the rollers ability to rotate smoothly, if the rubber "skids" or looses traction on a roller, that affect seems to out weight the advantage of the best bearings in the world. yes i think a good bearing with proper water management could be the ideal. But i do think Pathos choice of a tapered roller wheel (smaller radius for positive contact with rubber and roller), the choice of material and fitted on a large diameter shaft (with some water management machined in) is almost there.
I oil my casette mechanism (trigger and seer contact point) once a month with regular diving.
I was thinking of buying a sniper roller, just for the benefit of the lighter and balanced gun for deeper dives. however the enclosed track is an issue for me and i see the roller head line management is different to the carbon roller model, so there is no option to use the shooting line to hold the spear in place if i wish to remove the enclosed track. may need to come up with a hack to accomodate the line over the spear.
I oil my casette mechanism (trigger and seer contact point) once a month with regular diving.
I was thinking of buying a sniper roller, just for the benefit of the lighter and balanced gun for deeper dives. however the enclosed track is an issue for me and i see the roller head line management is different to the carbon roller model, so there is no option to use the shooting line to hold the spear in place if i wish to remove the enclosed track. may need to come up with a hack to accomodate the line over the spear.
If you would like this gun without enclosed track you could just grind it off carefully with a belt sander. The head doesn’t need any tweaking to wrap the line over the shaft. However I have no idea how it would perform on an open track but I don’t think it would change anything.
Hi Guys,
This is a great thread. I really like a lot of the mods that you've done Kodama.
I figured I'd chime in about the Pathos Sniper-R 95 because I'd had it for 11 months now. Overall, I think it is a fantastic gun and at that length it really works as a near quiver-of-one gun for chasing after a very wide range of fish. Here are my findings:
1. Loading the kicker band one shark-fin behind the roller band makes for more accurate shots for two reasons: this gives the kicker a little more power relative to the roller for more accuracy and it allows the bands to lay flat against the barrel, side-by-side, which makes your sight picture much nicer.
2. Don't use the middle or aft roller band power settings unless you have to. This ensures that you have more life in your roller band because I assume as it breaks in and loses power you can compensate moving the band farther and farther back.
3. In North American inland lakes where I have been diving I have found that using only the kicker band (stock) at the 2nd and 3rd shark-fin to be great for sniping (we're talking head shots) yellow perch of 8-10 inches (20-25cm) at single-wrap-shooting-line distance. Beyond those distances I've found that those little guys are either able to dodge the spear or my aim needs improvement, it's hard to tell because they are so small.
4. On the other end of the spectrum I have successfully killed the insanely armored buffalo fish at sizes up to 1.2 meters (4ft) in length and weighing 13kg (30lbs.) at double-wrap shooting line distance. This species is so well armored that I can not ikijime them with my Rob Allen dive knife (knives just won't penetrate) and successful kills required using the 2nd roller band power setting at a minimum. Spears were never able to make a complete pass-through and the scales are so tough that I have had to pull them off the spear with a pliers when back on land.
5. The trigger-break is a bit heavy and I've had to remember to begin squeezing a little on the trigger when I'm lining up a shot that way the trigger will break smoothly. Initially I found that the weight caused me to jerk the trigger too much which hurt my accuracy.
6. The loading butt is a bit small and many of my spearing sessions end when my chest says it's had enough. I've order an aftermarket wearable pad which should resolve this issue.
7. The rubber foot on the loading butt does get in the way of the sight picture a little bit when trying to line up shots quickly.
8. The multi-stage aspect of roller band loading does make follow up shots a bit slower so I've really focused on making that first shot count. I've also had to accept that I'm not going to necessarily shoot two fish out of the same school.
Based on what I've read here it seems like modifications can resolve all of the issues that I've had.
1. The Ermes Sub trigger upgrade for what I presume is a lighter trigger-break and easier line-wrapping experience (speeding up the follow-up shots a little bit too?).
2. Kodama's loading butt mod for better sight picture and what I assume is a more comfortable loading experience (could you tell us about the specific material you used for yours, Kodama? Your work looks fantastic and I'd like to replicate what you did).
3. Perhaps a second wishbone on the roller band with a plastic sheath around it to make loading the roller band single-stage when you've got the power setting where you want it (perhaps more trips to the weight room for me as well).
All in all I'd say Pathos did something really neat with the roller concept. The kicker band, various roller power settings, and three shark-fins makes it pretty easy to go from timid to terrifying in a single 95 cm package. Pretty cool!
This is a great thread. I really like a lot of the mods that you've done Kodama.
I figured I'd chime in about the Pathos Sniper-R 95 because I'd had it for 11 months now. Overall, I think it is a fantastic gun and at that length it really works as a near quiver-of-one gun for chasing after a very wide range of fish. Here are my findings:
1. Loading the kicker band one shark-fin behind the roller band makes for more accurate shots for two reasons: this gives the kicker a little more power relative to the roller for more accuracy and it allows the bands to lay flat against the barrel, side-by-side, which makes your sight picture much nicer.
2. Don't use the middle or aft roller band power settings unless you have to. This ensures that you have more life in your roller band because I assume as it breaks in and loses power you can compensate moving the band farther and farther back.
3. In North American inland lakes where I have been diving I have found that using only the kicker band (stock) at the 2nd and 3rd shark-fin to be great for sniping (we're talking head shots) yellow perch of 8-10 inches (20-25cm) at single-wrap-shooting-line distance. Beyond those distances I've found that those little guys are either able to dodge the spear or my aim needs improvement, it's hard to tell because they are so small.
4. On the other end of the spectrum I have successfully killed the insanely armored buffalo fish at sizes up to 1.2 meters (4ft) in length and weighing 13kg (30lbs.) at double-wrap shooting line distance. This species is so well armored that I can not ikijime them with my Rob Allen dive knife (knives just won't penetrate) and successful kills required using the 2nd roller band power setting at a minimum. Spears were never able to make a complete pass-through and the scales are so tough that I have had to pull them off the spear with a pliers when back on land.
5. The trigger-break is a bit heavy and I've had to remember to begin squeezing a little on the trigger when I'm lining up a shot that way the trigger will break smoothly. Initially I found that the weight caused me to jerk the trigger too much which hurt my accuracy.
6. The loading butt is a bit small and many of my spearing sessions end when my chest says it's had enough. I've order an aftermarket wearable pad which should resolve this issue.
7. The rubber foot on the loading butt does get in the way of the sight picture a little bit when trying to line up shots quickly.
8. The multi-stage aspect of roller band loading does make follow up shots a bit slower so I've really focused on making that first shot count. I've also had to accept that I'm not going to necessarily shoot two fish out of the same school.
Based on what I've read here it seems like modifications can resolve all of the issues that I've had.
1. The Ermes Sub trigger upgrade for what I presume is a lighter trigger-break and easier line-wrapping experience (speeding up the follow-up shots a little bit too?).
2. Kodama's loading butt mod for better sight picture and what I assume is a more comfortable loading experience (could you tell us about the specific material you used for yours, Kodama? Your work looks fantastic and I'd like to replicate what you did).
3. Perhaps a second wishbone on the roller band with a plastic sheath around it to make loading the roller band single-stage when you've got the power setting where you want it (perhaps more trips to the weight room for me as well).
All in all I'd say Pathos did something really neat with the roller concept. The kicker band, various roller power settings, and three shark-fins makes it pretty easy to go from timid to terrifying in a single 95 cm package. Pretty cool!
Regarding the material I used for the loading pad I can’t recommend to use the same. It was some closed cell rubber very stiff but it ripped a little from the screw holes. It is still perfectly functional but there must be better options out there.
I have a very comfortable loading pad on my wetsuit so if it fails I might replace it with a piece of plastic or stainless steel shaped similarly
As what I made first.
I don’t believe you need to use a material that is flexible or compresses it is about spreading the pressure over a greater area. It is actually because of the flexibility of the material I used that the cracks developed.
I have a very comfortable loading pad on my wetsuit so if it fails I might replace it with a piece of plastic or stainless steel shaped similarly
As what I made first.
I don’t believe you need to use a material that is flexible or compresses it is about spreading the pressure over a greater area. It is actually because of the flexibility of the material I used that the cracks developed.
If all the screws are out and it's difficult to remove there may be a vacume as there is an oring so the seal is really good. You will need to pull hard to break the vacume.
Well, I'm trying and I'm in trouble.
It is glued.
I tried to remove by pulling strongly - failure.
I tried to heat - failure.
The cut remains.
Destroy good handle because the rubber has cracked?!
Instead, it is better to install new rubber, as colleague Kodama showed.
It is glued.
I tried to remove by pulling strongly - failure.
I tried to heat - failure.
The cut remains.
Destroy good handle because the rubber has cracked?!
Instead, it is better to install new rubber, as colleague Kodama showed.
Bonding did not help. The gum was released when the crossbow was loaded a second time.
The tip was filed evenly and tightened with two M4 inox screws.
Rubber is a partially cut hockey puck.
Hard but springy.
Interesting idea but you'd lose the low recoil benefit of the roller when only using the kicker but you'd still pay the price of the extra mass of the roller muzzle and rubber - which ironically should help reduce recoil
Hallo. Just a short add to all the great suggestions on how to upgrade Pathos Roller. Bought mine 75' sniper roller for about two years ago. It was a great help and I decided to order the Ermes upgrade kit from start. For a two weeks ago I broke the safety plug on the handle (all my mistake) and decided to order a new handle (D'Angelo III). I discovered that the line catch had been upgraded since I bought mine. Also the safety plug moved much smoother than the earlier version. It looks like Pathos have made some really fine upgrades. I really don't the any reason anymore to add further adjustments to either the handle or the trigger mechanism after these changes. Just posting to let others know.
It was about time that such an expensive gun had the improvements done to make it work properly out of the box.
