new OMER pneumatic!!!

[Fondueset]

Hey Jon,

Don't need another one - hence I'm selling this one and replacing it. An 80cm pneumo would fit the bill even better than the riffe - better range too.
I think 80 is as small as they gets.

I'd have no problem with an even up trade - but I think your ankle will come back fine and it'll be hard to replace that hyperfin for the money.

Since we're talking - My Riffe is in great shape - comes with a 38inch 9/32 and a 34 inch 1/4 shafts and a bunch of bands - seven I think - 4 9/16 2 5/8 and a 3/4 - all but two are in great shape - with those to down to about a season.

 

[Jon]

I'm still wondering how this new OMER gun will balance out in freshwater. All of the guns I've owned, aside from my mid-handle, were all balanced out for saltwater. This gets tiring if you're in the water for a few hours- like 8 to 10.

I'm hoping to try and get out this weekend. It's been almost 6 weeks since I messed up the ankle and I still can't wear a floppy fin, let alone my new mono, so it's going to be no-fins or scooter diving for now.:head

Jon

 

[Fondueset]

I've had FREAKIN VIRUL BRONCHITUS FOR TWO WEEKS! No work, no diving - just laying around in a perfect storm of misery.

 

[DivingDane]

i'll join you on that fondueset, stuck in bed feeling like every bone in my body is being pounded on by a sledge hammer. if it turns out to be dengui fever i'm gonna be pissed. damn fever carrying mosquitos! new nose clip, new float, new spearguns, the sun is shining and i'm stuck in bed.......

DD

 

[Jon]

Can't you still dive FRC with bronchitis?

 

[tromic]

The shafts available for the 80cm model are either -78.5cm -83.6cm for the 90 -89cm and 93.6cm If you take into account the overhang in the gun and that the spear stops well before the handle the guns pack a lot of punch for their small size. More clearly put, the piston travel distance is only a portion of the shaft length, and I don't know the exact measurement per gun.

It is very easy to find out the piston's travel distance at the gun. You just put the shaft in the gun and mark with marker the position at the shaft, level with muzzle, before and after loading.

 

[Coral Sniper]

Yup DivingDane,If water tastes like metal and your eyes ache + a fever that lasts 2 weeks then you got it!


I am hoping that the airbalete will not need much servicing,or at least for quite some time.

 

[fjohnson]

.....clipped.. There is no air pressure locked inside of the entire handle and less on the trigger pin and consequently trigger, which in most all pneumatics consists of a trigger pin connected to the trigger using the internal volume in the handle to capture it. This is always sealed in with an O-ring around the trigger pin. Once the o-ring wears and ages with time and dry rots the guns start leaking and that's what happens to a lot of conventional pneumatics and another scapegoat for their bad rap, seen it and worked on them for years personally. Also consider there is no internal high/low power reducer in the AIRbalete that sacrifices a portion of barrel volume typically in pneumatics. The reduces is simply a plastic cover over the alloy muzzle that can be manually turned to cover the piston port holes.
The AIRbalete uses a push rod system pushing the pressurized firing pin from the main chamber (the barrel) that lowers the ratio of the pressure load on the push rod-trigger and consequently the trigger pull is considerably less than it is in a standard pneumatic not only because of a better engineered push rod but also thanks to small touches like a special low friction coating applied to the stainless steel sear. .... clipped...

Hello Mark,
as you mention, a lot of the standard design in the OMER is what some have been doing as modifications to other pneumatic guns.. more holes between inner/outer tube, adding holes to the dual power sleeve or even just doing away completely with the dual power sleeve (I never figured why reduce power???), opening up the water outlet holes, etc. etc.. but I'm curious about the seal in the trigger mechanism of the OMER between trigger and sear/piston... there must be an o-ring somewhere, or a valve type closing. I just can't see a push rod system without some kind of seal somewhere along the line from trigger to sear. Can you explain this in more detail? And if there is a seal of sorts, maybe not a lot different than having that small o-ring around the trigger pin of other pneumatics. Curious...
Fred

 

[Fondueset]

Hi Fred - there is a schematic of the trigger mech in the 2009 Omer catalog - which you can download from their site. If I'm reading it right there are two o rings on the push rod. I think Mark was saying they are using more durable materials that will not dry-rot like rubber.

 

[settingsteel]

Nice review Mark, and sincere suggestions on a lesser gun first...Seems this gun might set a new standard.

 

[popgun pete]

the gun is balanced near neutral and overall very well for a pneumatic and is considerably positive w/o the shaft. The Hydroformed shaped "bulbous bow" aides the balance in the front end, an area typically wrist heavy in most air guns.
quote]
If the "Airbalete" is positively buoyant without the shaft then what is the attitude of the gun in the water when it is floating? I assume rear handle down, especially with the reel fitted, or does that have some buoyancy provision of its own? I am pleasantly surprised that it is a fully floating gun given the reel and the narrow rear end of the gun.

What is the diameter of the outer barrel tube just forwards of the detachable handle and how wide does the gun get at its widest point both vertically and horizontally? Without seeing the gun alongside a familiar pneumatic speargun it is a little hard to gauge its proportions and overall sizing as distinct from its length.

Also where does the extra length appear in the longer models in terms of the outer barrel shape? On a cylindrical body pneumatic speargun the reservoir tubing, or outer air tank, is just cut off at the required length, there is no complicated outer barrel contouring to worry about in terms of blending the smooth lines of the gun in a continuous fashion.

 

[DivingDane]

each model has a slightly different barrel shape (similar to current cayman hf) so that air chamber and bouyancy characteristics are optimized i'm pretty sure. however mark L has more experience with them.

DD

 

[Mark Laboccetta]

Hi Fred, bottom line you are right and as Fondue pointed out if you look at the online schematic you can confirm the push rod valve seal design. The fundamental difference here in the AIRbalete compared to other guns is the valve and the trigger pin are located on the back of the tube in the same brass fitting.

In conventional air guns the firing pin and valve are threaded into the piston tube but the firing pin has a separate port threaded in the plastic handle.

Let me make this clearer for others to understand (see attached) & compare to the available online AIrbalete schematic.

Guys, sorry but w/o any AIRbaletes at my disposition right now (we're sold out) I can't measure anything. Keep in mind though that gun's barrel shape changes accordingly to the length of the guns. The 80's are shaped much differently than the 110's, where, buoyancy in the forward section of the barrels is more of an issue (balance). Each gun length has it's own hydroformed shape to fine tune desired characteristics as I see now just reading below DivingDane just pointed out. The gun's w/o shaft jump to the surface and lay flat on the surface from what I can recall of my pool tests w/a/ 110.

Mark

 

[foxfish]

The gun seems to be popular as Apnea have none left in stock https://www.apnea.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=1_17&products_id=1023

 

[foxfish]

Surely someone has tried it out by now??

 

[devondave]

Yeah , spill the beans , parties are interested ( me , me ) .

 

[foxfish]

Surely someone has tried it out by now??

Maybe now then!?

 

[DivingDane]

hmmm our shipment only landed in the country on Fridayso still waiting for mine to arrive... along with the ONE spearguns (105 please). so will see how they go if the weather gods permit.

DD

 

[Mark Laboccetta]

Here's some feedback from a diver in NY who recently purchased an AIRbalete 110cm for those interested:

Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 5:12 PM
Subject: airbalete 110 test outing
hey eddie,

i got the 110 airbalete rigged and into the water this weekend. the gun shot like an absolute laser with zero recoil and impressive power. i am using the stock pressure setting and stock shaft and stoned two fish right through the gill plate at fifteen feet. deadly accurate and i will tell you my first time pulling the trigger on a pneumatic ever. i am quite impressed. experienced a slight issue with the shooting line knotting (using 400lb yellow dyneema), but plan to pick up some different line this week that will hopefully be more handable and not knot. here are a couple pictures of the casualties at the hand of the 110 airbalete.
regards,
zach
l.i., ny

 

[foxfish]

Thanks Mark but look at the size of his targets rofl
Well that is definitely a positive report although I have also read some not so good on medfish!
Cant wait until we get a db members opinion.