Sorry for the confusion Johnnyman88. Pay more attention to willoomy and other local spearos on the forum (e.g. Blaiz) or that you meet than me on this one but I'll try to provide a little bit of peripheral info. for you.
im on the big island... i just want the cheapest but with good quality, can you guys narrow it down to 2 or 3 pics. I would say 250.00 at the most if possible?
Cheapest AND quality?! Actually for that money you should be able to get a very nice gun. You could comfortably get a really nice Mako for that - they're a new company, so haven't heard any reports back on them yet. They look a lot like
Rabitech's which enjoy an excellent reputation. Some say the parts are made in the same factory in Taiwan but whether that is true or that whether than means they are of the same quality, I couldn't say. You might even be able to get a Rabitech or Rob Allen for that price. They are all railguns, fitted with heavy duty hardware, suitable for even very large fish.
sorry but i don't understand what you are saying, so much question marks and stuff.
I've never dived Hawaii so I'm making educated guesses. From what I've seen and read, if I were heading on spearing trip to Hawaii, I would probably buy a 110cm
Rob Allen; I like Rob Allen gear, it's well suited to big fish and I've seen Hawaiian spearos using them, albeit modified with open muzzles. I like
Omer & Beuchat gear too, although the stuff I have is not as well suited to the big fish that you
might encounter (fish bigger than 10lb are hard to come by in the UK) - but they do each offer some models that seem like they'd work better with long barrels (>100cm) and bigger fish (Omer Cayman & Beuchat Marlin) than others but I've not used them, so can't be sure of that. Was hoping somebody else might comment on them - hence question marks.
For myself, I'd probably go for a single 20mm band for quick loading, or possibly 2x16mm if I was only taking one gun and needed to cover bluewater & reefs. However, I'm quite big, I know I can load a 20mm RA band and I know a few tricks that help. However, I suggested 2x14mm as that is a classic Hawaiian combination and would offer a beginner ease of loading, versatility and power - although not speed of loading and power at the same time! I suggested 100cm, because shorter guns should be easier to load for a beginner and it's a compromise with willoomy's suggestion on getting a 90cm gun, based on his local knowledge (however, I've often used a 90cm gun in the UK where the water is much less clear and can't help thinking something longer would be my choice for Hawaii).
BTW I see Mako offer a 3x14mm band option for some models. Seems excessive to me but if you have 2x14mm band and feel a need for more power, it might be nice to have that as a fallback option. For most of my spearing though, 1x16mm Rob Allen band has been perfectly adequate for the UK & 1x20mm seems like overkill.
For myself I'd get black because its hard to see in our murkey conditions and I'd probably loose a camo gun
. If you have white sand and beautiful clear blue water, the blue barrel option might provide better camoflage (don't drop it though or you might not find it
- the South African's normally/often clip their spearguns to their floats via a float line when shore diving to avoid loss & provide drag for playing larger fish). Black is default for most companies & models. Camo & colour probably require a little paint or transfer work, which can go wrong and/or add expense - also it means having to stock yet another product (e.g. Omer T20 comes in black, blue camo or green camo). I would think blue camo might be the thing in Hawaii but do you have dark ash beaches or white coral sands? You could always buy stick on camo (Omer sell it and others) or tape (used by paintballers) later.
Re. open muzzle v. closed. There is currently move to open muzzle designs which probably originated in Hawaii, where Hammerhead makes...open muzzles! It might be a passing fad (but probably not in Hawaii) or it might be the future. Actually the Beuchat Marlin has an open muzzle that grips the spear - perhaps the best of both worlds? All my guns have closed muzzles. Two of them can be configured for open muzzle easily and I plan to try it, my other gun is a Rob Allen for which I could now buy a Rob Allen or Hammerhead open muzzle but probably never will. Seems like about half of people prefer open and about half prefer closed, even among those that have tried them. I suspect that I would be able to load an open muzzle slightly quicker but that the spear will be slightly less secure. For Hawaii, I would get an open muzzle if it's a cheap or no cost option because it's what the locals seem to prefer for the local conditions - but if you get a closed muzzle you can always change it later (might be a tad easier for a beginner but you'll get used to which ever one you use).