Salvimar Hero / Hero Roller (115)

[SimonCH]

Hi Im looking to buy a new speargun and Ive decided im getting the Salvimar Hero or Hero Roller (115).
First of all has anyone had any experience with either gun? What did you think?
At the moment id rather get the standard hero and i was thinking of getting a roller head from salvimar too so i could switch it up and basically have 2 guns for the price of one.
Is it fairly easy to switch the heads? I know they have o-rings so im guessing theyre not sealed with glue or other materials.
Any help is appreciated!
Cheers,
Simon

 

[sharkey]

The Hero us a pretty accurate alloy factory gun. The main reason is it’s extra weight. If I was forced to purchase any gun straight off the shelf to use, I would put this first & a Riffe euro ( if I could find a straight one) second. Like most Euro gun makers the first of these guns imported into Australia had spears which were way too short, I do believe that they have been given the message now.
Not a fan of rollers in guns over 1000mm.

 

[SimonCH]

Thanks so much for the reply! Really confident in getting the gun now! So you would definitely recommend getting the gun and just adding a shaft with a longer overhang?
Or do you have any other guns you reccomend? "Forced to buy straight off the shelf" doesnt sound too convinced after all

 

[sharkey]

They are still a mass produced factory gun which are made to a price point. Compromises have to be made to fit the average person rather than custom features.
I wouldn’t go so far as to “recommend” the gun but I am happy to say that currently this would be the speargun I would grab if I had to choose any factory made gun currently on the market. The main reason for this is its weight, because of this extra mass, it is inherently more accurate than any other alloy tube gun I have seen.

 

[SimonCH]

Ok i guess thats still good enough for me
Out of curiousity what gun/setup do you use / what would recommend? And why dont you like rollers over 100cm?
Cheers

 

[sharkey]

The picture is the guns I am currently using.
I don’t know where, how or what you spearfish so it wouldn’t be correct to “recommend”. I am happy to talk about pros & cons of different set ups but not go so far as recommend.
It’s the spear which hits the fish & not the gun. Spears & points should be chosen first & then the gun which delivers the best accuracy, reliability & utility for them. Rollers do their best In short guns with short spears not long ones.

 

[SimonCH]

Thanks i wasnt asking for a specific recommendation but just basically what you said. What to look out for or maybe a brand that dies cool stuff awesome line up what brand are those guns? Ill definitely be sticking with the salvimar its great for what im planning to do and fits the bill. Im just spearing in europe (med, norway uk etc) and end of this year ill be in nz hopefully hunting kingys and snapper. But a 115 salvimar will du just fine. Im not looking to shoot gigantic kingfish since i wouldnt know what to do with the meat
Accuracy is important to me. So the salvimar will be fine from what ive heard online and from you

 

[Mr. X]

I watched the Salvimar videos a few weeks ago. Nice videos but they didn't "float my boat" for some reason.

The Omer Cayman Carbon 110cm looks a good buy to me now for £154 inc. reel and line (50% discount). The newer Omer Invictus Carbon is newer but @£250+ without reel, expensive. The Cayman comes with a single thick band (18mm?) but can take 2 bands. The Invictus comes with two 14mm bands - trendy - but it can take 3 bands, if you like spending a lot of time loading . I think the Invictus has sharkfin spear and/or Dyneema wishbones, the Cayman not.

Cressi's Pacific models (Comanche and Geronimo) appeal. The Apnea ST would probably work well with a 100-110cm barrel.

I prefer to use a single 16mm bulk rubber band - simple, light, good balance of power and ease of loading. I recently bought a small speargun with 2x14mm just to try out a small speargun (60cm Apnea ST) and to try out a 2x14mm configuration - although I think 2x14mm would make more sense on relatively long spearguns, e.g. 100cm+

 

[Mr. X]

I much prefer light spearguns, esp as I have shoulder injuries but for other reasons too but I use relatively short spearguns 75-90cm, typical sizes for GB. If you like heavy guns, rollers are heavy. I bought a 95cm roller recently, it feels really heavy out of water, worryingly so. I certainly would be concerned about getting an even longer roller. But Foxfish pointed out that it is how it feels in the water that is important, not how it feels out of water. I also feel more optimistic reading some of Sharkey's posts, he clearly prefers heavier spearguns.

Deep down though, I suspect that I will always prefer a simple, single bulk rubber band speargun - with a carbon fibre barrel. I've yet to try a mid-handled speargun or woodie or pneumatic though.

 

[Diving Gecko]

The Salvimar plastic parts e.g. the handle is nice and sturdy. Probably some of the best I’ve seen and I would venture a guess that it might very well be stiffer than a Cayman handle (I can bend my Cayman handle up by a fair bit just with my hands).

No disrespect, but I don’t subscribe to the whole heavier is always better argument. Well, of course, more mass does cancel out more recoil but if you spent a bit of time looking at SpearQ8’s videos you’ll see plenty of examples of light pipe guns shooting very accurately. Proper band setup, matched with a good shaft, a high handle design and to top it off a custom grip can also get you there. Adding mass is not the only way any longer. But it doesn’t hurt, I can agree on that.

Another Aussie spearo praised this exact gun on another big board recently. He really liked the build and the trigger.

As for trendy 14mm rubbers. Well, they are trendy because they work. At least the small id ones. Easier to load, more efficient band pull length (they are cut shorter) and less water inside them to mess with the power. I’d actually say that anyone with a shoulder issue should give them a go.
E.g. from stock, my Pathos came with two ball busting 16mm bands. I switched them for two 14mm Small ID bands. Gun loads easier and, likely, shoots better, too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. X]

Diving Gecko, re. 2x14mm. I bought some 14mm bulk rubber, along with 16mm and 20mm, several years ago. At that time, 2x14mm was only popular in Hawaii but seemed pretty standard there. It is still in my deep freeze but It will be used!

I came to a similar conclusion re shoulder pain late last year and bought myself an Apnea ST 2x14mm speargun to try out. Although at 60cm, even a 20mm rubber would not be a problem. I probably should have got it in 100cm or 110cm size. I was planning to get a very cheap, very short speargun (e.g. £25-£34, 45cm) as a specialist cave gun - but the quality and configuration of the ST won out. I did buy a 95cm roller speargun at the same time though, an Apnea Amarok, that might be more challenging to load and carry.

 

[SimonCH]

Mr. X thanks for the recommendations but ill be sticking with the salvimar I like the design of the gun and the price is fine to me. Plus with what salvimar is doing at the moment the Hero is very modular in possibility. Theyre bringing out a new gun the Tomahawk which is basically an inverted roller with the hero platform as base gun. But its just a pseudo inverted roller: instead of dyneema going around the rollers its still a rubber but it has the extra tensioners that are loaded after loading the main roller. Something i like about that design is that no pulleys are used but the rubbers are just tied to each other with dyneema. Less noise less failure points and more or less the same effect. Im not too keen on buying a inverted roller because its a rather niche gun in my opinion or for my use at least but having the option of turning a standard gun into an inverted roller when i go out bluewater hunting sounds very appealing. And if im never gonna do that a 115 with triple 14 or triple 16mm bands will also pack quite a punch out in the open blue

 

[SimonCH]

The Hero us a pretty accurate alloy factory gun. The main reason is it’s extra weight. If I was forced to purchase any gun straight off the shelf to use, I would put this first & a Riffe euro ( if I could find a straight one) second. Like most Euro gun makers the first of these guns imported into Australia had spears which were way too short, I do believe that they have been given the message now.
Not a fan of rollers in guns over 1000mm.

I just found out Salvimar doesnt actually sell the roller head for the hero because they factory test all guns to ensure that theyre sealed properly... so probably upgrading from standard double rubber to roller wont work. would you then go for the roller version? Id just like an opinion. After all you can depower the roller if you need to or use its full potential. Another plus point in my eyes would be the option to upgrade to the Tomahawk style of the gun. If i go big game hunting i guess a inverted roller with extra power will definitely come in handy.
Whats your take?

 

[sharkey]

If you like spearfishing get the standard gun. If you like fiddling with kit, get a roller, you should also get a standard gun for a backup. Big fish are best taken with big spears, have you found a roller which can launch a 3/8 (9.5mm) x 6ft (1.8m) spear as well or as reliably as a multi rubber gun?

 

[SimonCH]

Do you really find a simple roller that cumbersome? and yes ive seen rollers being used on big fish: check out coatesmans yt channel (video: spearfishing ascension island) its a 1.3 rob allen roller and the get 100kg+ yellowfin tuna.

 

[sharkey]

Shooting a tuna at Ascension which can be hand fed isn't a great example, other than to confirm bias, those tuna could be also taken with a pole spear. If you are seriously looking at landing 100kg tuna then you really are going to need to look into 3/8 x 6 ft spears. Have you really seen this, or have you seen an edited version where the failures & lost fish aren't shown. There is a reason that those who consistantly land big fish choose heavy & reliable kit.

 

[SimonCH]

No bias truly asking. But to be honest when i say big fish im talking about probably a max weight of 50kg. And im guessing an 8mm schaft shot with a inverted roller would do the job and on the daily a 7mm shaft with a roller. That was my thinking no bias no information thats why im here - to learn.

 

[sharkey]

Forget about the guns atm. Choose the spear you think you need to punch through a 50kg fish out to 9m. A 1.8m spear has a sectional density of 14.4 & a 1.5m spear comes in at 12. Everything else being equal that longer spear has 20% more energy ( plus more “knock out” value) for range & penetration.
When you are out in gin clear water that last few meters is everything. The guys who turn up on trips with rollers get to see first hand how their guns perform against reliable & simple multi rubber guns, most seem genuinely shocked. The smart ones don’t fiddle with their kit & carry on to their plan, however most go back to the mother ship & try to boost power, next day they can’t hit the side of a barn & then something usually breaks. I have only ever seen one person with an inverted roller gun finish a trip still using it & also having landed a few good fish. I typically bring three big guns & at least 6spare shafts on trips for fish like dogtooth tuna, in the majority of cases every one of those spare guns is being borrowed by someone who brought some sort of roller by the end of the trip.
Rollers have their best value in guns under 1m, as the length of gun increases it is inverse to their utility.
This is an example of the kit I travel with on 7-10 day live aboard trips. I would take more but air travel restricts me to about 50kg.

 

[SimonCH]

I guess youre right the idea im fantasizing with isnt going to become reality. Theres just no do it all gun. Probably best of with the standard setup and triple 14/15 or even 16mm rubbers. What are the specs of the guns you use?
The reason for my thinking was that im still a student so i just dont have the deep pockets to afford that much gear. But i guess rather a few solid things to build on than one weird contraption

 

[sharkey]

Stick to your original plan on the hero, maybe the shorter plain one for your part of the world instead of the longer. The second hand market is flooded with once used second hand roller guns if you do get a craving to tinker with them later. Two 16mm rubbers on those hero’s is more than enough for a 7 or 7.5mm spear.
When you are ready to chase bigger fish, the price of the gun will be the least expensive component (eg, big livaboard charter boats are about $5000 per day, which of course can be split between several divers), add that to travel, extra kit & time off work & a couple of thousand or more on a good gun isn’t so bad. Also if you are in a club there is usually the ability to borrow lots of this kit, so long as you have a reputation for being reliable & return it in a timely fashion.
I have too many guns to list, but try to keep it down to just ten in use at any time. My biggest guns are currently four 16mm rubbers, the blank stock without any fittings are usually 4.5kg & they launch a 3/8 x 6ft shaft with slip tip. My smallest gun is 900 with a single 16mm rubber & 6.75x 1.3 spear. The guns can also be refigured to suit more situations with a quick change of spear, points & rubbers. The important thing is that they all are tuned correctly & will shoot to the same point both instinctively & by aiming. It’s pointless having multiple guns which don’t shoot the same as each other.