solid or not?

[mfdfyrecaptain]

I have had some ppl tell me that I dont need a solid spear and that the tubing is enough. This I really have a hard time believing since I have bowfished for many years and know that mass is needed to penetrate over velocity in water.

The other argument is that the solid spear is too negative buoyant. I don't have any experience here on this part so is this a problem? Seems too me that it is not since so many Ray Oder, Manny Puig, and others sell a solid shaft.

any thoughts here?

 

[Erik]

My main concern would be the shafts getting bent by thrashing fish. It happens to solid shafts!

 

[hteas]

The big point to me is impact vs speed. I use my Ray Odor on rockfish, which are fairly easy to approach. The 8 pound rockfish I speared last summer with the Ray Odor was slammed so hard it never moved.
If I'm hunting for fish that swim faster or are further away, I use my Gat-Ku hybrid. it has a carbon fiber front and aluminum tube back. It's much faster.
A slip tip on either will get rid of the effects of fighting fish.
I have been looking for large Pacific halibut with my Ray Odor armed with an AB biller slip tip and boogie boarde float. If I ever get close enough, it should be very interesting to find out how the setup works.