What better to choose 16mm,18mm or 2x14mm band(which one is more powerful and fast).

[Teorg]

I’m new in spear fishing and I am thinking to buy cressi Cherokee exo 75sm with 16mm band and upgrade it with 2x14 band or picasso speargun railgun magnum rail light green camo with 18mm band or which of the two is better or what other speargun would you recommend me to buy (my budget is 150€).Thanks

 

[Mr. X]

Depends on you and what you intend to use it for and where. A single 16mm or single 18mm or double 14mm band are all reasonable choices for a first speargun.

Are you big/small/strong/weak/...? After small, medium, big or huge fish? Deep/shallow, shore/reef/boat/"blue water"/...

 

[Mr. X]

My suggestion for the Med might be the old Omer XXV 80cm or perhaps 90cm. But they don't make them any more and, last I heard, Omer are no longer made in Italy

How about an Apnea ST -90 which comes with 2x14 mm bands and a fashionable reverse trigger mechanism? They are made in Turkey and are/were reasonably priced in the UK, not sure about cost/availability elsewhere.

 

[Mr. X]

For the title question, it depends on various things, such as the length, material used, inner (as well as outer) diameter.

My thinking is that 2 X 14mm could generally be more powerful but will be slower but easier to load. Then 18mm, which would be harder to load. Then 16mm - but I often use a single bulk rubber 16mm band and that is quite powerful enough for me, on UK sea, especially on a 90 cm speargun. As our American friends say " your mileage may vary"!

 

[Mr. X]

Personally, I am a bit wary of Picasso gear although I do own several bits. I like the look of the Cressi spearguns in general; Although I don't recall the Cherokee model specifically
75 cm can be a good size for murkey water in the UK but for the Med., 80-85cm ? ( possibly up to 90/100cm if visibility is good?).

 

[Mr. X]

BTW I think the Apnea spearguns have dynema wishbones. A personal preference of mine, probably picked up from my first speargun, a magnificent Rob Allen railgun. They are quieter and less dangerous to fingers I think. Plus cheaper but not as long lasting.

All my spearguns now use Dynema wishbones; those that didn't, I have gradually converted over time. Works well with bulk rubber , although often spear-notches need to be smoothed out to prevent abrasion to Dynema.

My Apnea spear guns ( and now my Omers too) use looped beads, so that the dyneema wishbone can be more simply changed by tying new dynema into the beaded loops. I think the original RA beaded wishbones are possibly more reliable and secure though (?) - important when hunting those big African fish - but a little less convenient (?); I only once had one pull out and that was my fault ( and, although less likely, could occur with looped beads too).

 

[Mr. X]

BTW For myself, if visiting the med. I might pick-up an additional 100cm or 110cm speargun. Although hopefully my 90/95cm Apnea rollergun could fill the place of both of those and more? . But I like and have confidence in the simplicity of non- roller spearguns .

I recall Omer sold a 3x14mm carbon model a few years ago (it may have come with just 2 of the 3 possible bands?). Reverse trigger mech. I think in the Cayman range? That struck me as a simple, clever, versatile design for those needing say a 100 or 110cm speargun for the Med..

 

[hteas]

The only thing I could add would be to try the gun you choose before modifying it. There may be a reason they set it up like they did

 

[Bill McIntyre]

The only thing I could add would be to try the gun you choose before modifying it. There may be a reason they set it up like they did

Exactly. The manufacturer may know what he's doing. Try it out before you modify. Then you'll know whether you improved it or made it worse with your mods.

 

[Sorcerer]

I think people think about bands in a wrong way in general and I was doing this mistake for long aswell.

You setup the gun bands based on the shaft specs and second factor would be gun weight. A smaller diameter shafts are easily overpowered. So scaling band power first should be regarding shaft diameter. With higher diameter comes higher weight and less shaft whip so naturally you can add more power.

I;d say from my experiene with standard guns:
6.25-6.5mm - 1x14 / 1x16 at 320-350 or 2x14m but not with too much stretch. Prefer now 1x16mm or 1x14mm at 350% over 2x14mm relaxed
7mm - 2x14 / 2x16 320-350%
7.5mm - 2x14 / 2x16 VERY HIGH stretch needed.
8mm - I think Id say 2x14/2x16 wont cut it. This is why Ive decided at this point that I am gonna try double roller as single roller wont be enough either based on science. Based on gun weight adding extra bands to normal setup will overpower the recoil likely thus a way to keep the power up but lower the recoil level decision got moved to double roller head. TIme will tell if I will be happy

 

[Mr. X]

Interesting info, thanks
But...
FYI My 2 superb Omer XXV spearguns each came factory equipped with a slim 6.3mm spear and 18mm screw-in bands and metal French-style articulated wishbones. They worked very well like that.

(FYI I have since converted them to Bulk rubber, most recently 16mm, and Dyneema wishbones.)