Sample pneumatic speargun

  • Found this thread when looking for something else. "Asso" means "Ace" and it is a Seac Sub spearfishing product. These "Asso" clones are made by Hang Fung Industrial in China (Hong Kong) and have been sold under a number of names since with different colour handles such as blue as well as red grips. I remember other grip colours as well, probably green and yellow, but have not seen them in recent times. They bear the name "Aqua Gear" when purchased from the Hong Kong company. Predictably the Chinese cut a few corners by changing the injection moulds to make the guns easier to assemble while simultaneously making some aspects more flimsy. The guns look like an "Asso", but their durability is suspect. The prices are very low at times, out of curiosity I bought a 90 cm Aqua Gear for 60 bucks brand new. Rock bottom price for a rock bottom product. I have never used it, but it has stupidly large sights front and rear which show some ignorance in actually using a speargun.


    One innovation was to supply a push dagger in the handle butt on their later models, just why such a knife is considered spearfishing equipment I leave for others to contemplate.


    Edited once, last by popgun pete: more info ().

  • Just checking on eBay and some guns are being sold as a "Mirage Rayzor Enforcer" gun in various lengths. The prices asked are around that of more expensive models with a discount, so they are profitable for the seller who probably paid less than half that. One notable difference is the 8mm hardened spring steel shaft (brass coated then powder coated for extra strength). Now the line slide and stop ring during shots will make short work of that powder coating and the brass will make a nice galvanic battery with the steel of the shaft. That is what happens when you know zip about spearfishing.




    ENFORCER PNEUMATIC SPEAR GUN | 70cm | NEW - Multiple Shots and Greater Power | eBay
    ENFORCER PNEUMATIC Speargun 70cm. • Multiple shots without re-pressuring. • 8mm hardened spring steel shaft (brass plated then powder coated for extra…
    www.ebay.com.au

    MIRAGE RAYZOR Enforcer Speargun Shafts 8mm Speargun Shaft 70cm 90cm 110cm | eBay
    MIRAGE RAYZOR Enforcer Speargun Shafts 8mm. only for Mirage Rayzor Enforcer Pneumatic guns. Speargun is. Available in 70cm, 90cm and 110cm for maximum power.…
    www.ebay.com.au


    Land and Sea Sports Australia distribute the Undersee range of spearguns (band guns) and for a period offered these same guns as the Undersee Javelin, although only the name "Land and Sea Sports" appears on the guns. They must have been reasonably popular as they are sold out and no longer listed on the Undersee website.



    Edited once, last by popgun pete: More info ().

  • To clear up any doubt about whether these are the Seac pneumatic spearguns. Seac updated the Asso model two years ago. This is what it looks like now, available from Spearfishing Store Seac Asso CR Speargun. I wouldn't mess with the Chinese pneumatic speargun you'd asking for trouble. Too bad as it had potential.


  • The Chinese know a lot about manufacturing, but not a lot about spearfishing and only learned a bit more when they got the nod to make speargun parts for Mares and Omer. Plastic prongs that bust off, metal items that rust or are too small like line wrap releases on spearguns (all types, not just pneumatic) show that rather than ask the user they will just churn their next new idea out and see what happens in terms of sales. A reaction to this is some Italian companies now make a real feature of made in Italy on their products, stressing that includes manufacture and not just the design. Salvimar was one of the first to do this, but as they evolved from a components supplier to many other brands they realised the importance of doing the actual manufacturing.


    The Chinese are bound to lift their game, but a lot depends on whether they think the market is worth pursuing. Their guns are cheap and by copying a proven design they got a foothold in the market, but whether the idea of say buying three of their guns over a period instead of buying one expensive European gun that will last just as long will be attractive to buyers has yet to be proven.

  • The main problem with Chinese stuff is ignorance and a propensity for cutting corners, they will switch materials or finishes to lower costs with an alternative that they think will do the same job, only problem is some aspect they never thought of is then compromised and that pulls their product down. The plastics they use often have a hard feel, it was especially noticeable on the Omer pneumatic guns, so it was not such a big surprise when they were found to come from Taiwan.

  • I came to the same conclusion as you about Chinese manufacturing in general. But when they get it dialed in they can make good stuff. Fortunately for me the Chinese know nothing about spearfishing.. yet. And I think they won't learn because spearfishing/freediving is relatively too small a market. Problem arises when someone teaches them. Problem for everyone, because then they turn around and sell to anyone, causing a price war devaluing the products, and creating consumer distrust in other better made products. Because the consumer can't tell the difference until it's too late. That's why the only way is to trust brand names, and that's what it's all about really. Although I got to say, even brand names are susceptible to producing crap sometimes. All it takes is for one small detail to be off.. like you said. It always does amaze me how companies with big purchasing power and resources can and do screw up like this. I believe it's because of being under pressure to bring a product to market too fast.

  • I think it can be down to loss of expertise. Some of the long established brand name Dive companies had long term employees who were right there from the beginning and over the years accumulated a lot of knowledge as they learned from their mistakes and quickly found the right way to do things. They built up a lot of know-how in the organization and never rushed something new into production because they understood bugs needed to be sorted out before you sold anything. Those people have retired or died, their lifetime experience was never written down as if you wanted to know something you always asked them and the tendency was to think these people will be around forever. Taking their previous success for granted the next generation of employees figured it cannot be too hard and underestimated what has been lost. Years ago I was talking with a guy from Cressi-Sub and he said sadly no one in the company knew much about the old days or even their past history as the old-timers were now all gone.

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