MAKO Spearguns - Poor quality made in China

  • I personally liked the idea of the AR15 handle frame and grip on a railgun handle....with a strong all metal trigger mech like Neptonics, Niletec, and Speardiver.
    Mako stopped offering the "American" etrs tho. Maybe it was too much hassle to produce them??
    Ive tried to fabricate a handle out of ABS, but I lack the machine tools to make a both functional and asthetically pleasing handle....so far I have a block of ABS that looks like a rat has chewed an amorphous hole into it... that happens to fit a trigger mechanism inside.:laughing3::laughing:

  • A question with an argumentative tone doesn't make me feel like being helpful. Suffice to say if there's nothing wrong with the speargun tether, why does Mako Spearguns no longer sell it? Surely not because they can't make a profit. It was sold for $21.95 and can be purchased from Spearmaster (Also Mako Separguns shafts, floats and a bunch of other stuff) for a couple of bucks Gun To Arm Stretchy

  • I met Dano during a Cape Hatteras open...we shared with three colleagues a boat, probably the "Fin Quest" (runned by Sauer the well experienced cpt).
    Seems to me it was the 2005 edition but not sure. Dano was taking part to the comp for the first and unique time.
    It seemed to me to be a cool and friendly easy going guy.
    I guess it may help if you're in the business field!! ;)
    But, in my modest opinion, he did not show at the time experienced skills in the spearfishing/ freediving practice despite a good athletic form.

  • X( X( I bought a Mako speargun a year ago and I used it and it works OK but i always had a fishy feeling about my gun (and hate the handle). And then a week ago I saw this thread and read what Dan said and I feel like a ripped off idiot with a 130cm Mako speargun that I can't sell.

    B.B.
    Bathtub brawlers

    Edited once, last by Aleczander ().

  • I think he was being sarcastic Dan. Meaning the tether is a pretty unsafe idea.


    definite sarcasm. Lol. I dont know any competent diver who would ever think about teathering a gun to their person, let alone buy a device that you could make for a few bucks... (other than a belt reel). With that said, when i started diving I dropped my very first speargun, losing it in white water after getting smashed by waves....I thought about using a leash, but then I thought, maybe I should just tag up to a float, and be safe and LEGAL.


    I agree, Mako should discontinue this device, even with the disclaimer, "hunting small game" i hunt small game in 80-100ft of water, if one of these small game fish were to hole up, and i was at the end of my breath hold....Id be screwed or in the best case scenario, at risk of SWB.


    No speargun or fish, is worth a divers life.

  • I agree, Mako should discontinue this device, even with the disclaimer, "hunting small game" i hunt small game in 80-100ft of water, if one of these small game fish were to hole up, and i was at the end of my breath hold....Id be screwed or in the best case scenario, at risk of SWB.

    Mako Spearguns did discontinue it, probably because of this thread. I pulled that image today using a site called Wayback Machine, it's website that stores cached versions of other website going back years.


    You mentioned the disclaimer in the Mako speargun tether product description, there's some history behind that. The speargun tether was first introduced in the US by a now defunct company using the website Bluewaterbrothers.com. They tried to sell spearguns manufactured by Orca and some other gear including the speargun tether. The store was promoted on Spearfishing planet forum which led me to have a look at their gear selection and that's where I saw the speargun tether. In 2007 I was nowhere near running a forum or selling spearfishing gear, but I felt compelled to draw attention to the dangers of this thing. I caught some heat for that post, spearfishing planet is mostly scuba divers so they didn't know what I was talking about. But in the end even the Orca distributor recapitulated and posted this

    Quote from SeaPanther

    I edited my first post. If I misjudged your intentions please forgive me. I will assume your concern is for the safety of fellow spearos and not any other agenda, and if so I am 100% behind that.


    I talked to my website guys and they are adding a safety warning regarding entanglement to this item as well as any other terminal tackle (reels, floatlines and bungees).


    Entanglement is definitely the biggest concern for me as a predominately freediving spearo. I have seen enough floatlines, reel lines and shooting line get hung up deep (on a fin, a snorkel or structure) that I think this should be discussed. Believe me it is a little easier to reach across to your bicep and unclip this leash (I take no credit for inventing this quick release clip), than untie a tangled floatline.
    One thing I do disagree is freediving alone, especially for big fish. I think an experienced spearo can be just as effective in pairs and prevent any accidents from gear or any number of potential factors.
    I do appreciate all the feedback from you guys even if it is not what I want to hear.

    Dano would never know this on his own, he just followed suit. Which brings me to this.

    in my modest opinion, he did not show at the time experienced skills in the spearfishing/ freediving practice despite a good athletic form.

    All you have to do is look at Dano finning, it's obvious he hasn't done much diving.


  • I don't think so Hank.


    He's right. That was sarcasm through and through. I would never leash my gun to my arm even having a knife and line cutting razor on my belt. Just too much risk there for me when totally out of the human element.

    • Helpful

    I have written on this subject elsewhere, although I kept the comments general, as I saw the rise of Rabitech and then it’s later swamping by other copyists. The real reason for this state of affairs is the rise of China/Taiwan as a manufacturer to the “first world”. In the old days Italian and French companies made rebranded products, but only for sale in other overseas markets. For example Beuchat made spearguns for Healthways in the USA, but the concept was bar private imports the two brands did not clash, they did not compete or undercut each other. The other brand, e.g. Healthways, was essentially for the distributor in that country, i.e. the USA.


    Now when China went into producing spearguns, after a few worthless efforts, they used their manufacturing capability to lure Rabitech having their handles made in China, these handles being based on a discontinued Sporasub handle and the Cavalero ARC2000 handle which were revised with new stainless steel innards. Cavalero had been taken over by Beuchat, so the ARC 2000 guns had been phased out. Things went well until the Chinese wanted to move more product, so they offered these handles to others, including Mako. Because China controlled the molds they had Rabitech over a barrel and they could do what they wanted.


    The other aspect is the subcontracting in China, you the customer may specify alloy A, but the Chinese may think we can make it out of alloy B instead which will do the same job, make more profit for ourselves and no one will notice. As someone said earlier in this thread if you don't keep checking then they will pull substitutions on you. I had a Mares Spark/Sporasub Stealth mostly made in China, but passed off as Italian, where the anodizing on the alloy muzzle nearly wiped off as it was too soft. This is because in their wisdom the Chinese used a lower anodizing quality. Once you pass control to China they will do what suits them and if the opportunity arises will sell to anybody else if they stump up the cash for a large enough order. They are now doing it with watches, put your logo here.


    China is capable of producing very good stuff, but you have to check what you get continually, plus they may cut you out if they think they can get better sales and distribution elsewhere. Intellectual property is a “how to” rather than something that they have to pay for. Eventually this will change when they want to protect their own ideas, but it has not happened to any degree yet. Plus try taking legal action in China if you are a foreigner, so contracts can be meaningless.

  • Great synopsis Pete! The allure of cheap foreign manufacturing has destroyed many companies and even industries. That's why i think customer education is key, the purchasing power of the consumer is still king, granted it is not absolute as some suppliers leave you no practical choice as a consumer. This is why i like this forum, it can give those who are otherwise not exposed the information they need before spending hard earned money and especially towards their safety.

    Be safe ... Happy hunting .

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