[SOLD] 55" Wong hybrid rear handle speargun

What don't you like about the gun?

Thanks for the in the depth review. The reasons you stated are the same reasons I don't like Daryl Wong hybrid spearguns. If I were to pick only one point, it's that the hybrid speargun is inconvenient to carry in the water, I never know where to grip it when swimming. Other than that a close second are the recoil issue, and that atrocious handle. Never mind that it's a very simple/cheap speargun to make, when you consider how much it sells for.

Unfortunately I also agree about Niletec customer service. For a years Ihab was very prompt and professional, but lately communication has been difficult to say the least. As such I made the decision to no longer offer Niletec products at Freedive Store. All remaining Niletec spearguns in our inventory are now on clearance with a hefty discount Freedive Store - Niletec Spearguns.

Great review and discussion, thanks.

Cheers, Don

Nick, a big hats off to you for taking the time to elaborate. I tend to do the same when asked a question that I find worth answering, I honor it with my thoughts and time and that can become quite lengthy. More than once have I been flamed for being "too wordy" in the online world. Some see it is as waste of their time, whereas I (and I suspect you) see it as respectful to give it this much thought.

And another thanks to this forum for harboring the wordy and the ones who master the opposite:-)

It's really not the style/type of the gun that becomes it's down fall. Really, it boils down to how the builder designed, balanced, and ballasted the gun, or lack thereof...

If you want to see some quality made hybrids from a guy who puts a lot of thought into his designs and has truly mastered his craft then you outta check out Impaler Spearguns. Woodies, Hybrids, rear or mid handles... The point is, no matter how you like it, it will come balanced and ballasted to your specifications depending on your power requirements.

Here's my personal 57" Hybrid. Gun is 57" overall length with 130cm band stretch. Shoots 3 - 16mm bands, one handed, no recoil/muzzle flip. I'm able to hit a 4" x 4" foam target at the end of a double wrap, all day. I can hand the gun to anyone and get similar results and probably better in the right hands, my underwater marksmanship is mediocre...

And the gun is balanced so well that I can hold it at center, around where the CF tube meets the teak stock. Gripping it at this location is like swimming with a pipe gun with a mid barrel grip. The gun floats level. And it tracks very well, up/down, left/right. Matt has used it a few times and every time he tells me that he cannot believe how smooth my gun shoots 3 - 16mm bands and the range that it has.

Check it out.

One more pic, from the new boat :thumbsup2:

I liked Nicks post answering Dans questions about his Wong hybrid experience because they echoed my own experiences with gun. I bought a 50" Wong hybrid 2 years ago and after using the gun for awhile I decided it was not for me. After that I was really turned off on the hybrid design until I used Chase's gun. All things being relative to its size and capabilities I found it to be a fast tracking and incredibly stable platform. It launches a 5/16 shaft with serious authority and I'm able to aim it instinctively and get hits on my point of aim. That was not the case with the other hybrid I had used. The gun is perfectly balanced and easily fired with one hand. I don't know if its a testament to the hybrid design or the attention to detail of the builder but that's just how it is.

Once you have developed muscle memory with a certain style of gun it can be difficult or impossible to switch to a radically different style gun.

I have to point out that a 5/16" shaft and 3 x 16mm bands is overkill for the fish pictured. A bigger gun will always control recoil better. But it's a trade off, personally I don't like lugging a big gun around and any small perceived advantage in range/accuracy is not worth the hassle over 6 - 8hr diving day. Just get closer to the fish. To me the most important factors that make a speargun a pleasure to use are not necessarily range/accuracy.

The recoil can be adjusted by using a 9/32 shaft and weakening the bands. Longer or smaller diameter...
I use two 14 mm "Dan" bands, small ID. One is 26 and one is 28 inches. I load them on the back two, of the three holes.
Jake uses 2, 16 mm bands, 24 and 25 inches. I can't. I anticipate the recoil and miss.

Carrying the gun through the water....I'm not sure I understand the comparison. When near, or approaching fish, doesn't it work much better kind of hiding the gun? I hold the gun in the center with both hands just below my sternum. With snappers, it makes a difference. I hid it as best I can and don't extend until I'm ready to shoot. All in one motion. Swimming anyway. Laying on the bottom I rest the gun barrel on a rock or whatever, so it's not an issue.
Yes, the Wong 55 will sink muzzle first when loaded (but so does a Riffe. ??).. but not so much that you can't hold it in one hand and shoot.

Just my two cents.

I never did play with the setup of my hybrid so I couldn't tell you if it would have worked for me If I had put in the effort. My point was only that more than one person builds hybrids and just like their wooden counterparts they are all different. Hank, I use a riffe 130 euro and I keep it tucked into my body whenever possible. When I'm laying on the bottom I also lay it down or rest the muzzle on something. It's not the easiest gun to point but it's cheaper to rest it on a rock than buy another gun. Dan, I prefer a long single wrapped rear handle for my hunting but honestly I would draw the line at 130cm for the reasons you mentioned. I'm 6' tall so the length isn't too bad to deal with. Eventually I will grow tired of bending 9/32 shafts and I'll get a 5/16 gun with some sexy wooden curves!

I'm 6ft tall with a fairly long reach, a 130cm speargun doesn't look that long on me. I also like a single wrap, but prefer a 1.5 wrap which is easy to do with a wood speargun. For the reef/bottom hunting (which is all I do) I found the 130cm too much to deal with. Most recently I tried two different 130cm spearguns, a wood speargun; the Speardiver Rear Handle classic, and the Speardiver Phantom with a carbon barrel that I made for myself. I ended up having the wood gun made in a 125cm length, and cutting the carbon gun down to 125cm, which is now the max length I'd use. Why 125cm? 120cm just seems a little cliche Bear in mind these lengths state the true band stretch.

9/32" shafts may bend a little easier than a 5/16", but they're easy to straighten.

I like to feel as unencumbered as possible in the water. A light maneuverable speargun is my preference.

The 5/16 is just nice because most fish I encounter won't bend it, which means less money spent on broken gear. However, 3 bands is nice when I run out to deeper water at 150'ish on the wrecks where the water is much more open and the vis is better and I'm taking longer shots past a single wrap. A 50 meter reel is also overkill on the reef under 80' but it's nice to have the extra line when I come across a runner in deeper water. And let's face it, down here you never know what will swim past you at any given point in time below the surface.

Usually on the more shallow reefs under 80' I like to use 2 bands because there's typically more structure and general background. It's nice to have options when you need them.

While my gun has some weight out of the water, swimming with it is not really noticable to me. It's actually only a few inches longer than my riffe euro 110 I used to own but has 20 cm more band stretch. And I like that it floats level, which is a testament to it's balance. It doesn't take a Boulder to counteract the recoil/muzzle flip issue.

I think where wongs drop the ball is in the fact that they are mass produced to a higher level because of the demand. Of course I still don't understand how or why Daryl let's a gun go in the mail when it is not balanced or ballasted and can't handle recoil any better than a pipe gun...:confused1: And for the price you pay for a wong, the hardware is very cheap IMO. At that price level everything needs to be pinned in, no screws in the stock except a reel if you use one. The trigger mechs and reels that he rebrands as his own are not up to par neither.

Anyways, different strokes for different folks I suppose. Some people prefer a pole spear for the plain simplicity and the fact that you're in the water with a stick. I know that's my weapon of choice for pan sized fish and super shallow water.

::Edit::

Meant no offense to the divers that own wongs. It's really on the builder. Daryl is a cool dude though, met him one time at the expo.

Quote from Chase

I think where wongs drop the ball is in the fact that they are mass produced to a higher level because of the demand. Of course I still don't understand how or why Daryl let's a gun go in the mail when it is not balanced or ballasted and can't handle recoil any better than a pipe gun...:confused1: And for the price you pay for a wong, the hardware is very cheap IMO. At that price level everything needs to be pinned in, no screws in the stock except a reel if you use one. The trigger mechs and reels that he rebrands as his own are not up to par neither.

Anyways, different strokes for different folks I suppose. Some people prefer a pole spear for the plain simplicity and the fact that you're in the water with a stick. I know that's my weapon of choice for pan sized fish and super shallow water.

::Edit::

Meant no offense to the divers that own wongs. It's really on the builder. Daryl is a cool dude though, met him one time at the expo.

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I think most of his guns are pretty standard as far as weighting. I've owned.....four 55 hybrids and a 63 magnum. And for my tastes, Daryl overpowers his personal guns. That's where Jake got the idea. Daryl teases me if I borrow one of his when we go diving...."are you sure you can cock it"?

They are pricey. But of the five I've had over seven years, there have been no failures on any part of any gun. Daryl gave me about 4 spare muzzles just in case. And he gave me some new softer plastic handles after Sheri Daye had one break and bust her eye a few years back.

And after reading this thread, I went and picked up my Riffe C3s, just by the grip and pointed them horizontally. They're a bit heavier and harder to hold than the 55 Wongs. I'll have to follow up on that under water.

And no worries. No offense taken. I learn a lot about guns on here. I've only shot Riffes and Wongs. I did try a couple other cheap ones but they sucked.