Posts by Dan

Front snorkel is common today with freedivers using monofins.

Very nice looking gun.

What reel line were you using?

Quote from Garibaldistoner

Is it safe to drill holes for mounting the screws, or will drilling a hole cause it to fracture?

Retention of blades in foot pockets that use the rail system mostly comes from the foot pocket tendons gripping the rails that are glued to the blade (if the rails are good). The screws only serve to keep the blade from slowly working it's way forward out of the foot pocket.

Carbon blades from different manufacturers vary in quality, some are simply prone to failure. Screw holes on most foot pockets are located near the blade toe angle which is a high stress area. Additionally some foot pocket kits come with ridiculously large diameter screws requiring large holes. Consequently you have a recipe for a blade breaking along the screw hole line, so it is a valid concern.

Case in point these C4 (not Speardiver) blades that a customer brought to my shop. Notice the C4 blade is glued in a Pathos foot pocket therefore installed without screws. But the screw holes are there from a previous installation. The C4 blade broke along the screw hole line being used with Pathos foot pockets. I've seen C4 blades break in that exact spot being used with other foot pockets too.

But using screws does not automatically mean a broken carbon blade. First of course choose reputable carbon blades like Speardiver. Foot pocket mounting kits like Speardiver, OMER Stingray, Cressi Gara Modular and Beuchat use smaller diameter screws. The pressure on the blade is dissipated by the screw support plate which has variable thickness, allowing itself to be positioned to make the screw heads lay flat relative to the carbon blade.

Additionally at Speardiver we never "drill" holes in carbon blades. Instead we use a proprietary method to make the screw holes, it disturbs the integrity of the carbon material significantly less than drilling. Provided these factors are addressed, it's been my experience that done properly a screw installation is safe and durable. Which is why Speardiver offers a two year warranty.

With older style foot pockets that don't have a recess for the top screw retention plate, and/or don't have a bottom screw support plate, I prefer a zip tie to secure the carbon blade instead of screws. I can get away with two tiny slots, just enough for the zip tie to pass through the blade.

Very cool. Very talented. Good music.

I can't give you a specific date but shortly after I started offering the Pathos f/p about 2 years ago. I would tell anyone who bought Speardiver blades with Pathos foot pockets, and I mentioned it in the forum a couple of times. The reason for it is that I don't feel Pathos foot pocket tendons offer enough support to the blade. This has been confirmed by an unacceptable number of blade failures, all with Pathos foot pockets. This has been the case with 1st generation Pathos foot pockets of which I had the pleasure to see only one pair, they had very soft tendons. I went with 2nd generation which had very stiff tendons, but kept the no warranty condition because of warnings I've received about the foot pockets (although they were probably based on the 1st generation f/p). I had no breakages from the 2nd generation f/p but at the time 3rd generation f/p came about blades started failing again, so the no warranty continued.

3rd generation have tendon stiffness somewhere between 1st and 2nd. At first I was really happy with them because 2nd generation were really too stiff. But then realized 3rd generation have little backbone, which can be felt when swimming against current or fighting a big fish. Some people (on this forum too) believe that a carbon blade should be able to handle the stress of being combined with very soft tendons, which is almost equivalent to the foot pocket having no tendons. I've been adamant against this idea. If you think carbon blades should handle it and be warrantied you can put other brand blades in Pathos foot pockets. There's a reason Pathos went from 1st to 2nd then to 3rd generation. I think going back to 2nd generation would be a good move. Although I've come to believe there's something about the design and tendons being so thin, that when they're stiff just doesn't allow for a gradual enough dissipation of stress away from the foot pocket toe for the fin to be comfortable, or if it's soft enough to be comfortable to support the blade adequately. It's ironic because I'm probably responsible for introducing them in the US, and to some degree affecting Pathos to make generation 3.

That said my fins are still Pathos f/p, albeit little used lately, and there are other guys here who are using Pathos with Speardiver blades and the blades have already outlasted the foot pockets two years later and been switched over to new foot pockets. I believe they're all 2nd generation though.

I've installed Speardiver blades in just about every foot pocket available. They install well in all of them, and small modifications to the back edge of the blade can be made if necessary for perfect fit. OMER Stingray foot pockets are a good example of how a small modification that needs to be done to the blades for optimal fit.

I can't pinpoint a favorite. Fin selection starts with choosing a foot pocket that fits you well and has the right characteristics. General information on good foot pocket characteristics can be found here http://spearfishing.world/fins…cket-characteristics.html. Specific reviews of different foot pockets here http://spearfishing.world/fins…-footpockets-reviews.html

Speardiver foot pockets are the natural choice, OMER Stingray and Cressi Gara Modular are also good. The foot pockets available from spearfishing.store are only those we found to be comfortable, durable and good performers. I'll install Speardiver blades in any foot pockets that you provide. But with some foot pockets, like Pathos we do not offer the 2 year warranty on the blades.

It's ALIVE! lol

Welcome.

Very nice Marco. I'm sure your son will be a great dive partner for you. What could be better.

I will answer questions about Speardiver carbon fins in this thread. I'll try to answer promptly and hope others who use the fins will provide information based on their experience, as some aspects of the fin's performance have to do with personal preference. Speardiver fins are available from spearfishing.store. You can also get information contacting through the store website.

Moby dickie?

Beautiful to see.

Beautiful APs, congratz. I've yet to get my first one.

Did the f/p leave those marks on your foot or did you kick a rig leg diving barefoot?

Nice. Looking forward to the pics.

Very sorry to hear. A sad reminder that the sea is a dangerous place and that it can happen to anyone who ventures in it. When I go in the sea I always try to maintain an offensive state of mind, knowing that in the worst case it may still not be enough. Sounds like he put up a good fight. My condolences to the family and friends. Be safe everyone.

Welcome to the forum.

Is this where you dive?

Not good at all. The Hog fish population is healthy. An increase to a min size of 14" is reasonable just because anything less is unethical.

Interesting. I believe the full length model shark used for the first Jaws movie was 23ft long.

For length I suggest a 125. And make it a hip loader

I saw the speargun Xan built and was privy to some of the obstacles he encountered putting the finish on it. I can tell you that whatever Xan is missing as seasoned gun builder he more than makes up for with an attention to detail that I would classify as obsessive. The gun turned out perfect, and he still sees as a problem a spec that I need a magnifying glass to see

Further your ideas for a small and utilitarian profile coincide with my own. I fully trust that what you'll make will be top notch. I question the choice of wood though. Teak has good saltwater resistance without a coating, why downgrade just for appearances. If you go with the other wood make sure it's a good candidate for lamination, especially against carbon. Good luck.