Posts by grossetti

Hi all,

I have a couple of questions concerning fins. I currently do not own real freediving/spearfishing fins, I have longer than average Beuchat snorkeling fins. They fit me well with/without socks, fit in my luggage when I travel by plane and are light (both for air travel and usage in the water). I have been wondering if I should get "real" fins though.

I am looking at different footpockets that allow the blades to be removed so I can still air travel without hassle (although they will be much heavier). I think I need either Beuchat or Cressi for my narrow feet, any other options? I read that Beuchat only work with their blades, is that correct?

I am thinking about getting fiberglass as plastic is too heavy and carbon is too fragile for me: I don't do blue water hunting and I tend to scratch up my fins a lot on rocks. I noticed some fins have a 20° angle and others are "flat", what is the advantage of one over the other? Also, do either fit in the same footpockets or do you need a special footpocket for each type?

BTW Dan (I hope you see this), do you only carry carbon blades?

Thanks everyone,
Gabriel

Thanks for the info.

Yes, that is one of our worries... As for the kayak we may each get a two seater and use only one seat to have some more room.

Yes, pointy things is a worry too, for the fish we keep them in the water in a net close to the anchor where it is cool (no sharks where we hunt) so it minimizes that a bit since we stick them in a cold bag one we are done. As for the spearpoints, yes, we have tip protectors on always when not hunting as it has happened that we hit our own tips and that isn't cool .

Thanks for all the info!

Yes, I used to get away with stuff like that before Mrs. and later mini-Gab moved in

Thanks, I'll have a look.

We are actually looking at the Intex Mariner 4 on the inflatable boat side of our search. It has lots of room and we could hook up a small electric motor if we really needed to. Still haven't decided between a kayak or boat...

The kayak is faster/easier to row but doesn't have much room for our stuff unless you get something like this http://www.gumotexbateaux.fr/kayaks-gonflables-seawave and use only two seats but it is just too expensive (990 euros). The boat is just the opposite...

I had looked at the 2nd one, it is quite expensive though (not sure I will use it enough to justify the price). I had also wondered how it would be to get in from the water, I think most kayaks people use for spearfishing are the sit on top type?

Thanks for the links.

Quote from Klabautermann

buy a regular kayak and mount it horizontally in the living room of your apartment. 2. option ceiling mount:thumbsup2: PS:inflatable kayaks do suck and create a lot of drag. A paddle board would be another option.

I'll try to get that one past my wife

Thanks everyone. The reason I am looking for an inflatable is that I am living in a city, in an apartment, and that means that there is no space to store a kayak. It is also more complicated to travel around with it (plane, car, train, etc).

I do agree a hard kayak would be best but I don't have the possibility to for the reasons described above.

Thanks

Hi all,

A buddy and I are thinking of getting either a two person inflatable boat or kayak, which is better for spearfishing?

I am thinking about things like:
* rowing ease
* storing spearguns, a bottle of water, masks, fins, etc.
* getting in and out from in the water

Thanks!
Gab

Thanks for the input guys!

Thanks for the review. Unfortunately I am one of those people it does not fit well (it hurts after a while).

Quote from Dude george

JC left one with me when he visited, it has been invaluable to me! Works like a champ for my wahoo. Ice stays ice and fish is cold. Not as efficient as a cooler but very convenient and does the job.
FYI I live in the tropics.

Thanks for this info.

How is it different from those insulated bags they have in grocery stores to keep your frozen produce cold?

Quote from nishthefish

I don't use one, and I can't answer your other question. BUT, I clicked the link to your blog, and I must say, your posts are VERY impressive and informative!:thumbsup2:

Thanks for the encouragement

Hi everyone,

Anyone here use fish bags? Do they really work well to keep your catch cold, even if the bag heats up from the sun? They are quite expensive from what I see.

Thanks,
Gab

Quote from Chase

Why do you feel that it should be point blank, instead of a realistic distance such as 5 - 6 meters? Just curious, because like I said before a thinner shaft like 6.5mm will have a lot of velocity in the beginning. As it makes its way down range it loses velocity/power pretty quickly. Especially on a dense target like a fishes skull.

I agree, it boils down to what you are interested in measuring. If you want to measure as pure of a force as possible you need to exclude as many external factors.

There are many ways of measuring the spearguns for comparison. I feel that a long range test has too many external factors that can change the results and that can be argued upon.

A penetration test is interesting if you are able to remove any angle from the spear. As mentioned above the penetration takes into account several factors. If you had some sort of thick foam (held in place) you could shoot point bank and see how far the spear goes in. You would need something long with enough resistance so the spear does not completely go through.

Quote from Chuckd

Roller guns should have enclosed tracks and thicker shafts to take advantage of the higher forces without getting shaft whip.

This sort of a contradiction of what your 1st conclusion said, here you say they have a higher force but the 1st conclusion states the double band gun does, or am I missing something?

Also, did I miss a video? I saw no conclusive test.

But that is a two pulley system, a different beast.

Quote from Chuckd

If anyone wants to shoot one, come on over to Clearwater. As soon as it's calm out, I'll be diving as much as possible getting ready for States and Nationals this year.

I have great memories from Clearwater & Tampa Bay (20 yrs ago). You're a lucky man to live in that region.

Quote from Chase

The "single" roller is actually using one set of rollers and 2 separate power bands with 2 separate wishbones. Let's think here gents, how can we compare a roller utilizing 2 power bands super long to a standard gun with one circular power band. It seems obvious to me that this is apples to oranges, but you're certainly entitled to your beliefs.

So, I think that this is where most people disagree with each other, so I will explain on view.

One group thinks that since there are physically 2 bands and two wishbones it is equal to two circular bands each with a wishbone, the other group disagrees.

Personally I disagree, I will try (again) explain why. I do agree that physically the roller has two bands and two wishbones but that is where my agreement ends. When you study a system it is important to look at the way the forces are applied and not it's resting status.

Lets start with the circular band, when it is pulled back it is effectively, from the view of the force(s) released from it, split into two (segments). Each side/segment behaves (the key word here) independently from the other (if the centre pressure point is in the real center of course). You could therefore compare it to a euro style band setup (two bands with screw on tips and a wishbone) that has a useful band length on each side equal to the circular bands. A two circular band speargun has 4 segments like a 2 "band" euro setup (not sure such a setup exists as the head would be big).

The roller does not have this behavior because of the pulley which transfers the force on one side to the other. Since both sides exert a force and the pulley transfers that force, each side the system behaves like one side (segment) of the one circular band setup or the euro style setup. Also, the second wishbone is a convenience, you could permanently attach the bottom anchorage point and the speargun would still function as designed. A "single" roller gun therefore has only 2 segments, each being roughly twice the length of the equivalent (in barrel length) conventional speargun's segment.

I personally don't find that loading a multi band speargun any faster or slower than a roller gun