Posts by Diving gecko

Quote from tomblack

Hi guys ,
so I am going on a trip with my unlce to Panama and we are going to do some spearfishing there. I have heard amazing things about the place and really look forward to making some lifelong memories there. As far as I have read though, spearguns are considered illegal there, so I am on a hunt for a nice pole spear and I am writing to hear your advices and opinions as I myself don't have a lot experience.

Congrats! But I think you might be mixing up Bahamas and Panama;-)

As far as I know, you can hunt with pretty much whatever you want in Panama;

Some eye candy here:
https://vimeo.com/65749730

Yeah, I think the days of categorically saying only heavy guns can be powered up are behind us. I have seen enough videos to prove that to me;-). Many heavy guns have neglected other ways to make their designs more efficient so while they are heavy, they might still not shoot better than a much lighter but better designed and rigged gun.

But I shoot pneumatics, so what do I know;-).
And I shoot those pneumatics mostly in places where fish are few and very skittish and not huge. Hence, I like the long, fast and precise shots;-)

Interesting to hear about the Pathos. I was guilty of believing the hype, too. I mean, I trust that the guns are good, and I already rigged the one I just bought as a gift for a friend with small ID 14mm rubbers. I'll get another spear for it, too. Probably a Sigalsub or Devoto.
That said, I actually know a local engineer here in China, who makes spears out of 17-4ph and heat treats them. I have a pneumatic shaft from him that I will test against my other 7mm spears and if it is stiffer than the stock Pathos, I might just order from him for the Pathos gun.
What Pathos did get right is pushing the shark fins waaay back so I would do that on my custom order, too of course:-)

Possibly, but the same guy who made these comments used to swear by enclosed tracks and now wont touch them. He tests more vigorously and systematic than anyone I have ever heard of and has tested ETs vs. non-ET and says ET robs the shaft of too much speed. So, yeah, it might keep it more stable but you loose more than you gain (according to him).

I think he used to post here? Not sure. But I'm sure a lot of you who visit the big bad forum and surf for tests once in a while have come across him. Lots of good stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/user/majdq8/videos

Quote from Dan

What useful measurement/result will you get if you don't bring the shaft to the bending point? Deflection in itself is irrelevant because the ideal shaft is one that would flex endlessly without acquiring a permanent bend.

Easy tiger, it seems the two of us are not out to test the same:D

I will, like I said, have a measurement of which of my spears are the stiffest, which may or may not be the same as being best at resisting bending.
I haven't yet bent a spear, but then again, I don't shoot monsters where I hunt. What I want are the longest, most precise shots rather than a spear that might bend a little later. I think initial stiffness helps in the precision and speed department. Stiff should means less whip and thus more power transfer to the spear.
E.g. perhaps the Pathos resists bends better than other spears (I have no idea), but one guy whose testing I trust found the Pathos spear to shoot less accurately when powered up than another brand - he speculated/felt/thought that it was because it whipped too easily since it is less stiff.

I am doing something much the same these days - except, I wont really want to bend a spear. I do my testing with the spear placed horizontally and hang a set weight at a set distance (3kg @ 50cm) and measure the deflection.
I shoot pneumatics so no carbon spears for me. Still, I'd like to find the stiffest stainless ones.

So far, on my first go, I did notice that my 6.75mm Devoto spear was stiffer than the Pathos of the same thickness. Funny cuz Pathos has such a buzz going. But then again, Devoto is run by one older guy who probably doesn't give a hoot about buzzing his products. Not talking trash about the guns, though - I actually just bought one. Just saying the one Pathos shaft I have is not as stiff as at least one Devoto that I have;-). It wasn't that much. Something like deflecting 1 cm more, like 10cm instead of 9cm or something like that.

Once I have more testing done, I'll share more findings, too.

Well, there are a history of puffer fish related deaths in Japan. And you need to take a special course and exam to be allowed to serve it. I don't know if it is true, but I heard the final exam basically consists of making sashimi out of Fugu (puffer) and eating it in front of a panel. If you cut it right (and don't get die), you pass;-).

Supposedly, some disenchanted Japanese housewives have even performed Death By Fugu on their husbands.

I have had Fugu in Japan and it is said that there is a slight level of toxin still left that tingles on your tongue and numbs or relaxes you a little bit... I can't say that I am certain that I felt it. But I did notice my Japanese friend held back for a while before he dug in - all the while keeping an eye on me;-)

Hey Hank,
I think the "industry standard" is to use cyano glue. AKA super glue. There should be a few vids on youtube. Perhaps one from Pathos.
That said, it's not as easy as they make it look. Well, not that easy to make it look pretty. Even f you have the acetone ready, cyano glue doesn't give you much time to clean up a spill or realign if needed.
I did glue one set of fins and while the second one looks alright, the first one is a mess. Purely cosmetical, though.

I propose two things.
If you use super glue, then tape the fin blade to protect it from excess glue. And try to get one of the gel and slower super glues.
If I had to do this again, I would probably use Sikaflex or 3M marine sealant. I can't recall which 3M is the permanent one (5200?) but go with the non-permanent one. The hold should be sufficient and would buy yourself a lot more time.

Well done, looks great.

As for the UK sling, I think the Ulusub reel is much bigger than needed. I like the simple looks of it, though which would match your sling nicely.

But that said, I think an LGSub reel would work great, too. It looks a bit more high tech, but I think that would still look pretty cool on wood. They come in all sizes and could be countersunk in to the wood like in this thread.

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:-)

Quote from mosaad

I just do CAD/CAM design then take the flash drive to CNC laser cut shop ,cut 2mm 316 ,do small TIG welds and its ready ,extra pieces for friends or future projects ,if someone can share a plan of wood handle it will be great

Looks great.
Do you happen to know what thickness laser shops like these can cut 304/316 in? What is the thickest plate they can cut? Just curious.

The PU coated handle looks great, too.

Have a great one, Hank!
The groupers are safe for a day:)
Wait, come to think about it, my best B-day was just a few years ago. Spent half of it spearing off of a Thai island and brought home fish for the B-day dinner.

If lack of sun shine on your birthday means you have been a naughty boy, then what does a cyclone imply...?:@:laughing:

That's the price alright.
I have seen it on sale/promotion a few 100s cheaper and also, I think Phil Herranen may offer 10% discount on it, but that may only be if you buy a gun from him, too? Not sure, but worth checking with him.

While Doc Maas might have gotten some nice DOD money to help develop this, it is still very much a niche product that doesn't benefit from mass production economics.
So yeah, it can be said to be pricey. Or one could say it is cheap in case it does bail your ass once. Anyways, it will prolly last a very long time, resale value is prolly not too bad either.

I forgot to say that I dive in Asia and often times, I just don't have a buddy at all. Other times I have some crazy dude pointing his gun all over the place, downing beers on the boat cuz it's good for his breathhold. A few times, do I have a good non-spearing freedive friend with me until he gets tired of watching me.

If I was in a spearo saturated place like Florida, I think making friends and cultivating good partners would be awesome and very much the smart way to go. Again, you can still get the FRV, it doesn't exclude the buddy hunt.

Honestly, as much as I agree on the need for an ideal buddy, the fact is that many spearos don't have it.
And the ones that have, often don't have it either.

How many of you can honestly say that you know 100% that your buddy is always spotting you, never losing sight of you in bad viz and never once going off after his own fish before checking you for a while after you surfaced? How many of you can honestly say that when that buddy takes a break, you don't do "just two dives more" cuz you feel great? Anything less than that vigilant a partner and the buddy system is an illusion, a fake sense of safety.
The perfect buddy, even for people who have buddies is a myth for the majority of divers.

Now, don't get me wrong. A half arsed buddy or even a great buddy is better than no buddy. Even the half arsed one might get lucky and spot you when you are in trouble. I would love a great one, would settle for a less than great one, but often I don't have any. And no matter what, I don't see how having an FRV can be seen as a bad thing, even in a buddy system. Unless it makes your buddy lower his guard.

Then comes the argument about diving safely and within our boundaries. Of course, that should be a no-brainer, but fact is enough good divers have BO'ed doing what they thought was safe. Doing dives of the same depth, time and exertion level that they have been doing for years. Not pushing majorly, just so happened that they were close to or did indeed BO on a what they thought was a regular dive.
It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. It's not like we have an LED read out of our fatigue levels on the dashboard in our brain. Anyone who really think they can read their bodies to perfection are probably kidding themselves.

My point is, we can do a lot to mitigate the risk, but it will always be there. I think we just take that very, very small risk because we love what we are doing. Human beings close their eyes to risk every day otherwise we would get nothing done.
I read plenty of people saying they'll get one when they have kids. Or divers thinking of getting one for their kid. I actually think that makes sense. You can play the (tiny) risks game with less implications when not that many people need you to get home every day.

I don't push myself on spearing ever and I am one of those guys, like all of us, kidding myself that I know where that limit is. I've done plenty 130 feet dives and static breathholds of + 5 mins but on spearing I don't do more than two mins and max 60-80 feet.
I still consider getting an FRV, it just better the odds even more. Can't hurt.

I don't have one, but I should.
I think we all should and I think no one in their right minds would argue against it being a potential life saver.

I was close to getting one a year ago, but then couldn't scrape the money together. But it is still very high on my wish list and if I start just pushing a little more, I should get one. Yeah, I know... just eat out less, buy less shit and soon I will have the money, but you know how that goes. Anyways, yes, I want and will eventually have one.

From what I hear, people hardly notice it is there. Also, TSA will allow you to travel with a few CO2 cartridges for this type of equipment. I can't really think of any good reasons not to have it. Unless you dive extremely conservatively or always have a buddy's eyes on you. But yeah, we don't always...

Did I mention that we should all just get one?

Man, you almost make me want to become a dad...!
I mean, that's how cool that video is. The bond, the place, the shooting, the fish, the food. The life.

Congrats, Marco and much respect:-)

Well, if you went back to a shop now, for the first time since '94, I bet you can find cooler looking ones;):laughing:
Let me take some pics today, or soon, and update my long post above with pics of my masks.
Of course, choosing a mask based on how it looks is not what we should be doing but that said, my SubGear looks cool and so does the smallest Mares masks and many others.

Actually, seems like the old school mask is having a bit of a come back recently from the young generation who didn't grow up with them.
Same as with young photographers falling in love with film these days and helping keep Kodak somewhat alive:)

Hey Cat,
If you are in LA, as you signature suggests, I can only recommend that you go to an actually dive shop and try fins on.
No idea in buying fins and masks (even suits) online and find out their shape don't fit your body.

I've made that mistake a few times myself. Now, that I know which brands fit me in general I would be more inclined to do so. But I paid the price early on.

Quote from Subsub

Tragic..... but how stupid to try to kill yourself like that! Either he is a real dumb bastard or a proper attention whore!

Give the guy a break, will you?
I have seen some of the strongest guys succumb to a deep depression and it is a all-wrecking decease as potentially deadly as cancer. Yet, people never talk trash about a cancer victim, so please grow some respect, find some knowledge and perhaps, when it happens to someone near you, you will be a bit more understanding and less ignorant.

I think it is pretty established fact that if you are depressed enough to try to kill yourself, you rarely possess the mental resources to go about it in the most analytical way. And if you are seeking attention and not really wanting to die, you generally don't do it with ballastics.

Cheers,
D.

Quote from Dan

I love pics of ghetto diving gear, reminds me of Cuba.

Yeah, I love when I come across those super cool DIY pneumatics you and others have posted from there. Just amazing.